[cuffylad]

Hi everyone,

Im in the process of setting up my own online store with open cart, I am pretty new to all of this so im learning as I go (which I find is the best and most enjoyable way ).

My target customers are going to be based in the UK. Can anyone recommend a good cost effective host for my new site? (I dont mind starting small and building up to something better once my site gets established).

Also would it be best to get a host that offers SSL certs? And does it matter if they are shared?

many many thanks in advance.

[MikeChipshop]

Just make sure you go with a Apache/Linux/PHP/MySQL host.
You can get it to work on a Windows server but it's a right pain!

Also make sure your host turns off 'magic_quotes' in PHP.

[a.g.r.c]

OpenCart was a big let down. If it's just for a testing web site you could pick up some cheap hosting from hostgator...

Bare in mind it would be a little slower being US based.

[Gibson]

a.g.r.c, on 28 June 2011 - 11:31 PM, said:

OpenCart was a big let down.

Could you expand on that? OpenCart seems to be one of the most popular in this community, would be interested to know why you think this?

[a.g.r.c]

Gibson, on 28 June 2011 - 11:41 PM, said:

Could you expand on that? OpenCart seems to be one of the most popular in this community, would be interested to know why you think this?

I think it was the lack of documentation to go with it. It looks great, seems light, and is MVC driven.

However without documentation it means the learning curve is very manual and exploring in the dark.

[Gibson]

a.g.r.c, on 28 June 2011 - 11:42 PM, said:

I think it was the lack of documentation to go with it. It looks great, seems light, and is MVC driven.

However without documentation it means the learning curve is very manual and exploring in the dark.

Ah ok. Glad it's nothing actually wrong with the application itself.

[a.g.r.c]

Gibson, on 29 June 2011 - 12:34 AM, said:

Ah ok. Glad it's nothing actually wrong with the application itself.

I'm sure it's been created with tons of goodness in it, but for me it was really cumbersome to do something I knew it could do.

Having to search through all the models files for the method required took wayyy too much time. Would have been nice to hit the docs.opencart or something like that and look for methods in the product listing class then find exact documentation describing the output and scope of the method.

[cuffylad]

Thanks very much for the advice guys.

I decided on open cart after reading lots of good posts about it on this site.

AS for a host, i take on board it might be best to start with a cheaper option like hostgator, however do I need a specific host package to do ecommerce or can i just choose anyone?

[a.g.r.c]

Just make sure it matches the requirements of Open Cart. HostGator have live chat, they will advise you better.

Happy coding.

[cuffylad]

a.g.r.c, on 29 June 2011 - 07:30 PM, said:

Just make sure it matches the requirements of Open Cart. HostGator have live chat, they will advise you better.

Happy coding.

Thanks mate, im on it now

I got a feeling I have bitten off more then i can chew so be prepared for a load more questions

[a.g.r.c]

cuffylad, on 29 June 2011 - 07:37 PM, said:

Thanks mate, im on it now

I got a feeling I have bitten off more then i can chew so be prepared for a load more questions

If it's Open Cart / hosting related your asking in the wrong places

[MikeChipshop]

Gibson, on 28 June 2011 - 11:41 PM, said:

Could you expand on that? OpenCart seems to be one of the most popular in this community, would be interested to know why you think this?

My personal opinion of OpenCart is it's a great piece of software once up and running.
Great for the end user too.

However it's quite sloppily coded and some of the core files have structure and styles buried inline deep within grrrr

[Jager616]

Having messed about with Opencart a bit, I found skinning it can be a pain as mentioned some of the parts are buried in the core files.

Usability I found to be good and they have a good support forum for if you get stuck with anything.

[joe2011uk]

tbh most hosts that are about can handle opencart just make sur they mmet the requirements

[cuffylad]

thanks again for all your input guys. I decided to go with hostgator as a starting point till i get the hang of things.

I have played around with opencart and it seems pretty cool. The only problem im having is making the sie look good, eg the template (as im rubbish at stuff like this).

