install oscommerce on a built website

[sitton]

i have built a website in dreamweaver cs4. now i want to make it an online store. im not sure if the os commerce is build to that or can only put it on its own templates.

can anyone help me with this one. if i can do it with my own layout, is there anything i need to do that doesnt say in the instalation guide?

tnx.

[Guest]

Ohad,

 

You can link to the osCommerce store from your current site and design the store to match your existing site.

 

 

 

Chris

[sitton]

hey chris tnx for replying

how do i that/ is that mean i have to redesign it? this is my website: www.sittonjewelryshop.com

can u be more specific on what do i have to do? is there a better system for me to ecommerce it and make my site integrate with ecommerce?

thanks.

[MrPhil]

osC is written to think it owns the whole site, and is a complete, standalone catalog + shopping cart + checkout. You can certainly install it in a subdirectory (folder) of your site, then play with the .css files until you get something resembling the rest of your site. Unfortunately, osC really isn't built to smoothly integrate with an existing site -- it will take a lot of work to bend its appearance to even get close to some arbitrary design. For one thing, its layout is table-driven, and only a little CSS is used.

 

You will have a link from the rest of your site to your directory/folder with your store, and you will need to add a link in the store (in many pages) to take users back to the rest of your site. Unfortunately, osC isn't very modular, so you may have to modify many files to add a link (first check header.php). Note that visitors need to be cautioned that they will lose their shopping cart if they pop out of the store to see something on the rest of the site (they lose their "session"), so they shouldn't leave the store until they're done (have checked out). If any other part of your site has an ID/password system, osC's is completely separate.

 

Since you already have an existing HTML site (DW), you're kind of stuck with what you have to work with. If you were starting from scratch, I would suggest looking into a CMS with its own store (Drupal + Ubercart, or Joomla + VirtueMart), rather than trying to smash together several different applications. So yes, osC can be added to an existing site, but trying to make it look and act seamlessly integrated may be more work than you want to get into. At least, if all you currently have is a static HTML site, you don't have to worry about multiple signons and conflicts with other sessions and such. You'll have enough on your plate trying to make osC's styling and layout resemble the rest of your site. It can be done, but it's not simple.

[sitton]

thanks mrfill

i understood that i should not get into it.

is there any other way for me to make my website an online store without using paypal or google checkout or something similar to those shoping cart which sends you outside from the website to make a purchase?

tnx.

[MrPhil]

I'm not sure if you're asking the same thing as before. If you have an existing website, you can certainly install osC into a subdirectory (folder) of the site and add a link to that ("Go to my store") and a link in osC to leave ("Return to my website"). My cautions were

• it may take changing quite a few files to put a link or button to return to the (existing) website, or you may get lucky and only have to change one file like "header.php".
  
• osC is not friendly to changing its look and feel to match the rest of the website, but it can be done -- you'll just have to get really intimate with CSS.
  
• osC doesn't like having a visitor leave it and come back in -- the shopping cart will likely be empty (session lost). This is a matter of educating customers not to leave the store until they're done checking out. Instead of a simple link to "Return to my website", you might add code to see if there's anything in the osC shopping cart, and either disable the link, or pop up a warning and ask for confirmation. Messy either way.
  

 

is there any other way for me to make my website an online store without using paypal or google checkout or something similar to those shoping cart which sends you outside from the website to make a purchase?

I'm not sure what you want here. Are you looking to

• use your existing product pages with a button added to put it in the cart? That is, do you want to avoid going into a separate-looking shopping cart? osC won't do that -- drop in PayPal HTML code to add a "Buy it Now" or "Add to Cart" button.
  
• avoid going offsite to make a payment? You don't even want to consider that. It can be done (merchant account and payment gateway), but meeting PCI-DSS credit card security requirements will kill you. Stick with a third party payment system (such as most PayPal plans) that take the customer to their site for credit card number entry.
  

[bkellum]

i have built a website in dreamweaver cs4. now i want to make it an online store. im not sure if the os commerce is build to that or can only put it on its own templates.

can anyone help me with this one. if i can do it with my own layout, is there anything i need to do that doesnt say in the instalation guide?

tnx.

 

Take a look at this thread:

http://www.oscommerce.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=295660&st=5200&p=1408302entry1408302

 

Another option if you really want to use osCommerce in your current web site.

[jerrico]

I confronted a similar issue when I first set up my store, and I found that the STS solution (suggested above), worked very well. It took some trying but, if you are generally familiar with webdesign, you should be able to handle it without too much hassle. The real annoying part is that, if you want absolutely everything on your shopping cart to blend in with your site, you are going to have to edit or replace certain OsC default images ("Checkout" "Add Project" etc.) which can be a pain. Good luck!

[artful]

I confronted a similar issue when I first set up my store, and I found that the STS solution (suggested above), worked very well. It took some trying but, if you are generally familiar with webdesign, you should be able to handle it without too much hassle. The real annoying part is that, if you want absolutely everything on your shopping cart to blend in with your site, you are going to have to edit or replace certain OsC default images ("Checkout" "Add Project" etc.) which can be a pain. Good luck!

 

 

Hello Chad,

 

Your future site is going to be gorgeous... the structure is not far from being osCommerce 2.2RC2a with CSS modifications. No need to jump into STS, you can actually rebuild what you have with osCommerce 2.2RC2a and have a functioning shopping cart while maintainng the super design you created in Dreamweaver. CSS is not that hard, as basically you will take the same header images and other graphics you designed and with your oscommerce stylesheet.css add the design in different places by defining their details to produce the same effect. And adding the pages or editing is NOT that hard! You have already done the hard part - the graphics. If you want help I do free consulting. Click on my avatar and email me for assistance.

 

Barbara