How to bulk import products into Zencart 1.5

28 Apr
2012

If you want to import products in bulk into Zen cart then follow the steps below

  1. Download EasyPopulate 4.0 (EP4) module for Zencart by going to https://github.com/chaddro/EasyPopulate-4.0
  2. Change the name of the admin directory to match your Zen Cart Installation.
  3. Using Filezilla (ftp), upload all the files in admin directory to your site maintaining the directory structure.
  4. Upload the additional file in zencart 1.5 extra files folder.
  5. Create a folder ‘temp’ in the root of your zencart store. You may edit the uploads folder by going to Configuration -> Easy Populate 4
  6. Add 2-3 categories and products manually.
  7. Then go to Tools >Easy Populate 4
  8. Click on Complete Products (with Metatags) to export the csv. This will save the csv to the uploads directory (temp folder)
  9. Download this csv file and open it with Open Office Calc or Microsoft Excel.
  10. Populate this csv file with your products data.
    • v_products_model has to be unique, any record with blank v_products_model will be skipped
    • Upload all your images in your zencart images folder and add the name of the image with extension to v_products_image column in the csv.
  11. When your csv is ready, go to Tools > Easy Populate 4 and Upload EP File (Choose File and then click Import File)
  12. When the file is imported, click “Import” against that file and your products will be imported into your zencart store.
  13. After the import is complete, you can have a look at Import Results for the no of records inserted and updated
  14. For more details visit Easy Populate 4 Support Thread.
If you need help in importing products with images in bulk to your zen cart site, hire me on odesk.

 

How to move wordpress site to a new Domain

28 Apr
2012

In this tutorial I will explain how you can transfer your wordpress site from one domain to another. I’ll assume you are using cpanel web hosting.

  1. Login to your cpanel hosting and go to File Manager and select all the wordpress files and then click compress to create a backup (backup.zip) of your wordpress site.
  2. Download the backup.zip file by going to yourdomain.com/backup.zip
  3. Then go to phpmyadmin and on your left click on the database name and then click Export. Select Custom Export Method and choose Output “Save output to a file “ and then choose Compression “zipped or gzipped” and click Go. This will download the compressed database/mysql dump file.
  4. Extract the database file and then open it with an editor (e.g notepad++) and press Cntrl+H to replace all the occurrences of domain with the new domain name.
  5. Now login to your new hosting’s cpanel (If the new domain is hosted on the new hosting)
  6. Under Databases click on MySQL® Databases and create a new database for the new domain, Add new database user and then add that user to that database.
  7. Then go to phpmyadmin and on your left click on the new database that you created and click Import and then click Choose File to browse for the mysql file and then click Go. Database will be imported.
  8. Using ftp (Filezilla) upload the wordpress files (backup.zip) and then using File Manager in Cpanel, extract the zip file. You are in public_html folder, so when you will extract the zip file it will create a new folder backup in public_html so open this folder and move all the contents of this folder to public_html folder. If you have added the domain as an addon domain then move the wordpress files to its respective folder.
  9. Update the wp-config file with the new database details (database name, username and password)
  10. You are done with moving your wordpress site to a new domain

If you need help in moving your wordpress site to a new domain, Hire me on Odesk.

How to upgrade Zen Cart 1.3.9 to Zen Cart 1.5

8 Apr
2012

To upgrade your Zen Cart 1.3.9 to Zen Cart 1.5, follow the following steps. (For this tutorial, I assume you are using cpanel web hosting)

