help_makecartpages

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help makecartpages

If you are making a store, with products to buy, you will want to use this method.

Using the catalog database and creating a store is not an entirely trivial matter, and thus, can be a bit confusing, and you may need to purchase a little one-on-one phone assistance. Try following these directions first:


1. Make a few category pages and tell them to be 'Catalog Pages'

After logging in, create a few pages in your SITE MAP, giving them the names of the categories you want, such as "Shoes", "Videos" and "Apparel", or whatever you want.

In your SITE MAP, click the Page Modify icon next to the actual page. Under the "Page Type" section click "Catalog Page" radio button. This step tells the page to be a Catalog Page.

Click "Save Changes / Update" button. This saves your work.


2. Now we need to make the Catalog Database "see" those pages and put some products into the Catalog.

Near top of page, click on blue INVENTORY link, which takes you to the catalog area.

In open field under the "Manage Product Categories" area enter the name of the category, say it's "Shoes".

Click on the appropriate radio button to determine which type of category you want to use.

Repeat this step to create other categories as needed.

3. Now add some products to the database:

Under "Add New Products" section enter the name of a product, and click Add.

Do this with a few products.

4. Now we detail the products, and tell them which categories to show up in:

Click the "View all Uncategorized Items" link. The items you've added will appear below.

Click an item and fill in whatever info you want it to have.

At the bottom of this page, there is an area labeled "Add This Product To These Categories" -- select the category(s) that apply - for instance "Mens Shoes" (or whatever you have there).

At bottom of page, click "Update" when you're finished with this item. You can go back anytime and change or update this info.

5. Last step: Choose a Product Template to define how your shopping cart pages will look to your users:

A word about Product Templates: When a user clicks a link to see your shopping cart pages, which are being fed from your database, the database needs to know what you want the pages to look like. For instance where do you want the "Add To Cart" button to be, and the product picture, and any descriptive text, etc...This is done by pointing the database to a page called a Product Template and saying "make my shopping cart pages look like this!" to the database.

Go back to your Site Map area (the to get there is at the top of screen and is called "Site Pages").

Next to the big blue word "Templates" is a button labeled "Manage" - click it. A box will pop up.

Make sure the List: and Detail: selections are set to Default, and click Update button at bottom of box.

Note: You can select a display template other than 'Default' if you like -- you can actually create as many display templates as you like and use them all if you want - but to get most people started, using the Default template is good at first.

Preview your work:

Click the Preview button (near top right side of page), choose any of the resolutions (800 x 600 is the most common) and click the category name in the nav bar. Your products should be showing up!

Do this with your other products that are still appearing under "Uncategorized Items".

Click here to find out more about customizing your product templates