Easy Get Started Guide

  1. Install the cart (skip this step if your web provider has a installation program or they install it for you)
  2. Edit shop.cfg to reflect the correct values for your web site or generate the shop.cfg file online here
  3. Set the $shopping_root variable in the shop.cfg file to the same value as you are going to put the shopping cart's HTML pages.
  4. Put the shop.cfg file in the same directory as the shop.pl file.
  5. Make sure you have a directory called lists in your $shopping_root directory and the permissions on it are set to 777 (UNIX) or is writable by the web server (Windows NT).
  6. Download the demo shopping cart pages. (if not already installed).
  7. Unzip the demo cart pages and put them in your $shopping_root directory.
  8. Call the cart program like this: http://www.yourdomain.com/cgi-local/shop.pl/page=estore.htm. An alternate way to call the cart is http://www.yourdomain.com/cgi-local/shop.pl?page=estore.htm (cgi-local is whatever your path to your cgi directory is and estore.htm is whatever your start HTML page is for the cart.)
  9. Make sure the cart functions correctly by putting an order through. The order should come in a email receipt to the cart's administrator email address. (This email address is specified in the shop.cfg file)
  10. Using the demo cart pages as a model, construct your shopping cart web pages or convert your web pages to work with the cart.
  11. In the process of doing the step above, modify the product database to have your products in it.
  12. Open your store for business!