<p>A time ago, client approached me with question - could I help them out with <a href="http://www.cs-cart.com/?affid=1087569">CS Cart</a>. At that particular day - I haven't heard a word of such Cart or System.</p><p>Since the needs from client side was just CSS based - I said - yup, I can help you out with your particular CSS needs.</p><p>Got access to production site, which was already built using out of box functionality.</p><p>My first impressions - <em>OK - another CMS system</em> (I will not even try to dig into it's modules/plugins or themes)</p><p>OK - I had to dig into themes section to make those particular CSS changes. </p><p>I must admit - as for Drupal developer, this theming thing looks a bit complicated for me, I'm not saying it's wrong - just for me as a daily Drupaller it was a new learning curve.</p><p><a href="http://www.cs-cart.com/?affid=1087569"><img src="http://www.reinisfischer.com/sites/default/files/cs-cart-design.png" alt="CS Cart Online Store" title="CS Cart Online Store" width="1032" height="556" class="null"></a></p><p>CS Cart Online Store</p><p>But as I always like to say - <strong>if product does what it's meant to do - no technology, theming or another reason is obstacle of using and recommending such product</strong>. As far as I have found - <a href="http://www.cs-cart.com/?affid=1087569">CS Cart</a> does what it says it does - it offers Online store with kinda one click install.</p><h2>Here is a technical requirements to get you started with CS Cart</h2><p>CS-Cart is developed to meet most server configurations ranging from shared hosting accounts to dedicated servers. In fact, there are only two core things that your host must have to run CS-Cart:</p><ul><li><strong>PHP versions 5.3, 5.4, 5.5</strong> (5.6 is not supported yet);</li><li><strong>MySQL version 4.1</strong> or greater (MySQLi or pdo_mysql must be supported)</li></ul><p>This makes CS-Cart compatible with almost every server that supports PHP and MySQL. However, we recommend <strong>Apache</strong> or any interchangeable alternative as the most robust and stable server for your web store.</p><p>Other requirements and recommendations include:</p><ul><li><strong>safe_mode</strong> is disabled;</li><li><strong>GD library</strong> is installed;<br>Please make sure your GD configuration includes <strong>FreeType</strong> font library</li><li><strong>cURL support</strong> is enabled;<br>This PHP extension is required to ensure support for secure connections and some payment systems, including PayPal, Authorize.Net and Google Checkout, as well as real-time shipping rate calculators for FedEx and DHL/Airborne;</li><li><strong>Phar extension</strong> is enabled (built into PHP since v5.3.0);</li><li><strong>ZipArchive extension</strong> is enabled (built into PHP since v5.2.0);</li><li><strong>file_uploads</strong> is enabled;</li><li><strong>.htaccess</strong> file (if supported) should have the following directives allowed: <em>DirectoryIndex</em>, <em>Deny</em>, <em>Allow</em>, <em>Options</em>,<em>Order</em>, <em>AddHandler</em>, <em>RewriteEngine</em>, <em>RewriteBase</em>, <em>RewriteCond</em> and <em>RewriteRule</em>.</li><li>the following PHP commands are <strong>enabled</strong>:ini_set, ftp_exec, ftp_connect, ftp_login, ftp_get, ftp_put, ftp_nb_fput, ftp_raw, ftp_rawlist, mysql_pconnect, eva, system, exec, shell_exec, passthru, escapeshellarg, set_time_limit</li><li><strong>allow_url_fopen</strong> option is enabled in PHP</li></ul><h3 class="subheader2">Server operating system</h3><p>With respect to the server operating systems, we recommend a Unix-like operating system such as <strong>FreeBSD</strong>,<strong>Linux</strong> or <strong>OS X</strong>. Our commitment to Unix-like systems is confirmed by their well-known scalability, better security capabilities and higher performance level.</p><p>Now what about Features?</p><p><a href="http://www.cs-cart.com/?affid=1087569"><img src="http://www.reinisfischer.com/sites/default/files/cs-cart-editor.png" alt="CS Cart Editor" title="CS Cart Editor" class="null"></a></p><p><em>CS Cart Editor</em></p><h3 class="block-title">Customize Your Storefront in Real Time</h3><p>With the built-in theme editor, you can change your storefront background, color scheme, fonts, and more directly on site.