Beginner Guides for Zen Shopping Cart

Posted in Featured Article on Feb 20th, 2011 |

There are simple approaches to begin using the ZenCart in any shared web hosting.

ZenCart Installation

1. Using the Fantasico Autoinstaller, install the ZenCart using Fantasico Autoinstaller. Simply follow the prompts.
2. After installation log into Fantastico, and click on the ZenCart link to proceed with the installation.
3. Select the folder where you want to install the ZenCart or leave the directory box as it is. Enter the administrator details and then click the install button.
4. When installation completes, you will receive a success notice. Click the confirm button, then go back to the initial ZenCart page for Fantastico, .
5. You can then add addresses you want to bookmark to use in future.

 Zencart Configuration

1. Log into ZenCart’s administrator panel.
2. To change the store name go to the top menu, then go to Configuration and select My Store. Select Store name and then select Edit which will appear on the right side.
3. Selest Update to save these changes.

Use these same steps to change other configuration settings.  Changing ZenCart Languages and Character Sets

1. First obtain the language you need from ZenCart Downloads and save it into your computer.
2. Then open the winzipped files, and upload the language to the respective folders (ie. Languages: /include/languages; Admin directories: /admin/includes/languages).

   Then log in as the administrator and select Languages. Choose New Language option and fill the form. Complete the process by clicking and Insert.

3. To switch to non-English characters, go to the ZenCart installation menu, and go to the language folder as you did earlier, in the store directory. Find the following language codes:
   @setlocale (LC_Time, ‘en_US.ISO_8859-1′); //charset for web pages and emails
   define (‘CHARSET’, ‘iso-8859-1′);

Change “en_US.ISO_8859-1″ to the language of your choice.

1. Alternatively you can change the text on the start page. Go to /includes/languages/english/classic/index.php location. Open the file through simple text editor such as Notepad, and replace the configurations to your requirement.

 Managing the ZenCart Product Catalog

1. Select the Categories/Products from the Catalog menu.
2. Go to the New Category button, fill in the details and click Save .
3. Go to the category name, and select the folder where your wish to add a subcategory, and repeat the steps in 1 and 2 to add a subcategory.
4. Click the “X” sign to delete a category..
   Note: when you delet a category all subcategories and products will also be deleted.
5. Creating a product is done in the same way as above: Select New product  and then fill in the iproduct information.
6. You can also upload an image and Preview the image before saving changes. Select the Insert option to go ahead, or go Back to continue making changes.
7. You can list the newly added product under a category. To do this, select the purple ‘m’ icon and simply move the item to the category. Select the category from the drop down menu, Then click the Move button.

Defining Meta Tags for the Products

1. Go to the Categories/Products list. Locate the desired item and then look for the appropriate symbolin the Action section.
2. On the new page, fill in the details, Preview, and then Update.

Note: Metatags need to be relevant to the product entry.

Setting ZenCart Quantity Discounts

1. Go to the Product Price Manager in the Catalog menu.
2. Select the product you would like to have the discount for, and click the Edit.
3. Select Add Blank Discounts  and fill in the details of the discounts.
4. Click the Update button to apply your new settings..

Settings For ZenCart Free Shipping Orders

1. Go to the Modules menu, and select then Order total option. Select the Shipping module and then the Edit.
2. Set the minimum amount for free shipping and click Update to save changes.

Changing ZenCart Default Currency

1. Go to the My Store option  in the Configuration menu. and select Switch to Default Language Currency line. Change the setting to true. If you are running an English language shopping cart, but are using a different currency, from US Dollars, ensure that the setting is changed to false.
2. For using multiple currencies, select the Currencies option from the Localization menu. Then click the New Currency button. Enter the details and tick the box that sets your choics of default currency.
3. Select the Insert button, and then the Update currencies button. This will recalculate values of the other currencies, and set the new default currency.
4. To change the default currency into one already in your list of Currencies click the Info Button. Then select Edit button and go to the Edit currency menu  Set the desired currency as default.
5. Select Update and to save changes.

 Adjusting ZenCart PayPal settings

After the customer pays for his or her shopping, you would like to redirect the back to your store. This is what you have to do:

1. Log on to your PayPal account. Go to My Profile and select Website Payments Preferences then turn on the Auto-Return .
2. Provide the address of the return page make sure you replace the domain and shop name to yours.
   For example, none-secured store:
   http://www.yourdomain.com/yourshop/index.php?main_page=checkout_process
   secured store:
   https://www.yourdomain.com/yourshop/index.php?main_page=checkout_process

Note: Changing these settings in the Zen Cart Admin may cause your online store to be disabled.

Settingup the ZenCart with Authorize.net

1. Logon as the ZenCart administrator.
2. Select  Modules in the menu. This will display a page with all the default payment modules. You can then select Authorize.net and then Install :
3. On the next page, fill in the details asked for. and Update to save changes.

 Sales Tax Configuration in ZenCart

1. Log on as the administrator and got to the Locations/Taxes menu.
2. Select Zones Definitions  and edit an existing zone or create a new one.
3. Enter a description, according to your preference and select Update.
4. Go to the Details button to the right.
5. Click Insert, select the country and zone then click Insert.
6. Choose the Tax Rates option located in the Locations/Taxes menu. 
7. To enter a new tax rate select New Tax Rate and then select your tax zone then enter the details.
8. Click the Update to apply changes.
9. Select a default tax class, to help save time the next time you add new products. To make these changes go to Product Types in the Catalog menu.
10. Select the product type, click Edit Layout  and then enter the tax ID number for this type of product.