osCommerce Administration and Help Guide

osCommerce - Getting Started Help Guide

osCommerce Administration

By clicking on the Administration icon you open a page with the following set-up and administrative options:

Configuration

Pretty basic stuff required here. Store name, your e-mail address, incoming e-mail (your store’s address), store’s owner, location (country and zone), currency settings, cart display, establishment of search engine safe URLs, display taxes with prices and other administrative settings.

Modules

This is where you add payment modules enabling buyers to make payments in many different ways including PayPal, I-payment, COD, credit card, check, money order and so on. Just a note, here. These are called payment gateways and the more of them you have, the easier it is for a visitor to make a purchase. So, provide as many payment gateways as you can.

Catalog/Products

This is where you create your back office catalog. You can start by creating different categories of products or services, each in its own separate file. You can add as many categories as you need to keep track of your goods on hand.

You can also add new products as they become available by clicking on the “New Product” link that will then allow you to enter the new product into the proper folder category. (Makes things easier to find.) You can also add icons to your office product listings, showing brand logos and such to make finding inventory even easier 

Locations/Taxes

The web is a global marketplace so it’s reasonable to expect orders from different countries using different modes of currency. This option enables you to add countries where orders have been placed. Then, osCommerce figures out if taxes are due, at what rate, ISO Codes and other related information. If most of your business is going to be North American-based, you don’t have to worry too much about this until you get that first order from Djibouti. Until then, don’t spend a lot of time figuring out tax and ISO codes for countries you’ve never even heard of.

Customers

Includes important customer information including names, e-mail addresses, the date the account was created, number of log ins, last log in and customer order status – critical information. With a click, you can track down a customer, his or her order and the current status of the order. You can even send an automated e-mail detailing expected arrival date, tracking number, carrier and so forth. This is a real time saver, especially for the sole proprietor who’s doing it all.

Localization

How many drachmas are there in a dollar? If you don’t know, it’s going to be tough to process orders paid in drachmas. The localization feature allows you to set automated currency exchanges for that day so you and your customer are receiving and paying the right amount for the right product.

Reports

osCommerce also compiles useful analytics that will help you determine what’s working and what isn’t on your site. You can develop reports showing:

• number of products viewed (in total and by customer)
• products that have been purchased, sorted from most to least
• total number of orders by category, customer and even site page
• number of pages viewed and other data that will help you tweak your product line

Tools

osCommerce doesn’t skimp on analysis tools. First, there’s an automated d-base back-up manager so when you forget to back up important information, the back-up manager does it for you.

The banner manager tracks your adverts on other sites with metrics on which sites are pulling and which aren’t. If you’re promoting the site on a limited budget (who isn’t?), this is a real money saver.

Cache Control easily equips you to manage categories boxes, manufacturers boxes, “also-purchased” modules and even provides a temporary cache directory for review.

Languages allows you to set language by page and even service. For example, you can conduct an SSL check to make sure that an incoming order is, indeed, coming from an encrypted site. Everything from account to privacy settings can be language-specific with osCommerce.

File Manager is simply an easy interface to track the files you keep on-site and send-email allows you to send one or 10,000 e-mails to your customers announcing a big, upcoming sale or the introduction of a new product line.

Newsletter manager helps you keep track of your site’s regular newsletter. What, you don’t have a site newsletter? Well, you should. It’s a low-cost means of keeping your company and its products in front of your customers and, once they’ve become customers, you aren’t spamming. You already have a business relationship with the recipients so sending them e-mails is perfectly legit.

Server Info

Need to know your servers operating system? How about the HTTP server or the PHP Version. Chances are, if you’re trying to install osCommerce on your site, the last thing you need to worry about is the full name of your database host.

That’s not to say you won’t need this information (or your designer will need this information) in the future. But for right now, don’t worry too much about server settings and if you are having problems, call tech support on the toll-free line.

Who’s On-line provides a bird’s eye view of your site. This report tells you how many customers are on-line at the moment, their IP addresses, the time they arrived, what they clicked on last and the last URL they visited before stopping at your place – great for determining which links are working and which aren’t.

And those are just some of the features of osCommerce. OsCommerce also offers hardware and software for sale on its E-Shop. You’ll also find some interesting information about new features.

OsCommerce Templates

You can go with the basic osCommerce face or you can opt for one of several osCommerce templates that best suit your company’s order-taking needs. If you want (or need) a different template, visit the osCommerce templates page and download the template that best suits you.

Templates are installed just as the osCommerce software is. Just follow the on-screen directions to change the existing template to the new one – but again, note, you’ll pay for that new template.

Configuring osCommerce

Once you’ve got the software loaded, click on the admin icon. You’ll need your screen name and password created when you created your database during the installation of osCommerce.

Once on the administration page, click on the Configuration icon. This opens a new page listing headings such as My Store, Minimum Values, etc. To change the standard configuration, click on the feature you want to reconfigure. An edit popup will appear. Click on edit.

Now, you can reconfigure the various aspects of your store and its administration. Once you’ve made all changes don’t forget to click on the update button to lock in your changes.

You continue configuring osCommerce as you add or delete new products. To do this, again, log onto your control panel, click on osCommerce, click on the admin icon and then the link to catalog. Follow the same procedure described above. Click on the item or the category file folder that needs to be changed. This gives you an Edit popup. Click edit and you’re good to go.

You can add a new category or a single product to an existing category simply by typing in its name and/or product number. If you’re going international, you also have the option to change languages for product descriptions.

Once you’ve made all of the changes to the product list and/or files, scroll down to the bottom of the page to preview the changes you’ve made. Very helpful. Here, you have three options. First, click on “Back” to return to editing if you don’t like what you see. Second, click on “Insert” to finalize and publish the changes. And third, click the “Cancel” button to delete the new entry or entries or to start over from scratch.

Payment Gateways

These are the various ways customers can pay you. You’ll need a merchant account to accept credit card orders and a payment handler like PayPal.

Under the Modules icon located on the administration index page, click on “Payment.” You’ll see a dropdown menu listing a variety of payment options. To install PayPal, for example, scroll down the list, click on PayPal then click on the Install button located in the upper right hand corner of the screen.

You can add as many payment gateways (remember, the more the better) as you want following the same process. Modules>Payment>Payment Gateway>Install.

Once you’ve established payment methods, click on the particular payment method to insert merchant account details (very important to getting paid). You also have to check the Transaction mode to make sure you’re properly configured. To do this, click on the payment option where you entered your merchant account information. You’ll see a Transaction Mode popup. One button says Test, the other says Production.

At this point, since you aren’t open for business yet, click the test button to determine that you’re properly set up with all of the payment gateways you intend to offer. Then, remember to go back in and change this setting to the Production mode once your site is launched and you’re actually accepting payments. Don’t forget to do this or your orders won’t be processed and you’ll keep seeing the “Test Successful”  screen wondering why your orders aren’t going through.

How About a Grand Opening Sale?

Creating sales specials and other events is easy with osCommerce. Start on the administration page and click on the Catalog link. You’ll see a drop down menu that says Categories/Products (we’ve discussed this), Products Attributes (descriptions), Manufacturers (suppliers), Reviews (customer and editorial), Specials (sales and other events) and Product Expected (for back orders). Click on the Specials link.

Next, click on the new product link below the specials header. Then, just follow the prompts. Select the special item or items you want to put on sale and assign a sale price to each one. You’ll also be asked to provide a date when the special price expires.

That’s all there is to it. The sale items will appear on your site as sale items and will remain as such until the expiration date you’ve designated.

What If I Run Into Problems?

That’s what we’re here for. Setting up osCommerce and getting it configured just the way you want it can be confusing the first time through. It gets easier each time, however, so don’t worry if you’re confronted with a problem.

Simply pick up the phone and call the Website Source Help Desk and one of our knowledgeable consultants will help you through the set up and configuration process.

It really isn’t too difficult and once you’ve started the set-up and configuration process, the on-screen directions are extremely helpful – screen driven as they say.

osCommerce is a full service, endlessly adaptable checkout system that lets you take orders from countries around the world (with automatic currency exchange), add and delete products from your catalog, change the look of the checkout, change the information required to make a purchase, manage inventory and order fulfillment – it’s all there and more.

So give it a try and if you do run into a problem, give us a call. We’re here 24/7 to help you when you need it. After all, we recognize that our success depends on your success and we want you to succeed.

Let us show you how with osCommerce – the free, open source checkout that does it all.

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osCommerce Getting Started