Not sure if I can do this

[woozle35]

Hi All,

Apologies if I have posted in the wrong section but this is my first time on here. We are setting up our own business and looking to set uo our website. I was iniatially going to use 'create' but have been advised to use 'prestashop'. I have never set up a website before. I have set up databases at work and am reasonable computer knowledge.

Do you think prestashop is to hard for someone of my experience?

I seem to be struggling just downlaoding it.

Would really appreciate any assistance.

Thanks Viki

[John Horton]

Hi there,

I can relate to some of what you say.

Prestashop is probably the easiest to use of its kind. Have you tried the admin demo? But there are a couple of relatively unfriendly steps to get Prestashop setup to start doing the easy stuff. This is because there are lots of different environments to run Prestashop from.

As you can see from that everything is all about pressing the right button. And nothing technical is required although the large number of features do mean some things are not obvious.

But you said about having trouble downloading Prestashop. You should just be able to click this link, enter your name and email and you will get it.

If this is not working then please reply with specific error or details.

Hope I can help.

John

[woozle35]

Thanks John, I will have a look at the admin demo tomorrow.

With the installing its this bit I dont understand:

Now that you have the necessary components installed on your hosting server, there are a few things to check before installing the PrestaShop e-Commerce software.

1.Create a database for your store, or use the database designated by your hosting company.
2.Turn on GD Library functionality. On a default installation of PHP, the GD Library is turned off. The standard Windows instructions are:
1.In the root directory of your PHP folder, open the php.ini file.
2.Uncomment the line extension=php_gd2.dll (about half-way through the file, in the middle of a long list of extensions) by deleting the ;
3.Restart the services.
3.Download the PrestaShop e-Commerce solution software.
4.Unzip the PrestaShop ZIP archive anywhere on your hard drive.
5.Upload the contents (not the folder itself) of the /prestashop folder to the root directory (e.g., http://www.mysite.com/) of your hosting server via FTP. You can also upload the files to a subdirectory you’ve created (e.g., http://www.mysite.com/prestashop/) if you wish to keep your root homepage separate.
6.While you have your FTP connected to your Web hosting server, make sure the following PrestaShop folders have ‘write’ permissions (also known as “CHMOD 777” – explanation of file permissions here) but do not apply these permissions recursively (to their subfolders): /config, /upload, /download, /tools/smarty/compile. Then make sure the following folders have ‘write’ permissions and apply these permissions recursively (to their subfolders): /img, /mails, /modules, /themes/prestashop/lang, /translations
7.In a Web browser, launch the Installer by adding install to your shop’s URL (e.g., http://www.mysite.com/prestashop/install).
8.Upon completing the PrestaShop Installer wizard, use your FTP software to navigate to your /prestashop folder. There, delete the /install folder and rename the /admin folder (for example, /admin123 or, even better, /xyz789). This is for security reasons. If later you forget the name you gave the /admin folder, you can confirm its name via your FTP browser.
Congratulations! Installation is now complete.
Viki

[John Horton]

Hi Viki,

Yes, in one big lump that is quite confusing and daunting. But a bit at a time its really quite simple. Also the instructions given are a little ambiguous. They start with "Now you have the files installed..." but of course at this stage they are not installed. Also there is no discussion of where you will be installing your Prestashop. This is important because the instructions change depending upon where.

So are you setting up (a) a live shop on a web hosting company asap or are you ( just practicing/developing on your home PC?

If (a) let me know who your web hosting company is and I will try and find you a tutorial for step 1 - creating a database. Also have you registered a domain name yet?

if ( have you installed the web server/database software yet on your home pc?

Hopefully we can point you in the right direction.

John

[John Horton]

Hi Vikki,

in answer to your PM. I would register your domain name with your web host. This will almost certainly make things simpler.

After registering your domain name you need to work out how to add files to the web space pointed to by your new domain name. Then you can get started with the Prestashop guide and we can take it a step at a time.

You will probably have access to your web space through a couple of different methods. One is FTP which involves obtaining an FTP username and password from your web host and then using a free bit of free software like filezilla.

Alternatively you can log into your web hosts control panel and there will probably be a slightly simpler, but probably slower way to browse to the files you want to upload.

When you have worked out how to do this have a read of this tutorial which looks at Prestashop installation in a slightly more broken up way.

And feel free to post here again if you come across any more stumbling blocks.

John