</p><p>Choose one of the default design presets or create your own unique style. No HTML or CSS knowledge required!</p><h3 class="block-title">Built-in Layouts Editor</h3><p>CS-Cart includes a built-in layout editor that allows you to arrange data blocks in your storefront by simple drag & drop.</p><p>The editor makes it easy to create elegant grid-based layouts, both fixed-width and responsive.</p><div class="content-split-features"><h4 class="block-title">Smarty Template Engine</h4><p>Smarty is a powerful template engine widely used accross the Web. All templates in CS-Cart are Smarty-powered, which makes it easier for newcoming developers to dive in</p><h4 class="block-title">Edit HTML/CSS in browser</h4><p>CS-Cart comes with 100% open source code and a powerful in-browser editor that lets a web-developer edit template files right from the CS-Cart admin panel.</p><h3 class="block-title">Powerful Admin Panel</h3><p>Every CS-Cart store comes with a powerful admin panel. It’s crammed with dozens of features to help you get the full control over your store.</p><p>All the necessary tools for a worry-free are just at the tip of your fingers, intuitively arranged and served under a clean design.</p><h3 class="block-title">Built-in Content Management</h3><p>The CS-Cart admin panel includes a full-fledged content management system.</p><p>The built-in CMS offers an easy way to create rich and SEO-friendly content pages for your site. You have full control over your page navigation and hierarchy. A modern web-based WYSIWYG editor will help you create beautiful pages in no time.</p><h3 class="block-title">50+ Payment Systems</h3><p>CS-Cart offers a variety of payment gateways and processors to choose from. The world’s most popular payment options are ready to use right out of the box.</p><h3 class="block-title">Real-Time Shipping Rates</h3><p>Integration with major shipping providers like FedEx and USPS allows CS-Cart to deliver actual shipping rates directly to the checkout page.</p><p>Delivery cost is calculated on the fly based on a customer’s shipping address and online data from the shipping provider.</p><h4 class="block-title">Ready to Sell from the Start</h4><p>With major payment options like credit card and PayPal available out of the box and minimum configuration required, CS-Cart lets you start selling online almost immediately.</p><h3 class="block-title">Search Engine Optimization</h3><p>CS-Cart helps you reach potential customers through popular search engines by providing an easy way to edit page meta information in the built-in CMS.</p><p>Also, With SEO-friendly URLs and powered by a built-in sitemap generation tool, your store will take top ranks in online search results!</p><h3 class="block-title">Promotions & Discounts</h3><p>CS-Cart offers a variety of promotion options to attract customers to your store: catalog or cart-based, discounted flat or per cent, and more.</p><p>Setting a particular product discount is super easy: just set the list price lower than the actual price, and the discount will be calculated on the fly.</p><h3 class="block-title">Rocket-Fast</h3><p>We understand how crucial speed is for an online store. This is why we put much effort in making CS-Cart faster with every new version. Backed by advanced web-technologies, CS-Cart offers blazing fast page loading and navigation.</p><p>With CS-Cart, you don’t have to worry that your customers will wait for a page to load. CS-Cart is designed to deliver smooth and seamless shopping to every customer.</p><h3 class="subheader">Localization</h3><ul><li>Translated into 8 languages (some translations are partial)</li><li>Easy addition of new languages</li><li>Configurable currency symbols</li><li>Configurable measurement units</li><li>Configurable list of countries/states/provinces</li><li>Ability to switch date and time formats</li></ul><h2>In conclusion</h2><p>Though at start CS Cart looked hard to adapt (using theme customization) - it's a great product, what does, wha tit says it does - it's online store out of box.</p><p><a href="http://www.cs-cart.com/?affid=1087569">You can get started with CS cart as low as $195.00</a></p></div>
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