Rose City Gardens » ecommerce

A Great Magento Resource

Web Wench — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 20:19:39 +0000

I am still enthralled by Magento, but have slowed down considerably since first downloading it. As I said before, it’s a much steeper learning curve than WordPress, or just about any other opensource application that I’ve tinkered around with!

That’s why I’m happy that the Digital Surgeons at ExploreMagento.com have started a blog that will hopefully address many of my questions about this awesome software!

I also very much like the way they are displaying comment numbers, with the little callout background – an idea I’m going to appropriate for my next theme release!

I just LOVE the Net!

More on Magento Cart

Web Wench — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 03:36:23 +0000

It’s been a few weeks, and I’ve been under the hood trying to master the skinning process behind Magento. It’s a lot more complicated than WordPress, that’s for sure!

However, I’ve made progress, and managed a three-column liquid layout for the front page. However, it’s still ALOT to learn, and I’ve got a long way to go. So we’re going to install the Modern Template for Magento, and finish up entering the products and such, then open the site and I’ll keep working on the skin. I hate feeling rushed when there are so many details to absorb, and this will give me the time to learn other aspects of the back end that I’ll need to know before we launch.

Yes, it’s hard to skin. Yes, it’s a lot more complicated than ZenCart. But if it’s twice as complicated as Zen, yet 100 times better, then I think the strain on the brain is worth it!

Magento Cart – I’m in Love!

Web Wench — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 18:04:52 +0000

I wanted to share what I believe is the best solution for an eCommerce site, bar none, and it’s FREE!

Magento is an opensource shopping cart application from Varien, and it beats all other solutions that I’ve tried, to hell and back!

One thing, though, the skinning is a pretty steep learning curve. If you don’t know html and css well, and at least know your way around a php file, then you’ll probably want to hire a designer – not me though, I’m still learning!

Check it out – I think you’ll agree that it’s worth the struggle! I finally got a little more comfortable with the files and have succeeded in replacing a logo and adjusting some widths.

Out of the box, it validates to XHTML 1.0 Strict – another plus for an obsessive-compulsive like me!

I give Magento 5 flowers, but it deserves 10!

New! WordPress Bookstore

Web Wench — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 22:32:16 +0000

I built an Amazon store and stocked it with the latest WordPress and blogging books – check it out! I didn’t use a plugin, but instead made a modified template file and included my aStore in an iframe. I’ll make a video or screencast tutorial soon on how to do it – it was super easy!

I am also getting VERY CLOSE on completing the Tickled Pink theme – you should expect an announcement in the next few days. I don’t know if I”ll submit it to the Theme Codex or not – or even whether they will accept it, but I’ll have it available for download soon. I have to finish the accompanying Simple:Press theme, Pinkish, as it will be part of the package.

I’ve also got another theme in the works that uses NextGEN Gallery – right now it’s just a bare outline in Photoshop and I’ll have to flesh it out but it won’t be long before it’s a nice theme for a gallery or portfolio site!

And – nothing to do with WordPress or with the Gardens, but: Congratulations to Senator Barack Obama on winning the Democratic nomination!