ZenCart. Engine installation

The following manual shows the complete process of the ZenCart e-commerce solution installation. Starting from the engine download and to the final steps of the setup procedure.

Download ZenCart engine

This tutorial shows how to download ZenCart engine package to your computer. ZenCart engine is required to install and run ZenCart online store.

To download ZenCart engine please visit the official ZenCart website at zen-cart.com.

1. From the right column click the Download button to get the most recent version of ZenCart engine.

2. In case you need earlier versions click the "Download older versions link". Select the required engine series and download the package you need.

The ZenCart engine is downloaded as a .zip archive so you need to extract the files from the package before you’ll be able to work with them. Feel free to check the detailed tutorials on how to extract files from the archives.

You can also check the video tutorial on how to Download ZenCart engine.

Upload ZenCart engine to the hosting server

When you are done extracting the files from the downloaded package you need to upload them to your hosting server. This can be down using the FTP manager application like FileZilla or TotalCommnader. The upload option can also be available in the File Manager interface from your hosting control panel.

If you have some difficulties please check the detailed tutorial on how to upload files to the hosting server.

ZenCart installation process

The file upload is complete so you can start the installation. Open your browser and in the address bar type your domain name and root to the directory with the ZenCart files. You should see the initial ZenCart installation screen.

1. Click the “Click here to begin the installation” link.

2. Check the ZenCart engine description and the requirements. Click Continue button

3. Read the license agreement. Check the agree radio button. Click Continue button to proceed.

4. Make sure your hosting server matches the ZenCart engine requirements. Otherwise you’ll see the error message. Contact your hosting provider if the System Inspection screen shows any errors. If everything is OK click Install button at the bottom of the screen.

5. At the Database setup step you need to input your database details. Note that you should have a new database created. Feel free to check the detailed tutorial on how to create a database.

You need to input the database host name, user name, password and database name. All these details can be obtained from your hosting control panel or contacting your hosting provider.

6. At the System Setup step you can define the root to your ZenCart installation and install SSL certificate. If you are not sure please do not perform any changes on this step. Click the Save System Settings at the bottom of the screen to proceed.

7. Store setup step lets you input the store info like store name, country and region. The Store demo at the bottom allows you to install the default ZenCart sample data – sample products that allow to test the store functionality. If you are using purchased ZenCart template there is no need to install default demo store. The sample products are provided within the template package.

8.At the Administrator Account Setup step you need to create the store administrator account. Input Administrator user name, email and password. Keep these details save to avoid unauthorized access.

Congratulations. You’ve successfully installed ZenCart store. Use the buttons at the bottom of the screen to access the store frontend or the ZenCart administration panel.

Fore security reasons it is highly recommended to set permissions for the configuration files to read only and rename the admin folder