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Want to Add More Custom Pages into Zen Cart?

Do you need to add more pages to Zen-cart to customise for your own use?
E-Z pages are useful but take up space in your database so instead I prefer to simply add new pages that would have the url as page_4, page_5 etc. Using this method it is also easy to create titles and descriptions for them.

I am using page_6 as an example but you can use any name you wish, this may be wiser to do so for SEO purposes.

It is easy using the Define Pages Generator mod for Zen Cart.
Unlike most mods this is not a php script that you upload to the server. Instead it is a simple programme that creates all the pages you need which you then upload. If you supply your template name it even creates the correct directory structure to drag and drop the files in to an ftp client.

At the moment I wish to create an additional links page that will be page_6. All it takes is 3 simple steps:

  1. Create a temporary directory to store the new the files in (I just use c:/temp on my computer).
  2. Run the define pages programme and tell it to create page_6, give a template name and put the files in c:/temp.
  3. Look in C:/temp you will see an includes folder. Simply upload these to your host’s includes folder.
Using Define Pages Generator for Zen Cart

Using Define Pages Generator for Zen Cart

Your zen-cart will now have an additional page for you to customize. Now all you need do is give it a title and description.

Simply edit the file on your server:
/includes/languages/english/YOUR TEMPLATE/page_6.php and fill in whatever text you wish for both the navbar (which appears  on the top bar of your web browser and the navigation crumb on Zen Cart) and the header (the title of the new page).

The actual page content is found at /includes/languages/english/html_includes/YOUR TEMPLATE/define_page_6.php where you can either edit the page directly using html and upload a new file or make the define_page_6.php file writeable and use the zencart editor from admin.tools.define pages editor.

Don’t forget to link to it so people and search engines will know the new page exists. Easy :)

PayPal Express and Zen Cart – Shipping Not Available Error

Earlier I commented on the fix for PayPal Express and Zen Cart but unfortunately it broke again. I asked PayPal to investigate as it looked as if the wrong country code was being passed – they were helpful but did not find a problem so it was back to the shopping cart php code.

Customers could not find a shipping option when returning from PayPal to AllGiftsDirect.co.uk so they abandoned their carts. Credit card payments were fine, it was only PayPal Express that had a problem.

After looking at the previous post ( by the way, using a blog to track Zen Cart changes is extremely helpful, there is no way I would have remembered which pieces of code were altered) I changed line 1825 in paypalwpp.php back to the original suggestion:

‘ship_country_name’ => urldecode($response['SHIPTOCOUNTRY']));

This was mentioned on the Zen Cart forum post number 57. PayPal express is working fine again.

It was working fine, nothing changed but it then stopped functioning correctly, so I made a small change and now it is back working again.

Aren’t computers so annoying sometimes? Apologies to any customers who found it as frustrating as I did :)

Switch and Maestro Cards with Zen Cart and PayPal Pro UK

Zen cart occasionally returns PayPal Pro code 7 error for Maestro payments. This indicates either an issue number or start date is required. Often customers are unable to enter a start date and if the issue number is left blank the payment will fail.

Switch is now known as Maestro yet banks issue cards in both the old format (long number and issue number) and the new format (credit card style 16 digits and start date) that can lead to confusion when processing payments.

One fix supplied on the Zen Cart forums was to combine the processing of Switch and Maestro together. Unfortunately it only allows customers to enter the old format as the valid from form is greyed out. If customers with a new maestro card pay without providing a start date the payment will fail. I have modified the paypaldp.php (located in /includes/modules/payment) as suggested in the forums above and made a small change which provides both start date and issue number field for the customer to fill out.

Line 249-260 now reads:

‘var value = document.checkout_payment.paypalwpp_cc_type.value;’ .
‘if (value == “Solo”) {‘ .
‘ document.checkout_payment.paypalwpp_cc_issue_month.disabled = false;’ .
‘ document.checkout_payment.paypalwpp_cc_issue_year.disabled = false;’ .
‘ document.checkout_payment.paypalwpp_cc_checkcode.disabled = true;’ .
‘ if (document.checkout_payment.paypalwpp_cc_issuenumber) document.checkout_payment.paypalwpp_cc_issuenumber.disabled = true;’ .
‘} else if (value == “Switch” || value == “Maestro”) {‘ .
‘ document.checkout_payment.paypalwpp_cc_issuenumber.disabled = false;’ .
‘ if (document.checkout_payment.paypalwpp_cc_issue_month) document.checkout_payment.paypalwpp_cc_issue_month.disabled = false;’ .
‘ if (document.checkout_payment.paypalwpp_cc_issue_year) document.checkout_payment.paypalwpp_cc_issue_year.disabled = false;’ .
‘ document.checkout_payment.paypalwpp_cc_checkcode.disabled = false;’ .
‘} else {‘ .

