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ragtag · 08-26-2008, 01:05 PM

I've set up a shop with Joomla and VirtueMart, where you get both a CMS and an ecommerce solution. It works, but is far from perfect and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who is not comfortable with php coding and mysql. I've had to do numerous changes and fixes to the code to get the site working the way we wanted.

Some of the problems include layout. Too much of the code is based on tables and lacks tags you can link your css to.

The shop I set up sold clothing, and the way sizes are handled in VirtueMart is a pain. You can use attributes to define colors and sizes, but this does not track the stock of each size, so in our case was useless. For that you need to set up parent-child products, which is clumsy and a lot of extra work for those running the shop. I also had to do some code tweaking to get products where all sizes were out of stock, to no longer show up.

Discount prices had to be set individually for each size, though I fixed this in code.

Running one language (e.g. German) is no problem. There are language files for both Joomla and VirtueMart available, but running a multiple language site (e.g. English AND German) is more problematic. There is Bablefish, which works fine with Joomla, but is problematic for VirtueMart.

There were lots more fixes here and there that I had to do, but can't remember on the fly.

Many of the problems with VirtueMart are not apparent, until you actually try to set up a real shop.

I'm not too familiar with other cart solutions, such as osCommerce and ZenCart, so can't comment on them, but would definately give them a shot if setting up another shop in the future. You can always use Joomla, WordPress or other separate solutions for the rest of your site. Your shop really doesn't need to integrated into the CMS.

08-26-2008, 01:05 PM	#3 (permalink)
ragtag Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 326	I've set up a shop with Joomla and VirtueMart, where you get both a CMS and an ecommerce solution. It works, but is far from perfect and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who is not comfortable with php coding and mysql. I've had to do numerous changes and fixes to the code to get the site working the way we wanted. Some of the problems include layout. Too much of the code is based on tables and lacks tags you can link your css to. The shop I set up sold clothing, and the way sizes are handled in VirtueMart is a pain. You can use attributes to define colors and sizes, but this does not track the stock of each size, so in our case was useless. For that you need to set up parent-child products, which is clumsy and a lot of extra work for those running the shop. I also had to do some code tweaking to get products where all sizes were out of stock, to no longer show up. Discount prices had to be set individually for each size, though I fixed this in code. Running one language (e.g. German) is no problem. There are language files for both Joomla and VirtueMart available, but running a multiple language site (e.g. English AND German) is more problematic. There is Bablefish, which works fine with Joomla, but is problematic for VirtueMart. There were lots more fixes here and there that I had to do, but can't remember on the fly. Many of the problems with VirtueMart are not apparent, until you actually try to set up a real shop. I'm not too familiar with other cart solutions, such as osCommerce and ZenCart, so can't comment on them, but would definately give them a shot if setting up another shop in the future. You can always use Joomla, WordPress or other separate solutions for the rest of your site. Your shop really doesn't need to integrated into the CMS.