After Installation Admin Settings

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Getting your shopping cart running is like preparing your store for its opening. There are some settings you’d have to check. Keep in mind, an organized shopping cart is an easier one to maintain. There are 15 configuration options that you will be asked to set under the Admin> Configuration, this is setting up the foundation for your store billing and shipping and your market overlay. 

Admin> Configuration> My Store

This is where you set computations for both level taxes for every purchase made and shipping done.

Basic of Product Tax  - tax calculations for products purchased

Basis of Shipping Tax – tax calculations for shipped products

HTML Editor -There is also the matter of what editor you choose for your product descriptions and customer service related activity (e-mails and newsletters).

Admin> Configuration> E-Mail Options

E-mail to customers can be text or you can choose HTML based. If this is the case, enable USE MIME HTML When Sending Emails.

Settings for Admin receiving e-mails are found under the E-mail Admin Format

Settings for Admin receiving copies of messages automatically sent to your customer.

Admin> Configuration> Images

This is where you set image sizes best for your set-up

Admin> Configuration> GZip Compression

Page upload and display is faster using the GZip Compression. Some servers support this. As we have written from the start, knowing how you want your site to look helps you choose the features you need in a server. A virtual store site that is image heavy needs GZip as opposed to a moderately image based one.

Admin> Configuration> Customer Details

This is where you choose to have displayed/requested components or not.

Customer access authorization settings are found here. It is advisable to enable this setting for Customer Service purposes

Admin> Configuration> Credit Cards

Preference for card acceptance is enabled here.

Admin> Modules> Payment

Payment methods for your clients can be set under here.

Admin> Configuration> Shipping/Packaging

Setting indicating the Country of origin is enabled here.

Settings for Postal / Zip Codes are also enabled here.      

*keep in mind Zip codes can effectively assist you in shipping cost quotations.

Admin> Modules> Shipping

This is where you choose your preferred shipping providers.        

Admin> Locations/Taxes> Zones Definitions

There are tax zones in some regions and countries where taxes are required.

Admin> Locations/Taxes> Tax Classes

Some merchants have different tax combinations for every product, especially for distributor sites that deal with several suppliers from different locations. In lone product or solo brand sites one category is advisable.

Admin> Locations/Taxes> Tax Rates

This is where you link tax classes and zones. After this you can enter the tax rate for those combinations here.

Admin> Localization> Currencies

Currencies from the regions and countries you sell products to are set here for accept and process

Admin> Localization> Languages

The Zen Cart supports languages aside from English.

Admin – Catalog – Manufacturers

This setting is to link products on your site to its manufacturers, some online shops prefer to extend link as such.

Admin> Catalog> Categories/ Products

After setting all the information you will need for keeping track of your customer carts, now is the time to name categories for your products and assign products per category. For online stores that sell only one product, you could organize this by size or flavor or even variant.

These settings are set at the beginning of opening your store online, once made this would only be changed when needed. Some are eager to get started with their online cart with the thought that there is only product information to be uploaded. The set Admin> Configuration settings are put for your shopping cart to do the computing and assigning that needs to be done. If possible, have settings done before you even open your virtual store to save you time from having to go back once you site is online.