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 Site’s 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

Graphics—Logos 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 Book’s 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

Building Online Stores with osCommerce: Beginner Edition

David Mercer

Building Online Stores with osCommerce: Beginner Edition

Step by step introduction to osCommerce

Copyright © 2006 Packt Publishing

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embedded in critical articles or reviews.

Every effort has been made in the preparation of this book to ensure the accuracy of the information presented. However, the information contained in this book is sold without warranty, either express or implied. Neither the author, Packt Publishing, nor its dealers or distributors will be held liable for any damages caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by this book.

Packt Publishing has endeavored to provide trademark information about all the companies and products mentioned in this book by the appropriate use of capitals. However, Packt Publishing cannot guarantee the accuracy of this information.

First published: January 2006

Published by Packt Publishing Ltd.

32 Lincoln Road

Olton

Birmingham, B27 6PA, UK.

ISBN 1-904811-88-4

ISBN 978-1-904811-88-6

www.packtpub.com

Cover Design by www.visionwt.com

Credits

Author

David Mercer

Reviewers

Monika Mathé

Theodore S. Boomer

Technical Editor

Niranjan Jahagirdar

Nanda Padmanabhan

Abhishek Shirodkar

Editorial Manager

Dipali Chittar

Development Editor

Louay Fatoohi

Indexer

Niranjan Jahagirdar

Proofreader

Chris Smith

Production Coordinator

Manjiri Nadkarni

Cover Designer

Helen Wood

About the Author

David Mercer was born in August 1976 in Harare, Zimbabwe. Having always had a strong interest in science, David came into regular contact with computers at university where he minored in Computer Science.

As a programmer and professional writer, he has written both code and books for about seven years. He has worked on a number of well-known titles, in various capacities, on a wide variety of topics. This has afforded him a singularily unique oversight into the world of programming and technology as it relates to furthering the goals of business.

David finds that the challenges arising from the dichotomous relationship between the science (and art) of software programming and the art (and science) of writing is what keeps his interest in producing books piqued. He intends to continue to write professionally in the future.

As a consultant for his own technical and editorial consultancy, David balances his time between programming, reviewing, writing, and furthering his studies in Applied Mathematics. When he isn’t working (which isn’t that often), he enjoys playing guitar and getting involved in outdoor activities ranging from touch rugby and golf to water skiing and snowboarding.

You can contact him at <davidm@contechst.com>, or alternatively, visit his consultancy’s website at http://www.contechst.com/.

A big thanks to the team at Packt Publishing for giving me the opportunity to work on this book. I also thank my family and friends as well as my girlfriend, Bronagh. They have all done a great job of supporting and encouraging me over the last six months or so. Ad astra per aspera.

About the Reviewers

Monika Mathé fascinated by anything combining logic and creativity, it seems that destiny found me in 1999 when I became a software developer and Oracle-certified database administrator.

It was a tough call to decide in which field to work, but landing a position in a marketing agency and working with everything from Oracle to SQL Server and HTML, ASP, and JavaScript was a fabulous decision I still congratulate myself for! I learned more about marketing campaigns, e-commerce, and CRMs than I had ever wanted to know, I mean, ever thought was possible!

I have also been taken in by the open-source community; I’ve become an avid believer in PHP (perhaps a bit less in MySQL), and definitely in a love affair with osCommerce. I believe almost anything can be done with it ... I challenge anyone to prove me wrong!

I am an active member of the osCommerce online community and know preemptively which questions will arise in new shop creation. Presently, I am creating as many new shops for customers as time allows, of course, while urging them to add as many custom coded modules as I see fit ... that’s dessert for me!

Theodore S. Boomer while recovering from an extended illness, I was on my computer searching for something to challenge my mind. I found HTML. At first it was very basic, but quickly it grew as competing browsers and then HTML editors progressed. I have supplemented my knowledge with additional learning through online communities, groups, some colleges, and books from Pack-IT, which have enabled me to keep an edge on software that I can incorporate to give me a competitive edge in design.

Now I have taken the many hours I have spent finding sources to complete client projects and consolidated them into my web design business and expanded to an Internet Business Technologies company that provides web development, web hosting, systems development, merchant card services, and high-speed Internet connections from entrepreneurs to Fortune 50 companies.

Introduction

The modern day entrepreneur, or indeed a business of any kind, small or large, can scarcely do without some form of presence on the Web. The pervasiveness of the Internet has brought about a new reality for business people. No longer is it sufficient to set up shop somewhere and sit quietly waiting for customers. Instead, the initiative must be taken with goods and services being marketed and sold online, reaching hitherto unheard of sizes of consumer markets, nationally and internationally.