My changes from those suggesting in the forum are in red – this turns on the card issue date. Please don’t miss the second change in this file as mentioned in the forum. I copied the same code as described.

I also modified the languages file to provide a short explanation for the customer.

Includes/languages/english/modules/payment/paypaldp.php I changed the definition (around line 30) to:

define(‘MODULE_PAYMENT_PAYPALDP_TEXT_CREDIT_CARD_MAESTRO_ISSUENUMBER’, ‘Maestro/Switch Issue No.:<br/>NB: If your Switch/Maestro card does not have an issue number please provide a card issue date.’);

I have tested it with a 16 digit Maestro card using a start date and it works fine.

Resources you must read when re-designing a web page.

I admit I have neglected my websites look recently and decided it was time for a spring clean. A fresh new look and some SEO love.

There are thousands of web pages dedicated to web design and SEO, here are some worth looking at:

For choosing colour palates I use this scheme chooser and colour scheme generator. They make it easy to select complementing colours.

You can also check your colour scheme used in CSS with this free and easy to use colour contrast tool.

iWebtool have a page dedicated to free on-line tools to analyse your website.

CopyBlogger offer some useful tips on copy writing for SEO success.

If you are unfamiliar with the jargon of web page components there is a a good basic guide to SEO web essentials at webconfs.com

My favourite page is Web Pages That Suck. It’s a humorous and attention grabbing title yet packed with loads of information. By showing you how NOT to design a website you can learn how to do things the right way. It was this site that provoked me to get rid of my red and green theme. They offer a detailed check list to apply to your own web-site design and then suggestions for further action.

And finally if you need some new buttons for your Zen or OS Commerce cart then Advance Software have a free on-line tool where you can create and download an entire button set with correct labels for simple uploading to your site.

Fixing Zen Cart -Xsell and PayPal Blank Shipping Address

I found another couple of things to do with Zen Cart today – one minor and one major:

First the minor – X Sell module.

I like this module. It allows upselling and should display other products people may like to buy with the text ‘We also recommend’ but instead displayed ‘TEXT_XSELL_PRODUCTS’.

Of course, I had not defined what the text should be. This is defined in

includes/languages/english/product_info.php
define(‘TEXT_XSELL_PRODUCTS’, ‘We Also Recommend :’);
which was overwritten when I upgraded to 1.38a. Admittedly, I probably defined this before but altered the default file rather than create my own version in my template directory. I have now corrected this and it works fine.

Thanks to TTLNTL for posting the solution and saving me trawling through lots of cross sell threads.

Solution here: http://www.zen-cart.com/forum/showthread.php?t=62821

One major and BIG problem is PayPal Express not functioning correctly.

Since installing Payflow Pro UK and getting rid of IPN I noticed that customers shipping addresses were not always appearing in my admin. Checked everything but couldn’t find out a problem. The details were definitely there as they displayed correctly in confirmation emails but did not appear in the admin section that meant I am unable to print packing slips or address labels.

Back to pen and paper!

I then noticed PayPal Express payments failing because the county address was not being passed and assumed the two problems were corrected. Fortunately, I was able to search the zen cart forums using the error code (10731) and found a solution. Looks like lots of people were having the same problem.

Thanks to Dr Byte for quickly finding and solving it!

Solution here:http://www.zen-cart.com/forum/showthread.php?t=83968&page=5

I think there is definite wisdom in upgrading a short time after new releases rather than straight away. It gives others time to identity and solve a problem so the answer is already there when you need it.

Thanks to the Zen Cart team for their great support again.

Welcome

I considered for some time reasons for starting this, mainly focusing on time, commitment and content and have finally been motivated to get on and do it by reading the posts on the UK Business Forums so thanks to all the contributors there.

My blog will cover three main areas:

AllGiftsDirect news, products launches, promotions, discounts and other information.

Zen Cart Software – I have quite a bit of experience in running Zen Cart and find I can set up a site and be online with listed stock quite quickly. While not an expert I began with no knowledge of PHP or CSS and others starting out from a similar situation may be interested to pick up tips and shortcuts. I keep my own websites updated to the latest version and will post here what needs changing and how to do it.

E-commerce. Having spent years in the retail industry working in both small and large shops from independents to international chains, I have plenty of customer service experience. Although not strictly customer facing, customer service is still paramount to any business, on-line or not. Here I wish to reflect on e-commerce, eBay, Amazon and business in general.