  1. Backup your existing Zen Cart 1.3.9 website by logging on to your Cpanel > File Manager and select all files and then click compress and save the zip file. If your zencart is in a folder e.g /zen then select this folder and click compress to zip the files.
  2. Now backup your existing mysql database, go to phpmyadmin in your cpanel hosting and then click the database name on the left and then click export to export the database dump.
  3. Login to your admin and make a list of all the modules that are installed like shipping modules (ups/usps), image handler etc in a notepad file.
  4. Download the latest zen-cart 1.5 from zen-cart.com and then using ftp upload the zip file to your public_html folder. Extract the zip file to your desktop as well for later reference.
  5. Using File Manager again, select the zip file and then click extract to extract the files in a folder e.g /newzen
  6.  When you will extract the zip file, it will create another folder “zen-cart-v150-full-release-12302011″  inside newzen so open that folder and then select all the files and move them out of this folder to /newzen folder.
  7.  Now create a new database by going to phpmyadmin and then click import to import the database dump that you exported before, mysql database of your Zen Cart 1.3.9 website (Step 2)
  8. Extract your Zen Cart 1.3.9 backup files and then edit Zencart 1.3.9 backup folder/includes/configure.php and update the path, database name, database user and password and then using ftp upload it to public_html/newzen/includes folder. Similarly, edit the admin configure file by going to Zencart 1.3.9 backup folder/youradminfolder/includes/configure.php and upload it to your public_html/newzen/admin/includes folder
  9. Copy the images folder from your 1.3.9 backup folder and upload it to /public_html/newzen
  10. Now go to http://yourdomainname.com/newzen/zc_install and then choose “Database Upgrade”.  If Database Upgrade option is not there, then you will have to look at the configure files as the installer was not able to connect to the database.
  11. Delete the zc_install folder and then rename the admin folder. When you rename the admin folder also update the configure file (youradminfolder/includes/configure.php)
  12. You may have made many changes to your languages folder so use the tool (WinMerge) to compare the zen cart 1.3.9 backup folder with the zen cart 1.5 folder and note the files that are different. You may have installed custom template so there will be extra files as well. So copy the custom template folders/files to the new upgraded store.
  13. Re-Install all the modules (Shipping/Payment) and other modules that you had on your old zencart store. (All mods may not be compatible with the new version)
  14. Test everything.
  15. Now move your Zen Cart 1.3.9 files from public_html folder to /oldsite and move the contents of /newzen folder to the root and then update the configure files. And if you had the zencart in a folder then rename the newzen to store or catalog.
  16. You are finally done with the upgrade of your zen cart store.

If you need help in upgrading your zen cart site to the latest version, Hire me on Odesk.

Are you new to freelancing and need help?

7 Apr
2012

If you are new to Freelancing and you are wondering from where you should take a start. I am sharing a list of freelance projects websites or online freelance market places. All you need is a computer with internet connection and obviously you need to have few skills to find work on these websites. If you are good at programming quickly, can design, can write content then you are likely to get success through these websites

http://www.vworker.com

http://www.odesk.com

http://www.guru.com

http://www.scriptlance.com

http://www.freelancer.com

http://www.getacoder.com

http://www.elance.com

Simply setup your profiles, upload your portfolios, bid on projects, setup your payment methods and get started.

Happy bidding and good luck with your freelancing career.

Ten different Ways to do Search Engine Optimization

7 Apr
2012

1. Meta Titles / Headers

Every website has a meta area of coding. Adding in specific keywords that can be read by search engines and that show relevance to your site is one of the main components of getting higher in rankings. To do this, go to your page source and at the top, add in a meta title and 1- 3 headers.

2. Meta descriptions

Meta descriptions are categorized by search engines and are noticed under the main title of a search engine. Writing meta descriptions into your HTML code or website with the right keywords helps search engines and your potential target market to recognize who you are.

3. Keywords

The keywords that are used on your site are added in to create recognition of what your site is about and makes you ‘searchable’ with specific words. Before adding in keywords, make sure that you look at the topic of your site and what competitors use.You want to mix in unique words, as well as ones that show your specialized topic, as this will be used when potential customers are looking for you.

4. Submit to Search Engines

An overlooked and invaluable way to get your search engine rankings up begin with submitting your website to search engine categories. Make sure that you take your URL and manually or automatically list it in areas such as Google, Yahoo! and MSN, then find specific search engines for your region or by category.

5. One Way Links

Linking is one of the strongest ways to drive traffic to your site. To do this, go to other sites, such as directories or social media areas, and place your website URL on the sites with a one way link back to your home page. Both search engines and potential traffic will be able to notice the activity going to your site.

6. Reciprocal Links

Reciprocal links are also known as two way links. You will submit your link to a website or directory, and in return, you will place the link of that portal onto your site. While this does not get as much notice ability as other types of links, it can still help with showing there is activity on your site.

7. Blogs

Blogs, or web logs, allow you to add content to a moving platform. You can use this not only to add information about your expertise, but can create a link to your website. The more activity you have on this, such as through links and comment responses, the more you will get noticed.

8. Directories

There are hundreds of directories and listing areas where you can list your URL or place ads about your website and products. Some of these are used directly for shopping, while others consist of basic URL links by category.

9. Social media networking

The latest tools in technology are linked to social media networking. You can use places such as Linked In, Facebook, Twitter or other social areas to connect to others directly.Within each site are specific areas where you can place ads, connections, links and other sources that connect you directly to those interested in your expertise or products.

10. SEO article marketing

Writing and distributing articles to article directories is an effective way to promote your website. You will want to write about your areas of expertise and connect this to your website through article directories.

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