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7 Secrets Of Cheap Web Hosting

What Web Hosting Companies Don't Want You To Know

In this report, you will learn the truth about:

1. Unlimited Disk Space – Can you truly get unlimited disk space when you know hard drives cost money?

2. Unlimited Bandwidth – Are you being cheated by companies claiming unlimited bandwidth?

3. Limited Subdomains – When a domain belongs to you, should the number of subdomains be limited?

4. Limited MySQL Databases – Is your database being limited by number and not by size?

5. Over-selling – Did you know that there are more accounts on a server than it could handle?

6. Over-hyped Guarantees – When nothing is perfect, can someone really guarantee you 100% uptime?

7. No WHOIS Privacy – Can you get privacy when your WHOIS detail is not protected?

Subscribe to my blog and receive a copy of 7 Secrets Of Cheap Web Hosting! Subscribing is free and you can unsubscribe at any time.

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Powered By osCommerce

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Powered By osCommerce

Learn how to install osCommerce in 10 minutes orless!

Rezdwan Hamid

www.rezdwanhamid.com

http://www.rezdwanhamid.com/

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This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Singapore License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/sg/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, 171 Second Street, Suite 300, San Francisco, California, 94105, USA.

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/sg/



Table Of Contents

Preface....................................................................VIConventions.........................................................VIErratas...............................................................VIIQuestions............................................................VIIFeedbacks...........................................................VIIContact...............................................................VIIDownloads..........................................................VII

Introduction...........................................................VIIIAssumptions............................................................IXPart 1 – Creating Database For osCommerce..................1

Step 1 – Log in to cPanel.........................................2Step 2 – Create new database for osCommerce..........4Step 3 – Create user for osCommerce database..........7Step 4 – Add user to osCommerce database...............9

Part 2 – Preparing osCommerce For Installation............13Step 1 – Download osCommerce.............................14Step 2 – Upload osCommerce.................................16Step 3 – Extract osCommerce.................................22Step 4 – Prepare configure.php for osCommerce.......27

Part 3 – Installing osCommerce And Post-Installation....32Step 1 – Install osCommerce..................................33Step 2 – Post-installation.......................................38

V

Preface

Preface

I have written this book as a guide to those who are new to installing osCommerce. If you have never run your own site and/or install web applications on a server, because you find it to be a daunting task, then this book is for you.

As much as possible, I try to stay away from using too much technical terms. Instead, I prefer to use simple terms that anyone can understand. The step-by-step approach along with screenshots should make installing osCommerce a breeze even for a complete beginner.

Conventions

In this book, you will find a number of styles of text that distinguish between different kind of information. Listed below are some examples of those styles and an explanation of their meaning.

Cautions – Any warnings that you need to be aware of will look like this paragraph.

Notes – Any useful information that you may want to know will look like this paragraph.

Tips – Any useful tips and tricks that you may be able to apply will look like this paragraph.

In addition to the examples above, two different typefaces will be used to describe outputs from the screen and inputs that you will have to type in. For outputs from the screen, the text will be in bold. For inputs that you will need to enter, the text will be in italic.

VI

Preface

Erratas

Although I have taken every care to ensure the accuracy of the contents, mistakes do happen. If you spot any mistakes in this book, please report them to me by sending me an email. By doing so, you will not only help me improve my book but also help other readers.

Questions

This book was not meant to be a comprehensive guide for installing osCommerce. If you have any questions regarding the installation process, feel free to send me an email and I will try to assist you in the best possible way that I can.

Feedbacks

I am constantly improving my books for the benefit of the readers. Your invaluable feedbacks is one of the ways I can improve my books. Let me know what you like or dislike about my books by sending me an email.

Contact

To contact me regarding any of the abovementioned issues, please visit my site at www.rezdwanhamid.com and click on the Contact link that is available at the top of the page.

Downloads

A printable copy of this book is available for download at www.rezdwanhamid.com/downloads/.

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http://www.rezdwanhamid.com/downloads/

http://www.rezdwanhamid.com/contact/

http://www.rezdwanhamid.com/

Introduction

Introduction

osCommerce is an online shop e-commerce solution that offers a wide range of out-of-the-box features that allows online stores to be setup fairly quickly with ease, and is available for free as an Open Source based solution released under the GNU General Public License.

osCommerce was started in March 2000 and has since matured to a solution that is currently powering 11,431 registered live shops around the world.

Today, osCommerce has been taken to the next level, moving towards an e-commerce framework solution that not only remains easy to setup and maintain, but also making it easier for store administrators to present their stores to their customers with their own unique requirements.

