When/How Change From Default to Live?

[abrogard]

I'm on my first couple of hours with this thing.

 

Slowly getting the hang of what I've got to do to put my own products in there and alter text here and there and whatever.

 

Got little hassles like that stuff about the 'MAIN_TEXT' - those words only show up once in the index.php I download and they don't have that 'default text' after them.

 

But I'll work that out, I guess.

 

The main thing I'm wondering about and don't see any reference to anywhere is going live. The text on the default startup page tells us this is a default setup and won't send any product and won't send any bills.

 

Well when, where, how do we change it to make it start sending bills and products.. i.e. 'go live' ?

 

And can we easily switch it back to 'offline' to tinker with it if it seems we've screwed it up somehow, or it's been hacked or whatever.... ?

 

I'd think there's a 'setup routine' for this somewhere that, for instance, has instructions for deleting all t he default products and like that....

 

Hmmm... if I 'follow' this topic will I get notification of replies if I'm lucky enough to get any?

 

I'll find out...

 

:)

[Jack_mcs]

Once the domain name is pointed to the server and your site loads with it, the site is live. There's no live/not live setting unless you've made some change to make it so.

[abrogard]

Hi, thanks for the response.

 

No, I've made no changes. I'm referring to the lines:

 

This is a default setup of osCommerce Online Merchant. Products shown are for demonstrational purposes. Any products purchased will not be delivered nor will the customer be billed. Any information seen on these products is to be treated as fictional.

 

on the front page or index.php. I read it to mean the thing doesn't work. I see now it could be read to simply mean that the default products will not be sold or billed.

 

But added products will?

 

I've added one product so far, that's all.

And I went a little way down the path to buying it - logged myself in as a new customer, stopped short of completing the buy because I don't want credit card purchase but PayPal and that option wasn't offered.

 

If I continue with the configuration will I find that option, to allow Paypal?

 

And I wish to sell downloads - i.e. sell ebooks and pics that the customer can download. I didn't see that option yet but I believe it is there?

 

I didn't quite understand that 'once the domain name is pointed to the server.... etc.'

 

In my case the app is installed in a directory below the root of the domain called 'shop' and there's no link as yet to it from the actual domain page. I plan to configure it first before putting a link there.

 

So would it be 'live' ?

[♥toyicebear]

What you see on the front page is simply text, which if you read it tells you exactly where to edit it. For the rest you should read the documentation included and you will also find some info at: http://library.oscommerce.com/

[♥14steve14]

If you can type your web address directly into the address bar and the site opens, it will be live. People will be able to find it and so will the search engines. If possible you could password protect the main file using your hosts cpanel account, or what ever you have. That way you will have to enter a password before seeing the site.

[abrogard]

Thanks Steve.

 

So it is live all the time. The text simply means the products listed are not real. Will not get provided, will not get processed, will not be billed for.

 

The product item I added will get processed for real? I assume the answer is 'yes'.

 

So how come it gets processed but the others don't? Where's the switch for that?

 

I might do the password thing though there's little chance of anyone finding it - they'd have to think to add /shop to the domain URL and why would anyone ever want to do that?

 

Good safety measure though, if I put some test product on there with ridiculous prices - too low - and the thing is live all the time then I could get caught couldn't I?

 

Better be careful not to put up product like that and not to provide a link to it until I'm good and ready.

 

Thanks again.

[burt]

You need to delete the default products. And any other information that is irrelevant to you.

 

Then add any other information that is relevant to you (eg: taxes, currencies, text on pages, whatever).

Then add your real product(s).

 

This is well explained in the text on the page, no? That is a real question as we can change the text to make it clearer if that is what is needed.