Renee D Posted January 5, 2014 Share Posted January 5, 2014 Hi There, When we first installed osCommerce we installed the new version, V2.3.3.4 - we are having trouble configuring it (we are not that IT savy) however we were advised to look for a free template to make things easier, but on looking there aren't alot of free templates around for this version, but heaps for the older version V2.3....... Would you recommend us to uninstall V2.3.3.4 and install V2.2 so we can download template and make it easier to configure? Is it even possible to install the older version? thanks heaps for any responses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
burt Posted January 5, 2014 Share Posted January 5, 2014 You would be MAD to use 2.2 because you want a free template. There are some very good templates available for 2.3.3.4 at very little cost. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renee D Posted January 5, 2014 Author Share Posted January 5, 2014 lol....I was wondering if someone was going to say that! I will let my Manager know and see what she wants to do!!! Is it easy to configure the templates once downloaded? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mort-lemur Posted January 5, 2014 Share Posted January 5, 2014 It would not be very sensible to go below a 2.3 version - 2.3.3.4 would be the best choice. 2.2 requires a lot of fixes to make it secure, it then needs a lot of code changes to make it work on php 5.3 then will stop working when your host moves to php 5.4 as happened in my case. on top of that assess what support you would get on the "Free" template - it may be a false economy if they are not well supported. I ran on 2.2Rc2a stores (without any template) for many years until php 5.4 forced me to upgrade - During upgrading to a new 2.3.3.4 store I decided to get a "New Look" for the store so purchased MTS to give me that look. Im no coder - but I managed it with some effort, a small cost and a lot of forum help - so give it a go.... Now running on a fully modded, Mobile Friendly 2.3.4 Store with the Excellent MTS installed - See my profile for the mods installed ..... So much thanks for all the help given along the way by forum members. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renee D Posted January 5, 2014 Author Share Posted January 5, 2014 @@Mort-lemur - thanks for your insight......can you please tell me what "MTS" is? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mort-lemur Posted January 5, 2014 Share Posted January 5, 2014 It is one of the commercially available templates - there are others as well - take a look at some and decide which fits best your needs Now running on a fully modded, Mobile Friendly 2.3.4 Store with the Excellent MTS installed - See my profile for the mods installed ..... So much thanks for all the help given along the way by forum members. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
♥joli1811 Posted January 5, 2014 Share Posted January 5, 2014 Hi Renee, Few nice templates--> here Regards Joli To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrPhil Posted January 6, 2014 Share Posted January 6, 2014 on top of that assess what support you would get on the "Free" template - it may be a false economy if they are not well supported. Keep in mind that many "templates", whether free or paid, are actually very heavily modified versions of osC 2.2. They're not a "template" in the same sense as, say, Wordpress templates. Most cannot be supported in this forum, and you are entirely dependent on the template provider for support, which can get very expensive. Most people here consider it to be not worth the effort -- that you're better off with 2.3 with relatively minor "template" code modifications and most of the changes in CSS. Use "add-ons" from the library rather than custom code or template-supplied customizations -- you'll likely get better support. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
♥14steve14 Posted January 6, 2014 Share Posted January 6, 2014 I can not believe that someone wants to back port software. That's like using windows 98 because you like the look. To change the look of oscommerce is not that hard, once you read a few threads and look at a few websites. Why you would want to use old dated and insecure software is way beyond me. REMEMBER BACKUP, BACKUP AND BACKUP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrPhil Posted January 6, 2014 Share Posted January 6, 2014 Why you would want to use old dated and insecure software is way beyond me. Because they don't know any better. A 2.2 template looks nice and it's not obvious that the underlying software is old and decayed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
burt Posted January 6, 2014 Share Posted January 6, 2014 lol....I was wondering if someone was going to say that! I will let my Manager know and see what she wants to do!!! Is it easy to configure the templates once downloaded? In a properly made template, there is nothing to configure. All configuration is done within the template itself or from the admin area of osCommerce. Think of a properly made template as a wallpaper - the wall stays the same, but now looks better. As @@MrPhil states, most templates you can get supply a whole new osCommerce which is mashed up unbelievably to do some really basic things. Avoid these. When you find a template you like ask the vendor: 1. Will it work with my already installed 2.3.3.4 (or whatever version you are running). 2. How many core files does the template change If the answer to #1 is "no", don't purchase If the answer to #2 is greater than (say) 10, don't purchase In essence you need to ensure that any template/theme/look you end up using is not going to cause issues when you need to go from (say) 2.3.3.4 to (say) 2.3.3.5 to 2.3.3.6 to 2.3.4 and so on. That is the exact reason why you (or anyone contemplating purchasing a template) should do their homework and perhaps not jump on the first pretty template they see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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