Im toying with the idea of buying a template, i like the look of the following (i would have no chance of making something like this so buying a template or paying someone to do it for me is the only option atm)

http://tzelewski.co....e/?theme=Kinder

and

http://themeforest.n...agentotemplates

Do you guys think its a good idea or am i best hiring some one to do a unique design for me? I know using a existing template has its draw backs but im thinking its a good idea to see if things take off and its worth saving some cash for other things to start with?

[UK Web hosting]

cuffylad, on 01 July 2011 - 07:17 PM, said:

thanks again for all your input guys. I decided to go with hostgator as a starting point till i get the hang of things.

I have played around with opencart and it seems pretty cool. The only problem im having is making the sie look good, eg the template (as im rubbish at stuff like this).

Im toying with the idea of buying a template, i like the look of the following (i would have no chance of making something like this so buying a template or paying someone to do it for me is the only option atm)

http://tzelewski.co....e/?theme=Kinder

and

http://themeforest.n...agentotemplates

Do you guys think its a good idea or am i best hiring some one to do a unique design for me? I know using a existing template has its draw backs but im thinking its a good idea to see if things take off and its worth saving some cash for other things to start with?

Hostgator offers US Hosting, you might loss the UK market in this case. I will suggest you to look for UK ecommerce Hosting provider. For opencart if you have ngnix webserver that will make your site load faster than apache server.

[allyson_gss]

Hey just in case everything went wrong with open cart and you decided to look for another. Try to look at magento, it's getting really popular these days and many people are saying good things about it. And for my personal experience also i could say it really does well.

[joe2011uk]

As for the question on templates, stay away lol, your site will do loads better with a unique design. Templates are overused and most differences are colour changes be unique, its your business, Im sure you would want the best for it and, getting unique design is money well spent

[cuffylad]

UK Web hosting, on 02 July 2011 - 05:31 AM, said:

Hostgator offers US Hosting, you might loss the UK market in this case. I will suggest you to look for UK ecommerce Hosting provider. For opencart if you have ngnix webserver that will make your site load faster than apache server.

I am just using hostgator while I get the hang of things, once im all set I will be moving to a uk host. Hostgator have been very helpful to me, there live support is brilliant.

This post has been edited by cuffylad: 02 July 2011 - 08:13 AM

[a.g.r.c]

cuffylad, on 02 July 2011 - 08:12 AM, said:

I am just using hostgator while I get the hang of things, once im all set I will be moving to a uk host. Hostgator have been very helpful to me, there live support is brilliant.

Any input on the templates guys?

Those templates are nice... No input, entirely your choice. Given the theme devs aren't here asking for tech stuff don't think i'll go down that road.

r.e. Hostgator, yeh they are only too happy to help. Very interactive too and if you want them on the phone, they don't refuse it.

[cuffylad]

joe2011uk, on 02 July 2011 - 07:11 AM, said:

As for the question on templates, stay away lol, your site will do loads better with a unique design. Templates are overused and most differences are colour changes be unique, its your business, Im sure you would want the best for it and, getting unique design is money well spent

Yeah thats what I was thinking tbh. T know its probably a hard question to answer but how much for a unique design of a standard ecommerce site? (roughly )

[a.g.r.c]

2k is about the going rate. Depends on how large or small the store is going to be. Normally they have other areas now like videos, blogs etc. To want it all for 2k when it can be a 3 - 5 month contract just to get the basics right.

Web designers are being spread very thin these days.

[rallport]

a.g.r.c, on 29 June 2011 - 12:37 AM, said:

Having to search through all the models files for the method required took wayyy too much time. Would have been nice to hit the docs.opencart or something like that and look for methods in the product listing class then find exact documentation describing the output and scope of the method.

That's just how the majority of MVC structures work - it's nothing specific to opencart. E.g. with any MVC structured application you will never be able to edit a page from a single file - this simply isn't how MVC works at all. MVC isn't specific to opencart either

This post has been edited by rallport: 05 July 2011 - 04:01 PM

[a.g.r.c]

rallport, on 05 July 2011 - 03:57 PM, said:

That's just how the majority of MCV structures work - it's nothing specific to opencart. E.g. with any MVC structured application you will never be able to edit a page from a single file - this simply isn't how MVC works at all. MVC isn't specific to opencart either

There is one file that you can edit all files from. It's called config or similar. *smug*

[rallport]

MikeChipshop, on 29 June 2011 - 07:45 PM, said:

However it's quite sloppily coded and some of the core files have structure and styles buried inline deep within grrrr

It really isn't mate

It's structured qui9te logically and fairly typical of an MVC application

[a.g.r.c]

rallport, on 05 July 2011 - 04:00 PM, said:

It really isn't mate

It's structured qui9te logically and fairly typical of an MVC application

I wouldn't know, although the guys who made it seem to know far more than the average coder.

