kerrinhardy.com

How does Zen Cart handle a ‘Page Not Found’?

kerrin hardy — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 04:39:49 +0000

You may have noticed a couple of settings in your Zen Cart Admin that can lead you to believe that Zen Cart will handle all instances of a ‘page not found’ error by either redirecting the visitor to your store home page or to the Page Not Found define page.

However, it’s important to note that Zen Cart’s Missing Page Check can only check for missing pages that are within the Zen Cart structure. In other words, the check is carried out on the part of the URL that is after index.php?main_page=. Such as http://www.zen-cart.net/demo/index.php?main_page=page8 or http://www.zen-cart.net/demo/index.php?main_page=jdfjkdklf.

In this case, you will be redirected to either a Page Not Found page or the Home Page according to your setting in Zen Cart Admin. An example of the Page Not Found page is shown here:

Zen Cart cannot prevent a call to a html page or image file, for example, that are outside of the Zen Cart code. This means that trying to access an invalid URL such as http://www.zen-cart.net/demo/frogs.htm or http://www.zen-cart.net/demo/frogs.jpg would result in a standard 404 Page Not found error, as shown in the example below:

Due to the nature of an ever-changing online store, it is important that we do not leave our visitors at the dead-end of a 404 Page Not Found error. Next up, we will look at a couple of different options to avoid displaying these errors to our visitors.

More Zen Cart:

New version of Zen Cart Released Today – 1.39e

kerrin hardy — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 07:18:38 +0000

Stay on top of the latest round of bug fixes and enhancements by upgrading to the latest version of Zen Cart – 1.39e.

Official announcement thread:

http://www.zen-cart.com/forum/showthread.php?t=160378

Official Download from SourceForge:

https://downloads.sourceforge.net/project/zencart/CURRENT_%20Zen%20Cart%201.3.x%20Series/Zen%20Cart%20v1.3.9%20-%20Full%20Release/zen-cart-v1.3.9e-full-fileset-07272010.zip?use_mirror=voxel&ts=1280206474

What’s New in v1.3.9e

This upgrade was released today (27th July 2010) and includes:

Fix broken whos-online cart display
Added removal for "%" symbols in product names when submitting details to PayPal for rare cases where it could cause a transmission error
Improve search-query syntax to work better when large numbers of subcats are involved
Fix issues related to incorrectly-URLencoded NOTIFYURL and RETURNURL and CANCELURL params being sent to PayPal
Added some missing currencies to 3D-Secure lookup facility
Fixed small error in /editors/.htaccess which caused some problems with TinyMCE addon
BUGS-135 – When deleting categories, the salemaker_sales table wasn’t updated to reflect the removal
BUGSFORUM-1171 – Advanced search was failing when searching on price and from-price = to-price
BUGSFORUM-1279 – Line Items not sent to PayPal properly
BUGSFORUM-1288 – handle occasional overly-url-encoded data received back from PayPal
BUGSFORUM-1324 – mitigate minor/rare sql injection risk
BUGSFORUM-1330 – trap cases where submitted session name is illegal (helps mitigate against false-positive PCI scans)
BUGSFORUM-1343 – explode() expects parameter 2 to be string … in functions_general.php line 566
BUGSFORUM-1353 – adjust tax group totals for shipping tax, so that it is not affected by the general ratio discounting method when include_shipping = false, and split tax lines are enabled
BUGSFORUM-1370 – small syntax error in rarely-used section of email code
BUGSFORUM-1371 – Clearing quantity field on shopping cart page should be the same as entering "0"
BUGSFORUM-1378 – fix small error in detection of $this_is_home_page in certain cases
BUGSFORUM-1362 – fix broken </td> tags in some admin input pages
BUGSFORUM-1355 – Authorize.Net SIM – checkout_success page doesn’t show css or images because of broken base-hrefs
Fix missing delete from coupon_restrict when products_id or categories_id is removed
Fix bug where checking for additional images when switch is set to off could cause some excess server load
Added more order details to the $order_summary array which is passed to checkout-success
Change system-information lookup to check for availability of exec() function before blindly using it in case it’s been disabled by server admin
Updated spider-detection list
Added PHP6 support into error-logging util
Note: phpBB setup steps removed from the zc_install screens. One can manually set the phpBB path into configure.php by hand if needing that functionality.

More Zen Cart:

Store in Spotlight: Doodlebuckets Family Gift Store

kerrin hardy — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 04:28:40 +0000

This week the Zen Cart store in the spotlight is the Doodlebuckets Family Gift Store. Doodlebuckets pride themselves on supplying high quality gifts, excellence in customer service, and a generous return policy.

One of the things I really like about this store is the Doodlebuckets Member Benefits. They offer free date reminders, 5% off purchases, reward points for purchases and wishlists that can be shared. This is a great way to entice visitors to sign up even if they are not quite ready to make a purchase. The benefits are highlighted in the sidebar.

