osCommerce Q&A

Solution 1. If I use the oscommerce plugin for three different stores, will there be a unique OSCom ID to identify them individually?

For each separate store you set up you need to set the company ID for the NP company the store links to. This is done in the npapi.php file that goes in the osCommerce folder catalog/nolapro:

$npapi->companyid = 1;

The line in the file for the second osCom site might look like:

$npapi->companyid = 2;

2. Using the two software simultaneously, what is the best/preferred way to add new products? Via OsCommerce or NolaPro, and how does the synchronization work?

Products are added in osCommerce and NolaPro. Once added to osCommerce there will be an id number you enter into the item's screen in NolaPro to link them.

3. Same would go to new customers, are they added automatically from OsCommerce upon registration or only at first order? If let`s say, management adds a customer with NolaPro, while at the same time Sales team adds another with OsCommerce, how and when would the data be synchronized?

Customers are added in osCommerce when they register, which may or may not be when they place an order.

4. Same questions would go for products, price list updates etc...

Products are similar to #3 above. They are created in both locations and the osCommerce ID number is entered into that item's page in NolaPro to link them. Once linked, these numbers should never need to be adjusted. Prices are entered in both osCommerce and NolaPro.

5. Will I be able to modify the template myself? Such as changing, adding photos and also changing or adding categories? We currently upload our database in the existing store we have.

Yes, osCommerce comes with an admin section that allows you to change/add categories along with access to add or change photos for items. Modifications to the actual template can be made yourself but we would need to upload the changes if you go with the hosted version.

6. Do you have any suggestions on what templates to look for that would work better with Nola Pro.

Any template will work the same with NolaPro. I would look for one you feel would be easy for your customers to navigate and wouldn't need a lot of modifications to suit your needs.

7. Will the site be on your server (hosted customers)?

Yes. You will need to purchase a domain name for it though if you don't already have one.

8. Do you setup all the catagories and upload the products?

We can, it would be extra though depending on the number of items.

9. Will the admin section have the options for uploading new products from a file?

This is not a built-in option.

10. When buying the osCommerce Integration and using hosting services, will we have an online store capability with full credit card and account control based on Nolapro database? I assume you have full capabilities with your hosting services?

Yes. You can have an online store with full credit card capabilities. osCommerce has an administration section you will be able to use to add/edit items or images and change other settings. The only limitation is if you want to change the look of the site with a template we would need to upload the files. The first template is included with the purchase of the osCommerce integration.

11. Will price lists to account holders (i.e. distributors, dealers, customers, etc) be enabled when logging into the online store? What I mean is that if my dealer logs in and they have specific lower percentage discounts, will it show in the store?

osCommerce does not have multiple price levels built-in. There may be add-ons to osCommerce to enable this feature but that would need to be researched. NolaPro B2B would also be an option.

12. If we use hosting services and we have a template for the online store, can we provide that to you? Do you have templates for OsCommerce?

There are many template sites available online (we do not have any templates). You can provide us with the template and we will apply the first one free of charge.

13. Is enabling SSL/HTTPS secure communication included in the hosting and is it also enabled on an online store processing?

You will need to purchase an SSL certificate from your hosting provider for the store (you need to provide a domain name for your store and most people usually purchase the SSL certificate from the same provider).

14. If I own the domain name of http://www.xxxx.ca, how will your hosting services work with the owned domain name?

The domain name will need to be pointed to our IP address which will be provided once you have purchased the osCommerce integration.

15. Is there any documentation we can look at that will give us a good idea how much heavy lifting is required to get this up and running?

To download or find out more about the free osCommerce suite, visit http://www.oscommerce.com. If you are using it with a self-installed version of NolaPro, there is also a guide showing how osCommerce and NolaPro are linked at http://www.nolapro.com/nolapro_osc_integration.pdf

16. Can we get to the code?

The code to osCommerce is open source.

17. Does the engine provide SEO inlcuding alias url's and href links on each page?

There are many user contributed add-ons that can be applied to osCommerce. http://addons.oscommerce.com/

18. Can we hook this into an existing static html site?

You can create a link to it in your existing site. Changes would need to be made if you want it to match your current website design.

19. How many steps are in the checkout?

Once the customer is in the shopping cart there are three brief checkout screens and a screen displaying the order after it is confirmed.

20. Do we have the option to register folks?

You can create user accounts using the same screen available to your customers. For example,https://ecom.nolapro.com/create_account.php

21. Does each product pull up an individual page?

Yes. They are automatically generated based on the product number.

22. Do you have one out there that I can look at that is live?

The NolaPro Store is one. There are also a large number listed on the osCommerce website athttp://shops.oscommerce.com/

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Article details

Article ID:	200
Category:	Integration / osCommerce
Date added:	2010-10-29 15:13:33
Views:	18625
Rating (Votes):	(169)

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