With the added burden of the acquisition of IT skills, many small to medium-size enterprises have found themselves being outstripped by their larger cousins, who have the resources and manpower to harness and utilize the Internet properly. Prohibitively expensive development costs or ill-fitting off-the-shelf applications have hampered SME’s ability to compete on an even footing. Up until now that is!

With the advent of osCommerce and other open-source technologies like it, the door has been opened for anyone with a bit of determination to set up a sophisticated online store that will hold its own against any other site out there. It’s not surprising that osCommerce is growing in popularity as more and more people switch to the advantages of building and running their very own e-commerce website.

Unfortunately, while running and administering your own site is now within your grasp, you will find that you still have to work at it. There is a lot of information you need to learn about installing, configuring, customizing, securing and running osCommerce, and indeed the technologies you will be basing your business on. You can also benefit from some general wisdom and knowledge that programmers apply to their everyday work. Providing you with this knowledge is why I have written this book!

What This Book Covers

Chapter 1 introduces us to e-commerce and osCommerce and then provides an overview of the osCommerce community. Knowing how to use this excellent resource ensures you take full advantage of the entire osCommerce package, and not just the free software.

Chapter 2 covers setup and installation topics, which includes a discussion on what you should look for in an Internet servcice provider and how to make use of FTP to upload files, amongst other things. A troubleshooting section is also included and once this chapter is finished you should have a working osCommerce site up and running.

Chapter 3 deals with the most common configuration settings that you will need to familiarize yourself with and provides a basic grounding in the use of the administration tool.

Chapter 4 gets right to the heart of the matter with an in-depth look at data in osCommerce. Here you will learn not only how to add and remove products and manufacturers as well as administer orders and customers, but also how to properly design your category/product hierarchy.

Chapter 5 is where the standard look and feel of osCommerce gets a face-lift. After reading this, you will have a sound knowledge of the presentation related features of osCommerce. Additionally, we will discuss the all important topics of stylesheet modification, images, and language and show how to deal with them effectively. Get ready to get your hands dirty as there is plenty of work in here.

Chapter 6 takes you one step closer to running an online business by comprehensively dealing with taxes, payments, and shipping. Strategies for implementing various policies pertaining to money matters are also scrutinized and by the end of this chapter, you will be well versed in your site’s money matters.

Chapter 7 is arguably the most important of all. The integrity of your e-commerce site (and for many of you, your livelihood) rests on how well you can implement security and disaster recovery policies. Follow along here to learn how to gain a peaceful night’s sleep, safe in the knowledge that your precious business is safe. It also introduces you to some important tools, which will no doubt make your life a lot easier in the time to come. As well as this, it takes a more lighthearted look at some neat tricks and how to make a few nice touch additions.

Appendix A provides you with a look at various methods, which can be used to effectively deal with problems and errors. Having a programmer’s perspective and embracing a sound methodology will save you countless hours and frustration and is applicable to a wide range of software, not just osCommerce.

Conventions

In this book, you will find a number of styles of text that distinguish between different kinds of information. Here are some examples of these styles and an explanation of their meaning.

There are three styles for code. Code words in text are shown as follows: We can include other contexts through the use of the include directive.

A block of code will be set as follows:

if (substr(basename($PHP_SELF), 0, 8) != ‘checkout’) {

include(DIR_WS_BOXES . ‘languages.php’);

include(DIR_WS_BOXES . ‘currencies.php’);

}

When we wish to draw your attention to a particular part of a code block, the relevant lines or items will be made bold:

[if (substr(basename($PHP_SELF), 0, 8) != ‘checkout’) { // include(DIR_WS_BOXES . ‘languages.php’);

include(DIR_WS_BOXES . ‘currencies.php’);

}

Any command-line input and output is written as follows:

mysql> insert into user values (

-> ‘localhost’,

-> ‘oscommerce’,

-> Password(‘password’),

-> ‘Y’,’Y’,’Y’,’Y’,’Y’,’Y’,’Y’,

-> ‘N’,’N’, ‘N’,’N’, ‘N’,’N’, ‘N’,’N’, ‘N’,’N’, ‘N’,

-> ‘N’,’N’, ‘N’,’N’, ‘N’,’N’, ‘N’,’N’, ‘N’,’N’);

New terms and important words are introduced in a bold-type font. Words that you see on the screen, in menus or dialog boxes for example, appear in our text like this: clicking the Next button moves you to the next screen.

