I just started.

[Guest]

I'm confused. If no one answers my questions here, and I can't find my answers already on the forum, then I'm out of luck?

 

There's nothing, and I mean nothing telling me where to start.

 

I have an existing store on the web. I want to build a duplicate store (with changes to the look) but I find NO place to start.

 

Do I have to open up all pages, and just start replacing their code with my code?

 

How do I start inputing inventory?

 

I have a .xls of my inventory, complete with descriptions sitting waiting to be pulled into my site.

 

Can someone stear me in the right direction?

 

Please?

 

Thank you thank you thank you.. please... thank you thank you!

[vasttech]

Start with the knowledge base and the documentation (under the Solutions menu at the top of this screen). Next search the forums. Most every question you could possibly have has been answered here at some time or another. You just have to look for the answer. You will also learn a lot just reading the posts. Lastly, if you are absolutely stumped and can not find the answer you are looking for, then ask away. Since the users of this forum are spread across the world, you may get an answer in 2 minutes or it may take several hours, just be patient. If no one answers after a few days though, most likely, your question has been asked a lot and the answer is in the forums. Also, sometimes, posts do go unanswered. After searching the forums again, if you still can't find your answer, post again. If you come to the forums and ask questions just to get a quick answer because you don't feel like searching, you will find yourself getting no help.

 

My last piece of advice is to download and install a copy of osCommerce to play with. Set up a test site for yourself, so you can see how the order process works, etc... Next start going through the files and directories. Learn the directory structure. There are a lot of files with the same name, but just used in different directories. This is done so that it is easy to relate a particular file to another. Look at the Showcase stores above and see what others have done. osCommerce is very powerful and can be customized to meet just about any need. The key is you have to be willing to do a little work. If you don't know PHP or HTML I would highly recommend purchasing a book on either or both. Also, I would recommend a mySQL book as it will help you understand the queries that get the data for the pages.

 

Anyway, that is my two cents. Good Luck...