The other thing that warrants a special note is the introductory and follow up paragraphs on each category page. A fantastic touch for both store visitors and search engine optimisation.

Home Page

Category Page

Product Page

Login Page

See other Zen Cart ‘Store in the Spotlight’ stores in the Zen Cart Gallery!

If you would like to suggest a Zen Cart store for inclusion in the Gallery, please email info@kerrinhardy.com or DM @zencartkerrin on Twitter.

More Zen Cart:

Change name of Bestsellers sidebox Heading in Zen Cart

kerrin hardy — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 02:51:47 +0000

In customising your Zen Cart online store, there may be a case for changing the Bestsellers sidebox heading. For example, you may feel that a heading of Our Most Popular Kits … or Top Selling Fashions would suit your store’s look and feel better than the heading Bestsellers.

Open the english.php file located in the /includes/languages/ directory.

Find this section of code:

define('BOX_HEADING_BESTSELLERS', 'Bestsellers');

and modify the define statement as needed:
```
define('BOX_HEADING_BESTSELLERS', 'Our Most Popular Kits');
```
** Be sure to keep the single quote marks in your new define statement.
Save the modified english.php file to your override folder. This will be /includes/languages/CUSTOM/ where CUSTOM represents the name of your current template folder.

More Zen Cart:

Easily Update Store Promotions with Zen Cart Banners

kerrin hardy — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 04:33:59 +0000

Zen Cart Banners are a great way to showcase your current store promotions in your Zen Cart store.

Create a banner image in the correct size according to the banner location (sidebox or centre column) and position on your store pages using Banner Manager. Link the banner to a categories listing page, product info page or a EZ Page with more information and the promotion terms and conditions.

The Zen Cart Banner Manager tracks each time a visitor clicks on the banner and the store owner can use these statistics to help analyse the effectiveness of their marketing campaigns.

Once you have your store’s template configured to use one or more banners, it is quick and easy to update your store to market special offers, introduce new stock or highlight seasonal promotions.

For example, the Urban Kerrin template is shown below:

with a Christmas themed banner…

a special offer banner…

introducing a new range…

and a Valentine’s Day themed banner…

More Zen Cart:

Disable Qty Price Discount to increase Zen Cart performance

kerrin hardy — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 01:23:29 +0000

If you’re not using the Quantity Price Discount feature in Zen Cart, setting Enable Qty Price Discount to False will stop unnecessary calculations and related queries and therefore speed up the rendering of your store’s product pages.

To disable quantity price discount in Zen Cart:

Log in to your Zen Cart store Admin
From the Configuration menu, select Attribute Settings
Configuration > Attribute Settings" alt="Zen Cart Admin > Configuration > Attribute Settings" src="http://www.kerrinhardy.com/wp-content/uploads/images/DisableDownloadstoincreaseZenCartperform_1178C/image.png" />
Select Enable Qty Price Discount and then click the Edit button.
Enable Qty Price Discount" border="0" alt="Attribute Settings > Enable Qty Price Discount" src="http://www.kerrinhardy.com/wp-content/uploads/images/ExtendthetimeoutofZenCartAdmin_96B2/image.png" width="602" height="40" />
Select False and then click the Update button.

More Zen Cart:

Disable Attribute Images to increase Zen Cart performance

kerrin hardy — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 13:28:00 +0000

If you’re not using the Attribute Images feature in Zen Cart, setting Enable Attribute Images to False will stop unnecessary calculations and related queries and therefore speed up the rendering of your store’s product pages.

To disable attribute images in Zen Cart:

Log in to your Zen Cart store Admin
From the Configuration menu, select Attribute Settings
Configuration > Attribute Settings" alt="Zen Cart Admin > Configuration > Attribute Settings" src="http://www.kerrinhardy.com/wp-content/uploads/images/DisableDownloadstoincreaseZenCartperform_1178C/image.png" />
Select Enable Attribute Images and then click the Edit button.
Configuration > Attribute Settings" border="0" alt="Zen Cart Admin > Configuration > Attribute Settings" src="http://www.kerrinhardy.com/wp-content/uploads/images/DisableAttributeImagestoincreaseZenCartp_9A15/image.png" width="602" height="37" />
Select False and then click the Update button.
Enable Attribute Images" border="0" alt="Attribute Settings > Enable Attribute Images" src="http://www.kerrinhardy.com/wp-content/uploads/images/DisableAttributeImagestoincreaseZenCartp_9A15/image_3.png" width="323" height="187" />

More Zen Cart:

Store in Spotlight: Kathy and Kim Originals

kerrin hardy — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 13:16:50 +0000

This week the Zen Cart store in the spotlight is Kathy and Kim Originals. Kathy and Kim offer eco friendly water bottles, tees, bags and accessories that are all personalized with names, sayings and designs from their colourful and fun online store.