The success of osCommerce is secured by a great and active community where members help one another out and participate in development issues reflecting upon the current state of the project.

Excerpt taken from About osCommerce page.

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http://www.oscommerce.com/about/about

Assumptions

Assumptions

It is impossible to cover all the different hardware, software and server configurations that everyone may have. Therefore, a few assumptions has been made and it should cover the most common ones.

I am assuming that:

• your web hosting account is running on Linux.

• your web hosting account is using cPanel.

• you want to install osCommerce in a subdirectory (such as www.domain.com/shop/).

• your web hosting account meets all the requirements that is needed by osCommerce (such as Apache, MySQL and PHP).

Except for the last item, the assumptions above is not meant to serve as requirements that must be met. Other setups will still be able to install osCommerce and the methods may differ slightly. Most of the time, whatever that is written in this book applies to other setups too.

It doesn't matter whether your computer is running Windows, Mac or Linux. The instructions in this book uses web based installation methods via a web browser (such as Internet Explorer, Safari or Firefox).

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Part 1 – Creating Database For osCommerce


1. Log in to cPanel

2. Create new database for osCommerce

3. Create user for osCommerce database

4. Add user to osCommerce database

1


Step 1 – Log in to cPanel

Open a web browser and log in to cPanel. The URL is usually something like www.domain.com/cpanel/ where domain.com is replaced with your actual domain.

Enter your username and password (that was given by your web hosting provider) into the Authentication Required dialog box that pops up and then click on the OK button.

2


After logging in, you will see your cPanel home page like the one shown above.

If this is the first time that you are logging in to cPanel, I recommend that you change your cPanel password. You can do that by clicking on the Change Password button in the Preferences group.

3


Step 2 – Create new database for osCommerce

At the cPanel home page, scroll down until you see the Databases group. Click on the MySQL Databases icon like the one circled above.

4


You will now see the MySQL Databases page like the one shown above. In the Create New Database area, type in shop and click on the Create Database button beside it.

You can name the new database anything you want but try to keep it short and descriptive for you to remember later.

5


After successfully creating a new database, you will get the Added the database username_shop. message. Click on the Go Back link.

Your account username and an underscore character will be prepended to the new database. This is normal and it is not an error.

6


Step 3 – Create user for osCommerce database

Back at the MySQL Databases page, scroll down to the Add New User area. Type in shop for the Username and enter a password in the Password and Password (Again) text box. After that, click on the Create User button.

Just like the database name, you can also name your database user anything you want. Do note that your account username will also be prepended to this username.

You can create your own password or use the Generate Password button to create one. Please remember the password that you type in here as you will need it later during the installation process.

7


After successfully adding a new user, you will see the Added user shop with the password <yourpassword>. message. Click on the Go Back link.

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Step 4 – Add user to osCommerce database

Back at the MySQL Databases page, scroll down to the Add User To Database area. Ensure that the User and Database that you have created previously is selected and then click on the Add button.

9


At the Manage User Privileges page, click on the ALL PRIVILEGES check box and then click on the Make Changes button.

10


After successfully adding the user to the database, you will see the User username_shop was added to the database username_shop. message. Click on the Go Back Link.

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Back at the MySQL Databases page, you will now see that the user has been added to the database in the Current Databases area.

The osCommerce database is now ready for use.

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Part 2 – Preparing osCommerce For Installation


1. Download osCommerce

2. Upload osCommerce

3. Extract osCommerce

4. Prepare configuration.php For osCommerce

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Step 1 – Download osCommerce

Open a new browser window or tab and go to http://www.oscommerce.com/solutions/downloads. Click on the oscommerce-2.2rc2a.zip link like the one highlighted in yellow above.

At the time of this writing, the latest stable version is osCommerce 2.2 RC 2a. This may change over time.

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http://www.oscommerce.com/solutions/downloads


When asked by your browser, make sure you select to save the file to your computer and remember where it is being saved.

15


Step 2 – Upload osCommerce

Go to your cPanel home page and scroll down to the Files group. Click on the File Manager icon like the one circled above.

16


If it is not already selected, click on the Web Root radio button in the File Manager Directory Selection dialog box that pops up. After that, click on the Go button.

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A new browser window or tab will open showing the File Manager page. Click on the Upload icon like the one circled above.

18


A new browser window or tab will open showing the Upload Files page. Click on any one of the Browse... button.

