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One difficulty one may have as a first-time owner of an e-commerce site is the terms that are used loosely which is the origin of all confusion. When you scroll down to the end page of any Algozone website some links to products are arranged side by side. The phrases osCommerce Template and osCommerce Skins are often mistaken one for the other. We’ve always recommended for e-commerce starter-sites to purchase a template first and build up the site for it to be ready for shopping cart integration. To get you started on the template you would want to purchase and the skins you would like to have, we must first define the two terms. Skins and Templates are what makes up a layout, one template can have several skins while skins can be used for different templates. The difference of these 2 elements goes beyond color and lines, read on since most osCommerce sites deal in these terms. The Skin is the term used for all the following elements of how a page is to look.

• Index -This is your Home Page
• Content Page – your post and comments
• Archive List – this is where all your prior articles have been put in folders according to month.
• Archive – is the page where all entries for the month are displayed.
• Pop-ups – this is where images of a pop up are controlled.

Taking the elements into consideration, Skins are the outer part of the layout which attract and engage the browsers. The template on the other hand has the items below to control for a websites’ look.

• Item header – Your post title and description.
• Item Body – This is the posted text.
• Item Footer – this can contain added information or footnote or a Learn More text to redirect a reader to another page.
• Comments Area – this is where messages are typed and posted if the site owner wishes.

The Template is also responsible for the ‘look’ of each item above and some of the organizing elements that make up a website page. The following are the controlled by the template itself: archives look, categories in the navigation bar, parts of the search & query and the locale settings (date & time).

Both the template and the skin are complimentary; it all boils down to the Template being the framework while the Skin is the outward component of a site. Without a skin a template will look drab while a skin just can’t be without a template. AlgoZone osCommerce templates are all designed for the comfort and ease of any customer while the skins are there to delight the eye.

Feel free to visit AlgoZone for osCommerce Skins and Templates that are adaptable to any platform.