Zen cart is a very easy and useful script online for e-commerce websites. Zen cart is actually seems to be made from OScommerce. Well zen cart looks to be far better than OScommerce as it have many modules in it.

For installing the script, you must download the zip archive of the script from zencart.com website.

After you download, you have two options on installing.

The first option:

Step 1 – First log in to your control panel and create a Database with username and password. Store database name, username, password in a secure place or remember it. It will be required during installation process.

Step 2 – After you download the zip archive, unzip it into a folder. Then upload all the files on your server through FTP or control panel. Here while uploading take care where you have to upload it. If you want to have the main site as zen cart shopping, then upload files to the root folder i.e., public_html or whatever in your control panel. Check that index.php of zen cart script uploads into the root folder of your server if you are installing on main website. If you are installing in a sub folder say, www.sitename.com/shop/ then check that files uploading will upload index.php file in shop folder of your website.

Step 3 – Now visit your website or the type the destination address like http://www.sitename.com/shop/ in the address bar and enter. The page displays the instructions for installing the script. Just follow the instructions, it will ask you to change folder permissions for some servers then database name, user name, password, etc. Just follow it and you are done. You are ready with the shopping website.

Step 4 – After you visit first time on your website you may see that some folder permissions have to be changed. Check it and change it for security reasons. The warning messages will automatically go off after the changes. Log in to admin and upload the products.

The second option:

Step 1 – Same as first option step1

Step 2 – After you download the Zip archive, upload directly on to your server where you want the shopping website, I mean in the root folder or another folder with sub address. After upload unzip it on the server itself. Check if the files are extracted as per your required folder. If not just copy and paste all the files to the location you need. Refer step 2 of option1 for the location folder.

Step 3 – Same as first option step3

Step 4 – Same as first option step4

For any help you can contact me, refer forums on zen cart or use comment of this post.

I came across We-bid script when I was searching for an auction type script for my website. I have found many other scripts online from several scripts hosting website, but many were paid version, but I needed a free version and came across this. I feel this is a best script available online. I have installed this bidding script on my website MyStuff.co.in Anyone can register themselves for FREE! and enjoy Buying, Selling, Auctions, Bidding the products. When you look at the admin section, it is filled with pretty good features for the first time users, hosting this script on their website.

Things which I am not clear or have comments is the scripts templates are not available. I could only find one template named Brick for this script, but again that one also was not for the latest version.

One more thing is when I made some changes in the template it wasn’t updating onto website, I was totally confused and spent lot of time over searching for things what can wrong. At last I found a Cache Clearing thing in Admin. When I cleared the cache, I could see the changes then. I hope this point will help for the first time users.

Over all its a nice script and needs promotion and make it more better. I would invite you to register on my website MyStuff.co.in and enjoy the services totally FREE!

If you would likt to have a similar setup like my website MyStuff.co.in for you, then you can email me. I would be happy to provide my services to you.

Do you want to sell your products online or want to have display of your products online with all the details and get more clients/customers and make your own brand?

It has become very easy for developing a shopping website online now a days and that too with a very very damn low cost.
How much money, you need and for what?
1. A .com domain name – Rs.300 (6US$)
2. Hosting space of 50mb or 100mb (According to the number of products) – Rs. 1000 (20US$) Now a days hosting spaces are availiable at a damn low cost also for GB’s space you have to pay small money when you buy for say 10 Years. One of the good offer on Internet, I see from iweb.com They give all inclusive webhosting of 600GB for only 1.67US$ per Month when you buy for 10 years!
3. Last is you need a basic programmer who can install a script on your web space and setup it. You can get just post your requirement for the need of shopping script installation on one of the freelancing website like Scriptlance you will surely get freelancers who are ready to do the work for 10US$ to 50US$  (Rs. 500 to Rs. Rs. 2,500) easily. You can also make whatever changes you like to make on the website like look, color, appearance etc… from the freelancers.

Totally the amount for basic shopping website with about more than 100 products will cost you only Rs. 300 + Rs. 1,000 + Rs. 1,000 = Rs. 2,300 (46US$)

When you make changes etc… It may go upto Rs. 5,000 (100US$) for a professional look etc..

What a shopping website will have?
The most running installation scripts for shopping websites are Oscommerce, Zen Cart, Magneto, etc…

They have some of the following interesting features which you can enjoy selling to your customers worldwide and making them happy.

-product options as dropdowns, radio buttons, checkboxes, and text input
-downloadable virtual products
-physical merchandise
-global sale reductions
-minimum and maximum purchases per product
-prices by attributes
-quantity discounts
-customer group discounts
-discount coupons
-shipping and payment module installation and management
-price and taxation control
-banner advertising controls
-newsletter creation and sending (You can keep contact with customer)
-gift certificates
and many many more….

For setting up whole website it will take just less than 2 days and you can start uploading your products and sell them.

Here as I am also a freelancer for doing this, you can also contact me for this type of work, I will be very happy to give my best services to you.