I can't speak for anyone else, but just reading your posts with the tecchie terms gives me the shivers! I am done with programming now, and have NO DESIRE to dive back in, so if there is anyone else out there with a desire to sell online, there are products available that require a minimum of technological skill. Steve, from what I remember you saying before, zencart sounded pretty easy, but would it be useful to folk who have no technological background?
As for having a Web designer do a site, I had someone I know give me a quote last year of about 3k, which is ludicrous as far as I'm concerned, since I am a part-time crafter with a VERY SMALL bank account! I would sooner sell on e-bay than lay out that kind of money, if I didn't already have a website.
Judy
This was exactly my point!
Zen Cart is pretty easy. There are templates that you can select for look and feel. You can configure the layout somewhat using the admin interface. From the admin backend, there is an html editor that allows you to tweak text without getting into the code-- although it is helpful to know a little html. Images can be customized by creating new images and naming the the same as the images that came with the template. When you upload them, they will overwrite the original, then your image will appear in place of the original without touching a bit of code.
It's handy to have a text editor, and you will need an ftp program for moving things up to the server. Installing it through cpanel is a breeze. although it is not the latest version. To install by hand, you need to set up databases (a cinch through cpanel), create some directories, upload the software, and change some permissions via your ftp client.
There is a book on zen-cart that explains things pretty nicely! It is not necessary, but I found it helpful in getting started.
Steve
