E-book details

Building Online Stores with osCommerce: Beginner Edition. A step by step introduction to osCommerce

Building Online Stores with osCommerce: Beginner Edition. A step by step introduction to osCommerce

David Mercer

Ebook
Using an easy-to-read and engaging style, this book introduces the fundamentals of osCommerce, and helps you build your first online store. It covers the out-of-the-box features of osCommerce, but it also shows you how to customize the application to your own needs.
The book starts with the basics of downloading and installing osCommerce, or simply how to enable it on your Internet domain using the tools provided by your host. All of the most important configuration issues are explained, with clear instructions and advice to help you make the right choices.

Once osCommerce is installed and configured, you will take a good look at how to work with your store's data including product information as well as other data which is responsible for keeping your site healthy.

The all important topic of customization is also dealt with comprehensively. You will see how to develop attractive sites that will make your store a pleasure to browse and your products a pleasure to buy!

Of course, no discussion on osCommerce would be complete without a look at how to obtain and treat payments. Using the modules provided with osCommerce you will be collecting money from your happy customers in no time!

Once the reader has a fully fledged, and operational site it is time to look at deployment? an important topic for discussion if development has taken place on a development machine.

The appendix will add a few tools to your armory and shed some light as to what is going on behind the scenes in case things go awry.
  • Building Online Stores with osCommerce: Beginner Edition
    • Table of Contents
    • Building Online Stores with osCommerce: Beginner Edition
    • Credits
    • About the Author
    • About the Reviewers
    • Introduction
      • What This Book Covers
      • Conventions
      • Reader Feedback
      • Customer Support
        • Errata
        • Questions
    • 1. Introduction to E-Commerce with osCommerce
      • What is E-Commerce?
      • The What and Why of osCommerce
      • The osCommerce Online Community
        • Contributions
        • Forums
        • Knowledge Base
        • Documentation
        • Bug and Progress Reports
      • Summary
    • 2. Setting Up osCommerce
      • Your Sites Basic Requirements
      • Downloading osCommerce
      • Transferring osCommerce to Your Live Site
        • FTP Drag and Drop
        • FTP Utility
      • Make Sure the Host is Ready
      • Installing osCommerce on the Host
      • Configuring osCommerce
      • Troubleshooting
      • Summary
    • 3. Basic Configuration
      • The Administration Tool
        • My Store
        • Maximum and Minimum Values
        • Images
        • Customer Details
        • Shipping and Packaging
        • Product Listing
        • Stock
        • Logging
        • Cache
        • Email Options
        • Download
        • GZip Compression
        • Sessions
      • Summary
    • 4. Working with Data
      • Preparing to Add Product Data
      • Catalog
        • Categories/Products
          • Adding and Deleting Categories and Products
          • Moving and Copying Categories and Products
        • Product Attributes
        • Manufacturers
        • Reviews
        • Specials
        • Products Expected
      • Customers
        • Orders
      • Viewing Reports
      • Summary
    • 5. Customization
      • Language Definitions
        • english.php
        • index.php
        • Using HTML for Language Formatting
      • Working with Boxes and Columns
        • Removing a Box
        • Moving Boxes
        • Modifying Box Content
        • Adding a Box
        • Removing a Column
      • Dealing with Images
        • The images Folder
        • Sizing and Naming Images
        • GraphicsLogos and Icons
          • Creating and Inserting New Graphics
          • Moving and Removing Graphics
        • Background Images
        • Button Images
      • Customizations Using the Stylesheet
        • Inserting Background Images
        • Changing Colors and Fonts
      • Miscellaneous Customizations
        • Resizing Pages
        • Adding Pages
        • Emails
      • Summary
    • 6. Taxes, Payments, and Shipping
      • Locations and Taxes
        • Tax Zones
        • Tax Classes and Rates
      • Getting Paid with PayPal
        • Setting Up PayPal on osCommerce
        • Connecting osCommerce and PayPal
        • Working with PayPal
      • Credit Card Payments
        • The Credit Card Module
        • The PsiGate Module
      • Alternative Forms of Payments
        • Checks and Money Orders
        • Cash on Delivery
      • Shipping
        • Flat Rates
        • Per Item
        • Table Rate
        • UPS and USPS
        • Zone Rates
        • Contechst Books Shipping Solution
      • Summary
    • 7. More Advanced Topics
      • Securing the Administration Tool
        • Creating Password-Protected Folders
        • Implementing SSL for the admin Folder
      • Securing Payments
        • The Front End of the Store
        • The Back End of the Store
          • PayPal Payments
          • Credit Card Payments
        • Low Stock Reports
        • Working with Downloadable Products
          • Installing the Download Controller
          • Working with the Download Controller
          • Testing the Download Controller
      • Creating Matching Buttons
      • Search Engine Optimization
      • Summary
    • A. Troubleshooting
      • Types of Errors
      • An Effective Process for Dealing with Bugs
      • Debugging Code Yourself
      • Summary
    • Index
  • Title: Building Online Stores with osCommerce: Beginner Edition. A step by step introduction to osCommerce
  • Author: David Mercer
  • Original title: Building Online Stores with osCommerce: Beginner Edition. A step by step introduction to osCommerce.
  • ISBN: 9781847190710, 9781847190710
  • Date of issue: 2006-01-25
  • Format: Ebook
  • Item ID: e_3bih
  • Publisher: Packt Publishing