It's MVC, a lot of it pre-written, what more could you want? documentation for me.

[MikeChipshop]

rallport, on 05 July 2011 - 04:00 PM, said:

It really isn't mate

It's structured qui9te logically and fairly typical of an MVC application

Personally i think it is quite sloppy (at least the structure and style parts).
I haven't worked on it since December but the release back then contained an awful lot of mistakes and deeply buried inline styles nestling in core files.

I also find the documentation lacking and the forum community unhelpful bordering on rude.

It however is still my choice of cart to use so they're doing something right

[rallport]

a.g.r.c, on 05 July 2011 - 03:58 PM, said:

There is one file that you can edit all files from. It's called config or similar. *smug*

You can't edit the whole site from that, if you looking at making major changes - which I assume you are, as you're looking at the model files. You'll need to get your hands dirty editing template files, models and controllers.

[a.g.r.c]

rallport, on 05 July 2011 - 04:06 PM, said:

You can't edit the whole site from that, if you looking at making major changes - which I assume you are, as you're looking at the model files. You'll need to get your hands dirty editing template files, models and controllers.

Dude i'm aware of what MVC is... Not sure if you knew or not lol. Thanks anyway for the refresher

This post has been edited by a.g.r.c: 05 July 2011 - 04:10 PM

[rallport]

MikeChipshop, on 05 July 2011 - 04:06 PM, said:

Personally i think it is quite sloppy (at least the structure and style parts).
I haven't worked on it since December but the release back then contained an awful lot of mistakes and deeply buried inline styles nestling in core files.

I also find the documentation lacking and the forum community unhelpful bordering on rude.

It however is still my choice of cart to use so they're doing something right

Yer the documentation on their site isn't amazing at all. When customizing the store to a high degree there is a lot of assumed knowledge about MVC / design patterns, which makes editing it not as simple as changing a bit of html/css. Personally, being more of a developer than designer and coming from a background using Smarty/CodeIgniter I find it pretty typical of an MVC app.

[rallport]

a.g.r.c, on 05 July 2011 - 04:08 PM, said:

Dude i'm aware of what MVC is... Not sure if you knew or not lol. Thanks anyway for the refresher

Why on earth would I know it? You're moaning about a basic MVC structure - why wouldn't I intervene?

[a.g.r.c]

rallport, on 05 July 2011 - 04:11 PM, said:

Why on earth would I know it? You're moaning about a basic MVC structure - why wouldn't I intervene?

Sometimes logic defies me


edit *smiley inserted*

This post has been edited by a.g.r.c: 05 July 2011 - 04:13 PM

[Dx3webs]

cuffylad, on 28 June 2011 - 09:24 PM, said:

Hi everyone,

Im in the process of setting up my own online store with open cart, I am pretty new to all of this so im learning as I go (which I find is the best and most enjoyable way ).

My target customers are going to be based in the UK. Can anyone recommend a good cost effective host for my new site? (I dont mind starting small and building up to something better once my site gets established).

Also would it be best to get a host that offers SSL certs? And does it matter if they are shared?

many many thanks in advance.

getting back to OT.. we are now offering open cart hosting.. drop us a line

[heebakutty]

i have a Shopping Cart Ecommerce feature added to my Auto parts design company, and my website uses Shopping cart feature from http://www.tucktail.com/ , which takes care of all the money transactions with meticulous security

[rallport]

UK Web hosting, on 02 July 2011 - 05:31 AM, said:

Hostgator offers US Hosting, you might loss the UK market in this case. I will suggest you to look for UK ecommerce Hosting provider. For opencart if you have ngnix webserver that will make your site load faster than apache server.

LOl, for all intents and purposes, very debatable