I love the non-standard shape header that sets this store apart from the rest!

Home Page

Category Page

Product Page

Other Page

See other Zen Cart ‘Store in the Spotlight’ stores in the Zen Cart Gallery!

If you would like to suggest a Zen Cart store for inclusion in the Gallery, please email info@kerrinhardy.com or DM @zencartkerrin on Twitter.

More Zen Cart:

Store in Spotlight: Oorilewa

kerrin hardy — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 11:38:37 +0000

This week the Zen Cart store in the spotlight is Oorilewa with their range of shea butter skin care products created in Japan. Oorilewa, which means “Beauty of Shea” in Yoruba; an Africa language, incorporates neutral colours and a textured background to convey the natural elegance of their products.

Home Page

Category Page

Product Page

FAQ Page

See other Zen Cart ‘Store in the Spotlight’ stores in the Zen Cart Gallery!

If you would like to suggest a Zen Cart store for inclusion in the Gallery, please email info@kerrinhardy.com or DM @zencartkerrin on Twitter.

More Zen Cart:

How do I exclude Free Products from the Bestsellers Sidebox in Zen Cart?

kerrin hardy — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 07:55:56 +0000

Free Products are treated just like any other product when it comes to the Bestsellers Sidebox in Zen Cart. This sidebox displays the top selling items according to the orders listed in your database.So, what can you do if you would like to remove free products from being displayed as a best seller?

Firstly, make sure that the products are in fact marked as Free Products in Zen Cart. Go to Zen Cart Admin > Catalog > Categories/Products and select the product. Check that the Product is Free is set to Yes.

It is then easy to modify the bestsellers query to exclude free products when generating the best selling products for the sidebox.

To exclude Free Products from the Bestsellers Sidebox in Zen Cart:

Open the best_sellers.php file located in the /includes/modules/sideboxes/ directory.

Find this section of code (around line 34):

$best_sellers_query = "select distinct p.products_id, pd.products_name, p.products_ordered
 from " . TABLE_PRODUCTS . " p, " . TABLE_PRODUCTS_DESCRIPTION . " pd, "
 . TABLE_PRODUCTS_TO_CATEGORIES . " p2c, " . TABLE_CATEGORIES . " c
 where p.products_status = '1'
 and p.products_ordered > 0
 and p.products_id = pd.products_id
 and pd.language_id = '" . (int)$_SESSION['languages_id'] . "'
 and p.products_id = p2c.products_id
 and p2c.categories_id = c.categories_id
 and '" . (int)$current_category_id . "' in (c.categories_id, c.parent_id)
 order by p.products_ordered desc, pd.products_name
 limit " . MAX_DISPLAY_BESTSELLERS;

and modify to include the Master Category ID you wish to exclude:

$best_sellers_query = "select distinct p.products_id, pd.products_name, p.products_ordered
 from " . TABLE_PRODUCTS . " p, " . TABLE_PRODUCTS_DESCRIPTION . " pd, "
 . TABLE_PRODUCTS_TO_CATEGORIES . " p2c, " . TABLE_CATEGORIES . " c
 where p.products_status = '1'
 and p.products_ordered > 0
 and p.products_id = pd.products_id
 and pd.language_id = '" . (int)$_SESSION['languages_id'] . "'
 and p.products_id = p2c.products_id
 and p2c.categories_id = c.categories_id
 and '" . (int)$current_category_id . "' in (c.categories_id, c.parent_id)
 and p.product_is_free !=1
 order by p.products_ordered desc, pd.products_name
 limit " . MAX_DISPLAY_BESTSELLERS;

Also, find this section of code (around line 51):

$best_sellers_query = "select distinct p.products_id, pd.products_name, p.products_ordered
 from " . TABLE_PRODUCTS . " p, " . TABLE_PRODUCTS_DESCRIPTION . " pd
 where p.products_status = '1'
 and p.products_ordered > 0
 and p.products_id = pd.products_id
 and pd.language_id = '" . (int)$_SESSION['languages_id'] . "'
 order by p.products_ordered desc, pd.products_name
 limit " . MAX_DISPLAY_BESTSELLERS;

And modify to include the Master Category ID you wish to exclude:

$best_sellers_query = "select distinct p.products_id, pd.products_name, p.products_ordered
 from " . TABLE_PRODUCTS . " p, " . TABLE_PRODUCTS_DESCRIPTION . " pd
 where p.products_status = '1'
 and p.products_ordered > 0
 and p.products_id = pd.products_id
 and pd.language_id = '" . (int)$_SESSION['languages_id'] . "'
 and p.product_is_free !=1
 order by p.products_ordered desc, pd.products_name
 limit " . MAX_DISPLAY_BESTSELLERS;

Save the modified best_sellers.php file to your override folder. This will be /includes/modules/sideboxes/CUSTOM/ where CUSTOM represents the name of your current template folder.

More Zen Cart: