alright this is my first time in this forum so try to bare with me. I am very new to this shopping cart craziness as well and have been spending the last few days researching all kinds of different programs and different ways to pay other people to do it. thats not what i am about at all and I am in a really similar situation to Robert H...

We have a custom leather studio and work art and craft circuits. we are picking up different avenues of business every week and need to be able to access, change and tweak the site on an ongoing basis.

someone was wonderful enough to already set the site up and as far as i know he controls the server it runs through. We signed up for a pay pals account today, already have a credit card machine for the events but i am getting lost somewhere in trying to allow people to buy from the site. and what i actually need to be able to set it up

the guy who made the site said he didnt want to mess with a cart cause they are a pain and i am starting to see that... ha. but i have hope. I want to write him an email and ask specifically what the deal is with the server we are ran on but beyond that i dont know what information i need. I have never had to deal with e-commerce and am pretty rusty with writing script but i know that a few more pots of coffee and long nights i will get back into the swing of things. any help will be eternally grateful.

Suggest you install zencart.. for that you will require ftp access, php,
and mysql database.
Having someone control your server is fine.. having same person
decide what programs/content you have on your server/domain is not.

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yeah I downloaded zencart... tried to install but found out about the whole mysql database deal. i am not gonna lie that is one of the roots of my confusion. I get that it is basically a giant database but is it actually essential to do this? and is that what makes my ability to take online transactions securely?

basically mysql and php are what is making me post on this site to begin with ha

I have ftp access i think cause i have already altered the site mildly with dreamweaver so all i need is php and mysql...? like i said i am pretty rusty with design in general and definitely some of the terms but maybe thats cause i didnt really need them ten years ago... but what is it i need for a php other then the type of language for my site? is it included in something like dreamweaver or do i have to download a separate program?

thank you for such a prompt reply. you might just be absolutely amazing

PHP should be installed on your webhosting server...
you do not have to install anything, only zencart.

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so the person who owns the server and started the site said if i want to use zen cart or anything like that i have to find another server. He had started one on 1freecart.com which has google or yahooads and i am pretty sure the security lacks a whole bunch. I would get all the transactions via my yahoo account and that just doesnt seem right. something about other accounts and limited space plus bandwidth issues to consider... ha. anyways... i am searching other options one of my distributors suggested sharing a goemerchant account. saying its pretty much self serve and does everything for ya and he is paying for it and only using one site so i could use the other and split the monthly. also something about being one of 6 online merchant companies approved and recommended by visa and mastercard.

mixed feelings on sharing the account but at this point i think i am going to have to pay someone for web hosting and make sure the security is there eitherway. so... i thought i was on the right track but spinning in circles again. part of me wants to do as much on my own and learn as much of it as i can and do it for the cheapest but he is telling me it can be up and fuctional from a support guy in like 30 minutes. i think its gonna be like 30 bucks a month though. i dont know how easy or to what extent i can change designs once they set it up.

any thoughts or suggestions?

Too expensive in my humble opinion.
ZenCart is Free.. decent webhosting for around $90 per year,
SSL cert at around $50.00 per year.
If you wish to sell your goods online, YOU need to be in control, not
someone else.
Get decent webhosting, choose cart program that suits your products,
purchase SSL cert for your domain name, for security, if you are going to take payments, even if it is only going to be paypal.
Simple strategy but effective.

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