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Navigate to and select the osCommerce zip file that you downloaded earlier in the File Upload window that pops up and then click on the Open button.

20


You can now see the status of the osCommerce zip file as it is being uploaded. Once the upload completes, click on the Back to /home/username/public_html link.

The link might be slightly different depending on your web hosting server setup.

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Step 3 – Extract osCommerce

Back at the File Manager page, you will now see the osCommerce zip file that has already been uploaded. Click on the check box beside the osCommerce zip file icon and then click on the Extract icon like the one circled above.

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In the Extract dialog box that pops up, click on the Extract File(s) button.

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Once the osCommerce zip file has been successfully extracted, you will be presented with the Extraction Results dialog box. Click on the Close button.

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In the File Manager page, double-click on the oscommerce-2.2rc2a folder icon. You should now see all the osCommerce files within this folder.

Click on the checkbox beside the catalog folder icon and then click on the Move File icon like the one circled above.

25


In the Move dialog box that pops up, change the move path from oscommerce-2.2rc2a to shop and then click on the Move File(s) button.

This will move the catalog folder to the root directory and rename it to shop in one step.

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Step 4 – Prepare configure.php for osCommerce

In the File Manager page, click on the Reload icon like the one circled above. You should now see a new shop folder which contains the osCommerce files. Double-click the shop folder icon.

27


Double-click on the includes folder icon. You should now see the configure.php file along with other files.

Click on the checkbox beside the configure.php file and then click on the Change Permissions icon like the one shown above.

28


In the Change Permissions dialog box that pops up, click on all the Write check box until the Permission box shows up as 777. After that click on the Change Permissions button.

29


Go back to the shop folder. Double-click on the admin folder icon and then double-click on the includes folder icon. You should now see the configure.php file along with other files.

Click on the checkbox beside the configure.php file and then click on the Change Permissions icon like the one shown above.

30


In the Change Permissions dialog box that pops up, click on all the Write check box until the Permission box shows up as 777. After that click on the Change Permissions button.

osCommerce is now ready to be installed.

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Part 3 – Installing osCommerce And Post-Installation


1. Install osCommerce

2. Post-installation

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Step 1 – Install osCommerce

Open a new web browser window or tab and go to www.domain.com/shop/ where domain.com is replaced with your actual domain.

You will now see the osCommerce New Installation page. Click on the Continue button like the one circled above.

The Server Capabilities should all have a green tick beside it. If not, get help from your web hosting provider.

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At the osCommerce Database Server page, enter the following configurations and then click on the Continue button like the one circled above.

• Database Server: localhost

• Username: username_shop

• Password: <yourpassword>

• Database Name: username_shop

It will take some time while the database structure is being imported. Please wait a while and do not click any buttons or reload the page.

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At the osCommerce Web Server page, enter your WWW Address and Webserver Root Directory (if it is not automatically filled in for you).

After that click on the Continue button like the one circled above.

35


At the osCommerce Online Store Settings page, fill in the values for Store Name, Store Owner Name, Store Owner E-mail Address, Administrator Username and Administrator Password and then click on the Continue button like the one circled above.

36


At the osCommerce Finish! page, you can either click on the Catalog or Administration Tool button like the one circled above.

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Step 2 – Post-installation

Back at the File Manager page, navigate to and click on the check box beside the install folder icon in the shop folder and then click on the Delete button like the one circled above.

Ensure that no other file(s) or folder(s) has been selected.

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At the Delete dialog box that pops up, click on the Delete File(s) button.

If other file(s) or folder(s) are accidentally selected, click on the Cancel button, the Reload button and select the correct folder again before clicking on the Delete button.

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In the File Manager page, navigate to the includes folder. Click on the checkbox beside the configure.php file. After that, click on the Change Permissions icon like the one circled above.

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At the Change Permissions dialog box that pops up, click on the Write and the Execute check box under User, Group and World until the Permission box shows up as 644. After that, click on the Change Permissions button.

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In the File Manager page, navigate to the admin folder and then the includes folder. Click on the checkbox beside the configure.php file. After that, click on the Change Permissions icon like the one circled above.

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At the Change Permissions dialog box that pops up, click on the Write and the Execute check box under User, Group and World until the Permission box shows up as 644. After that, click on the Change Permissions button.

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Navigate to and click on the check box beside the osCommerce zip file that you uploaded and the osCommerce folder that you extracted earlier. After that click on the Delete button like the one circled above.

Click the Delete File(s) button in the Delete dialog box that pops up.

Congratulations! osCommerce is now installed.

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