Note

Tips, suggestions, or important notes appear in a box like this..

Reader Feedback

Feedback from our readers is always welcome. Let us know what you think about this book, what you liked or may have disliked. Reader feedback is important for us to develop titles that you really get the most out of.

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If there is a topic that you have expertise in and you are interested in either writing or contributing to a book, see our author guide on www.packtpub.com/authors.

Customer Support

Now that you are the proud owner of a Packt book, we have a number of things to help you to get the most from your purchase.

Errata

Although we have taken every care to ensure the accuracy of our contents, mistakes do happen. If you find a mistake in one of our books—maybe a mistake in text or code—we would be grateful if you would report this to us. By doing this you can save other readers from frustration, and help to improve subsequent versions of this book. If you find any errata, report them by visiting http://www.packtpub.com/support, selecting your book, clicking on the Submit Errata link, and entering the details of your errata. Once your errata have been verified, your submission will be accepted and the errata added to the list of existing errata. The existing errata can be viewed by selecting your title from http://www.packtpub.com/support.

Questions

You can contact us at <questions@packtpub.com> if you are having a problem with some aspect of the book, and we will do our best to address it.

Chapter 1. Introduction to E-Commerce with osCommerce

When Tim Berners-Lee first decided it would be a good idea if his computer could exchange information with his colleagues’ computers up the corridor, he could scarcely have known that he was setting in motion, perhaps, the most profound change in the way mankind communicates since the written word. With the advent of the World Wide Web (WWW), communication underwent a kind of revolution that had an impact on our daily lives in hundreds of different ways.

Of course, it also wasn’t long before someone figured out how to make money from the Web and naturally everyone jumped on the bandwagon. Enter the dotcom boom and bust! Unfortunately, for the Internet and consequently Internet-based businesses, the dotcom fiasco hurt a lot of people who perhaps, buoyed up by bullish sentiment from investment houses and brokers who understood all too well the amount of money they stood to make, invested in something they didn’t fully understand. At the time, very few Internet-based businesses had shown that they were reliable, stable, and profitable. Nevertheless, the money kept flowing in and the new technology companies kept spending it—on what, no one was quite sure.

However, when the bubble burst, not all Internet initiatives collapsed. Some came through it a little worse for wear, but far more resilient, and many more learned valuable lessons about how to approach this new platform for commerce and trade. It is a testament to the exceptional value of the WWW that despite the massive losses made initially on this technology, it is now more or less taken for granted that businesses of any size require a presence on the Web: if they don’t have one yet, they are going to have one soon.

Today the world recognizes that being able to retail online to potentially billions of customers on a global scale is not the panacea it was first touted to be. Instead, a more mature approach needs to be adopted. It is now the accepted viewpoint that while having the ability to interact on the Web is a critical tool for success in today’s world, it is still just that—a tool! In order to be successful, your business still needs to be based on a solid idea, with a good demand or client base, backed up by either great products or great services. Just like the good old days.

By purchasing this book, you have implicitly given a vote of confidence to the Web and will, hopefully, be able to turn it to your advantage. Before we are able to begin working directly on the site, it is imperative that you are equipped with some basic information about life and business on the Internet.

This chapter discusses the following topics:

A brief history and motivation for osCommerce and e-commerce

The osCommerce community in general

Before we continue, it is important to realize that as things stand, our global village is still undergoing a revolution in communication driven by the giant leaps in the sophistication of both hardware and software alike. While it seems that everything is becoming more advanced and therefore complicated, the one thing to remember is that pretty much everything you see around us is here to make things easier. One of the best things about advances in technology is that they give everyone the ability to leapfrog stages of development. What this means is that the companies that invest a lot of money in order to be innovative and stay ahead of the competition blaze a trail that is decidedly easier for those of us without unlimited funding to follow.

A good example of leapfrogging is happening with technology in Africa. In many countries, poor infrastructure hampers business and communication. Luckily for them, laying hundreds of thousands of kilometers of phone line is no longer necessary, as it was for countries in the West seventy years ago. Nowadays, telecommunications companies install their own towers and the public has instant access to cellular or wireless communications. In ten short years, some African states have gone from utilizing ageing, outdated copper wire systems to modern cellular communications without having to invest their resources in research and development.

This idea applies very much to software application development and in the same way, we are going to piggy-back a ride on the work of others (in this case, the osCommerce development team) to arrive at a sophisticated and functional e-commerce website without having to re-invent the