Roadmap

[jaguartx]

I'm new to OsCommerce. I'm an experienced software developer but my expertise is outside web development. I'm just barely complete the installation and anxious to learn how to customize my web site. I would like to start with a fairly simple web page layout and increase the complexity gradually. I read the modification guide a little bit and really not sure is the right place to learn how to layout a simple web page in a couple of hours. I would appreciate suggestions on the sequence of readings I need to do to eventually build a full-function on-line store.

[jpf]

Start small - Read up on CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) - OSC uses them and you can get 50% of the look you need by edit this and modifing/changing the "default" graphic/icons and text.

More complex - To get the another 49% - changing the FEAL/Layout - I would suggest BTS (like that MS2-MAX version uses) then you can modify the total layout of any parts of it too (in any HTML editor including WYSIWYG editors - like Dreamweaver etc...). There is some sites out there than look totally diffent than the standard pakage - just buy editing the CSS, Graphics, default language/text strings and the BTS (the "template") files - with NO programing in PHP.

Over all you can edit it 99% without modifing any PHP code if you want.

More Complex - (the last 1%) Of cource you may add other MODS if you want or change how it OPERATES - but then you have to get into PHP code and/or MySQL. Custom programing etc... The last 1% is the hardest but over all you can change OSC to do ANYTHING you want a "online" cart to do... Just remember it is a "Shopping Cart" not some other type of program which it is not well suited for (like using it for a forum - you can however intergrate it into a forum software if you wish...people have done it!).

Yes you can change it 100% to what you want - best of all you don't have to spend a DIME on it....however it may still cost - your time is never FREE.

Good Luck!