Re: Opening store. Is osCommerce for me? Help!

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> [*] Keep a simple, east to run shop
Simple maybe, easy - it depends. 

> [*] Don't need a ton of extras; it's a no-frills shop
Ok, but you'll have to disable some things, because the original shop is too loaded IMHO.

> [*] Keep time involved in running it [b]low[/b] (I spend most time manufacturing product)
Hard to do. IMHO requires a lot of work in setting up.

What features I want from osCommerce:

> [*] [b]* Ability to export entire MySQL database in case of server migration[/b]

Database backup possible. You can also install phpMyAdmin (suggested!) and export/import DB through it.

> [*] Ability to turn off shipping (all shipping is free)
Requires some work if you want to it too look good or setting Order Total/Shipping/free shipping over amount to something low, like $0.01 or even 0. (this will give you a shipping page with address selection and a friendly text saying Free shipping - recommended)

> [*] Customizable input fields in the checkout area
Requires change descriptions in language files, adding/deleting fields in php files - some work but not much.

> [*] Ability to order without "Registering for an Account"
There's a contribution "purchase without account", I don't use it.

> [*] Integration with my current CSS code[list=a]
> [*] My whole template is 100% CSS, and is under 10k [b]with graphics[/b]
Big osCommerce problem. It's 90% table based. It's table inside table and having table inside, no divs, no spans. Make product images "progressive" so they'll show up while loading.

> [*] I [b]NEED[/b] low load times so this is key[/list]
You would have to redesign all the shop (make it more CSS) or get rid of most images, cut all indentation in php files, keep your images low, etc.

>Also, as a side note...there might even be a possibility of using >osCommerce as a simple backend, and using my hand-built HTML pages >as the front end with links to the order pages on each one. 
>I'm sure that's possible, but are there any issues I'll run into with that in >osCommerce?

It's possible, but I'm sure two weeks are not enough to get consistent look.

To sum up: osCommerce is a GREAT shop but requires much work to make it look better. For example making a shop (not very complicated) 
http://www.swiatpc.pl/Macki/catalog took me about 8 days. (although it has some additional admin features, product import, shipping modules etc.). 

If you want it fast and and don't have time to play with it (it's not plug'n'play), I suggest hiring someone to do the work. I would do something like that for $50 and I'm not the only developer here.

If you want to do it yourself, some tips:
- view source code of shop's main page in your browser, format it carefully (beware of some <td><table ... > lines, strangely formatted) and get accustomed to it. 
- to modify boxes, edit includes/classes/boxes.php
- play for a while CSS, it's sometimes complicated what goes where.
- try www.oscdox.com and look for something like "changing layout". You'll find there an image with "what on screen is what in CSS file".
- make a backup before installing any contribution.Some of them don't work just after installation and require manual tweaking, or were designed for previous version. 
- a must have module: some kind of Admin account w levels or just secure the admin through .htaccess/.htpasswd
- using phpMyAdmin, browse through the tables and see what is where.

Regards,
Piotr Kami?ski
[email protected]
http://www.web-tec.pl/macki