How to run the Zen Cart auto installer
17 December 2008
Posted in
D.I.Y. Ecommerce -
Using Zen Cart to make money online
Simply type in the url of your shop into a web browser. www.yourshop.whatever. You should see a screen like the one below.
Notice at the bottom of the page you have links to the official Zen-Cart guide and faq's. The official guide is not very detailed, has no images and assumes you already have/no how to make databases etc. However it might be worth book marking them for future reference as they contain information that could be useful. This is especially true if you are not installing on 1&1 as there might be issues not covered by my guide.
Click on the link near the top of the page that says click here to begin installation. Your stores software will start configuring itself and searching for information from the 1&1 servers that it needs to set itself up. Some of the information we will have to give it and that is what is covered next. After clicking the aforementioned link you should see the following page.
Browse the summary of the stages to follow if you wish and when you are ready click Continue. Browse the license, but don't worry too much about it. Simply put you are at liberty to use, modify and generally do what you like with the software. When you are ready check the button labeled 'I have read and agree to abide by the Terms and Conditions as stated above. ' and press the continue button. You should see similar to below.
This page is a report of what your software found out about the 1&1 server and the environment you are going to install the shop on. You will see 2 yellow exclamation marks near the top of the report and a third if you scroll down a bit. They are:-
PHP API Mode = cgiRegister Globals = ON
PHP Output Buffering (gzip) = OFF
These are nothing to be concerned about they are common and typical to the specific server settings where you are installing your shop. They will not stop you getting your shop up and running and all necessary action is taken in later chapters.
Click Install at the bottom of the page to continue. You should now see :-
We need to fill in the blanks and make some alterations about your database details. I will show you how to get your database details but first you need to make a database.