Use pre existing webpage layout

[luxor]

Hey all,

 

I would really like to intigrate my oscommerce store into my weblayout.

For example my website has a leftside bar with the support / products /etc, i would really like to keep that in place and just have say shopping cart come up in center of that layout along with some other chosen controls ( log in / product info / tell a friend / etc ).

 

Is this possible?

 

And if it is can someone point me to where I could learn how to do this (i cant seem to find the documentation on this.

 

Thanks for your help

[Guest]

Hey all,

 

I would really like to intigrate my oscommerce store into my weblayout.

For example my website has  a leftside bar with the support / products /etc, i would really like to keep that in place and just have say shopping cart come up in center of that layout along with some other chosen controls ( log in / product info /  tell a friend / etc ).

 

Is this possible?

 

And if it is can someone point me to where I could learn how to do this (i cant seem to find the documentation on this.

 

Thanks for your help

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Brian,

This is a fairly common question and it should be answered for you in the docs, but I don't think it's there. The short answer is: No, you can't do that. The long answer is, yes and no. The best option would be to format your osC layout to match (or closely) your existing website. My suggestion would be to build your osC store to look like your old site, add all the functionality you currently need into your osC store (news, mailing list, whatever you want) and then scrap the old site. Or, if you succeed in making the layout close enough to the old site, leave 'em both.

The trick with osC is that it isn't easy to change. Using a Contribution (see link above) for templating will help. Or, you could learn the layout files (there are many, with some repeated elements) and learn to use the stylesheet. Take a look at my most recent blog entry for a quick starter.

[♥toyicebear]

Using a template system is actually doing yourself a disfavor in the long run, sure it might make the initial design changes more easy....but it will slow down your site due to more queries and it will make addining new features.add-ons quite a bit more complicated.

 

To change the oscommerce design manually is not to complicated and you can get a good start reading more info by clicking on the link "Basics for osc design" in my signature.

[luxor]

great Dan and Nick, thank you very much. I will follow up on the leads you have provided.

[dave111]

Using a template system is actually doing yourself a disfavor in the long run, sure it might make the initial design changes more easy....but it will slow down your site due to more queries and it will make addining new features.add-ons quite a bit more complicated.

 

To change the oscommerce design manually is not to complicated and you can get a good start reading more info by clicking on the link "Basics for osc design" in my signature.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Not entirely true, when using STS if you add a new contribution you will not have to code new pages with your template. Whereas if you had coded each page with the template (not using a template system) you would also have to code each page for the new contribution too.

 

(i think you would have to add some code to the new pages if you used BTS)

 

And i have not found STS slowing the site down....(it really all depends if you start sticking massive images all over the place it probably would slow down)

 

However have not that much experience with BTS (so maybe this is the one you are talking about slowing the site down)

[Guest]

To change the oscommerce design manually is not to complicated and you can get a good start reading more info by clicking on the link "Basics for osc design" in my signature.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Unfortunately I would have to disagree with you on that one. You only have to look at the same questions popping up time and time again to change the simplest things.

 

Lets say its not complicated if you understand HTML, PHP and CSS.

[Guest]

Yeah, I have to agree. Even for someone like me who came from a decent html background, it was a steep learning curve. I think the trouble is that there are so many Point n Click n Bam Yer on the Web solutions that folks arrive here expecting the same.

I still think osC is the best e-commerce platform around, but it could be much better documented and much more user friendly. I've heard that's on the way...