Zen Cart Latest News
Top of everybody's news list is the pandemic. I'm so grateful to be working remotely in ecommerce! Now may be a good time to refresh your website or start a new one. Think of today's challenges as opportunity and plow forward. I made a decision to concentrate on Zen Cart during the last recession and it worked! Technology is protecting millions of businesses during this mess and will be THE lifeline for many businesses for some time to come. No matter what, y'all stay safe and follow best practices to protect us all.
Top of the Zen Cart news list is the ckeditor plugin. This is the interface in admin that looks kinda like Word. I install it in every site I work on so if I've worked on your site you probably have it. Most sites do have some sort of editor installed but this is the only approved, i.e., secure one, at this moment.
Due to some internet weirdness, the most recent ckeditor mod has quit working or is only working intermittently. So most of you need a replacement. There's only a $25 fee for this task and it's a free replacement if you are on the maintenance plan. Here's the pay link in case you need it: https://wiztech4zc.com/hosting/cart.php?a=add&pid=18. You will need, at a minimum admin, username/password and url but ftp access and possibly control panel (cPanel) access might be required, too. Please gather up those items before paying. If you are unsure, please use the contact form to ask questions or for assistance.
Zen Cart version 1.5.6c
I'm now upgrading to 1.5.6c. The only major remaining problem with 1.5.6c is that the COWOA (checkout without account) has not been upgraded to this version. COWOA is destined to be incorporated into Zen Cart at some point and the team is working on starting that process but it may be a while before it's actually available. I have also removed it from my responsive template to make it version friendly with less core changes. Of course, there may be other mods still not ready for 1.5.6; however, some mods are definitely going to die a natural death anyway. A site evaluation to make that determination before the upgrade starts is recommended and sometimes required.
The biggest benefit of 1.5.6c is that it is fully PHP 7.3 capable. Your hosting company can at any time change what version of PHP you are allowed to use. If you are still on 1.5.5f or lower due to PHP requirements, you may find it stops working or else has problems, thus requiring an upgrade to at least 1.5.6c immediately.
Zen Cart Version 1.5.7
1.5.7 will released shortly - possibly before the end of the month. I've been keeping close tabs on this version that has just moved into a testing phase. There's no question I will not be upgrading to it immediately but it's looking very promising. New features are mostly all admin but include:
1) Shopping Cart define page, compliments of yours truly. My last template version included this so you may already have it.
2) Plugin Manager. This will allow an easy avenue for admin plugins. Just upload files to a special folder and install in admin. It will take a while to get plugins converted to this but several folks have already started working on these mods. Catalog side mods cannot be installed this way but most mods I install are admin only.
3) Ask a question integrated into the product page.
4) Admin login as customer is now integrated so that you can place an order from admin for a customer.
5) Help tips - pretty much my urging caused the first integration of help but it's not so helpful yet! This should improve as time goes on.
6) Spam prevention on all forms. This is an incorporation of a mod that I already use in my template. Let's keep our fingers crossed that this continues to work!
7) A bunch of tweaks and improvements in admin, adding some error checking, ease of use and more. Some will be delighted, some will never notice these changes but there are over 30 updates deemed noticeable in this version.
Because of some of this, I'm leaning towards upgrading to 1.5.7 in about 6 months or so and recommending folks to skip 1.5.6. But don't hesitate to upgrade now to 1.5.6 - it's the version for PHP 7.3 and you may not have a choice on your present hosting.
Responsive Templates & Google
Folks (including well-known template creators within the Zen Cart community) still are not bothering with upgrading their templates to 1.5.6c but my responsive template is fully ready for 1.5.6c and PHP 7.3. I've also got it ready for 1.5.7 testing.
As of September, Google is moving to Mobile First Search. If you don't have a responsive, mobile-ready template, your google standing will plummet. Now's the time to get a new template! If you are really attached to your present look, my custom template work can incorporate the general feel and some of the elements into a new template. Some things are dang near impossible to replicate though so you will have to adjust to changes no matter what.
If you haven't checked out my template, the demo is here https://deliatest.com/readytogo/. You can see screenshots of some of the custom templates with both mobile and full views in the portfolio: https://wiztech4zc.com/portfolio/zen-cart-responsive
Included in the package now can be the installation of additional mods, some rewrites of text, redesign of your home page content, logo design and I always dispense advice - whether you want it or not - and with no extra cost to you! So take a look and then either contact me (https://www.wiztech4zc.com/contact-us.php) or just do it - by purchasing today (https://wiztech4zc.com/hosting/cart.php?a=add&pid=57)
Buyer Beware!
I'm now thrilled that I don't offer my customer responsive template as a packaged template that anyone can buy. I recently had someone purchase it thinking it was a downloadable item. At $250, that would make it insanely expensive so the purchase was suspicious. At this point, I still have their money but it was obviously a scam from an Asian firm looking to replicate fake websites.
I have been getting increased calls from folks who have bought on these websites and are looking to find whoever it was that never delivered their purchase. Tip of the day: if the website you think you are purchasing from still has Zen Cart in the footer copyright line, buyer beware! That's a sure indication that it's not legit. The buyers see that Zen Cart line, google it and call me thinking I own the website! Nice to know my SEO work and Google Ads work to bring customers in....not!
Delia Wilson Lunsford
WizTech, Inc.
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