Hostahoy Shopping Cart  
Quick 
Start!

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With the Hostahoy Shopping Cart your on-line store can be up and running literally within minutes.  The Hostahoy Shopping Cart is simple enough to setup quickly yet robust enough to handle any on-line merchants toughest demands.  It is the goal of this Quick Start to get you up and running with the basics.  It is strongly suggested however that you attempt to take advantage of all the great features the Hostahoy Shopping Cart has to offer.  Most of them are self-explanatory.  

This Quick Start assumes the following: 

  • Your Hostahoy Shopping Cartt software has been installed on your Web server
  • You have some idea of what you plan to sell online
  • You are somewhat familiar with the Web and computers
  • You know how to get to your admin area
  • You have some idea how much it costs to ship your product(s)
  • You are using a fairly recent version of either the Netscape or IE Web Browser.

Great! Let's get started! 

Step 1:  Basic Configurations 

  • In your admin area, click on the "Basic Configurations" link
  • At the bare minimum, fill in the following fields with your information

 

Name of Store Simply enter the name of your store.
Company Information This should be your address with contact information
Store Introduction A quick paragraph about what you are selling
Choose color scheme Use the preview link and pick a color scheme that works well with your products.  You can always change this later.
Redirect user when finished The full URL of where you want your users to go when done ordering.
Thank you message The message they see on the last page of the order.
Product categories Just enter one or two to start.  One category per line.  For example if you are selling flowers you may want to enter 

mixed 
roses 
daisies
E-mail address(es) to send orders to This should be your e-mail address.
Message details From can be your address as well, Subject should be something like "An order has been placed at your store", Message can be left blank for now.
Add to information page It is important to provide shoppers with some of your basic information and policies.  Use this nifty pull down menu to add some stock info to your info page.  We suggest you modify policies to match your own.

 

  • Now hit the "Make Changes" button at the bottom of the page.

Step 2: Create a Shipping Schedule 

  • Get back to your admin area by clicking the "Main Menu" link on the top of the page.
  • Click on the "Shipping Schedules" link. This is where we associate costs of shipping with products.
  • Let's create the most basic form of shipping schedule to start with. In the Shipping schedule name field enter the word "price", all lowercase. This will create a shipping schedule based on the total price of the order.  This is the standard for most catalogs both on and off line.
  • For Shipping method enter the standard for now, usually "UPS GROUND" or "US MAIL", whichever you prefer.
  • Now let's associate total prices of orders with shipping costs.  This format is simple and is used in several other places in the software. Here is an example:
  • 0-50.99:5 
    60-99.99:10 
    100+:15 

    This can be read as "If the total order cost is between $0 and $50.99 then charge $5 for shipping. If the total order cost is between $60 and $99.99 then charge $10 for shipping.  If the total order cost is $100 or more, charge $15 for shipping." 

    Of course you can adjust the numbers to meet your needs and add as many price breaks as you wish.  Also note that we used US dollars as an example but the type of currency does not matter. What is important is one range:price per line and they are separated by a colon. 

  • Hit the "Make changes" button at the bottom of the page.

Step 3: Add a Product to Your Store 

  • Get back to your admin area by clicking the "Main Menu" link on the top of the page.
  • Click on the "Product Database" link
  • At the bare minimum, fill in the following fields with your information

 

Product code This is a unique code that you assign to identify the product.
Product name The name as you would like it to appear in your store
Product categories Make sure you select the category that the product falls under.  It must be highlighted to be selected.
Price price of the item
Product information A custom description that users will see.  Be creative and descriptive!
Image name Although an image is not needed, images make great selling tools. Give your image a unique name.
Upload image Now we need to upload the image using your Web browsers upload feature. Hit the "Browse" button to the right of the input box and select the product image on your local computer.  Make sure the dialog box that pops up is set to show all files.  The image should be medium size, about 2 inches or so on your screen.

 

  • Now hit the "Add Product" button at the bottom of the page.

Step 4: Accepting Payments 

  • at the top of the page, click the "Main Menu" link
  • click the "Payment/Tax Configurations" link
  • Enter the Currency symbol - if US dollars enter "$"
  • Let's start by just accepting checks, you can add credit card later.  In the Payment option field, type "Personal/Company Check".
  • In the large textarea box to the right, type any info associated with accepting checks.  For example, "payment must be received before items are shipped".
  • Scroll down to the bottom of the page and hit the "Make Changes" button.

CONGRATULATIONS! You should now have a fully functional on-line store!  To visit your store click on the "Visit Your Store" link at the top of the page. 

Remember, this is only the beginning. The Hostahoy Shopping Cart is a feature rich application that can be customized to your most specific needs.  So browse through the rest of this manual and see what the Hostahoy Shopping Cart can do for you!