BlueHost or Host-99 has installed Zen Cart but the site design is, shall we say, less than desired? And the admin panel is a bit intimidating and confusing? Never fear, follow the steps below and you will soon be on your way to customizing the look of your online store! So log in to your Zen Cart admin panel and let's get started!

BASIC DESIGN CONFIGURATIONS
Step 1: Hide your store from the public while you are building content and design.

• Collect your IP address, it will be listed in the footer of your web site. (Click on "Online Catalog" in the admin panel at any time to open your web site in a new window.)
• In the admin area, scroll over Configuration and click on Web Site Maintenance.
• Click on "Down For Maintenance (exclude this IP-Address)" and enter your IP address in the form field. Click on Update.
• On the same page, click on "Down for Maintenance: ON/OFF". Select True and click on Update.
• Now the only computer that will be able to view your site is yours, all others will see a page that says "Down for Maintenance".

Step 2: Template Selection & Installation
One of the best features of Zen Cart is the template system which allows you to change only a few files to change the look and design of your web site. Because Zen Cart is an Open Source platform, there are many web sites offering free Zen Cart Templates. A few of the sites are listed below:

• eSales411 FREE ZEN CART TEMPLATES
• Zen Cart Templates

Most Zen Cart template packages will come with installation instructions. You can use either a ftp client or your web host C Panel to upload the files to the correct directories.

Now that your template files have been installed, you can use the admin panel to activate the template.

• While logged into your Zen Cart admin panel, scroll over Tools and click on Template Selection.
• The right side of the page will have a list of installed templates. You should see your new template listed.
• Click on Edit and select your new template from the drop down list. Click on Update.
• Click on "Online Catalog" and you will see the beginings of your new template.

Step 3: Customization of Your New Template.
You've got a color scheme you like but your store isn't named "Zen Cart" and you may ask how do I get rid of the "Sponsors" box? Following the steps below you will learn how to upload your own logo and arrange and deactivate the sideboxes.

CHANGE YOUR LOGO

• To change the logo that came with your template, upload a new image titled logo.gif to the following directory includes/templates/YOUR_TEMPLATE/images/ and replace the image that came with the template set.
• Your new logo image must be in gif format and should be approximately the same size and the default image.
• eSales411 FREE ZEN CART TEMPLATES come with a Photoshop document that will allow you to create your logo in photoshop.

CHANGING THE SIDEBOXES

• In the admin scroll over "Tools" and click on "Layout Boxes Controller"
• On this page you will see a list of all available boxes. Simply click on each box and change the settings turning it on or off and assigning it to the left, right, or header position. You can also set the sort order of each box on this page.
• Check your work by clicking on "Online Catalog".

Now your getting somewhere! A web site with the colors and layout you like and your own logo.