osCommerce customisation

Installation, configuration, upgrades and migration

If you're like most business owners, you're more interested in running your business than installing and configuring software. osCommerce has many features and add-ons, however these can take a substantial amount of time to set up, even if you're a PHP programmer. Why spend the time, when you can get someone like ourselves to do it?

We can install and configure osCommerce exactly how you'd like it. We can also install any osCommerce add-on you care to choose. And we can change your shop - reprogram it - and all your add-ons, to suit your business.

If you're upgrading your shop, or migrating to a new hosting provider, you'll almost certainly need some expert assistance. We can extract, convert, merge and upload any databases you may have, and we can migrate your shop, with all add-ons intact and no re-installation needed, from one hosting provider to another.

We can do this work for a fixed price, or on an hourly rate, depending on your preferences. A guide to our fees is below.

Integration

The standard install of osCommerce works well, but it does not share the same "look-and-feel" as the rest of your site. This can be fixed, but it's not a simple job. We can make it simple for you, however - just ask us to do the work! We've done it already - before-and-after screenshots below - and we can do the same for you.

before: osCommerce default installation

after: osCommerce with Page Control

We use some software we made ourselves, called Page Control, to insert osCommerce into your website, in such a way that your logo, menu buttons, background and footer seamlessly appear on every osCommerce page, just as they do on all your other pages. We then use a custom stylesheet to set the look-and-feel of the osCommerce pages.

We will login to your webserver, download your your website and your osCommerce pages (not your database, just the PHP pages), load them onto our test server, make our changes, and let you view them on the test server. When you're happy, we'll then publish the changes back onto your webserver.

Our technique requires just two extra files, and makes minimal changes to the osCommerce code. It does, however require modification of almost every file in the osCommerce /catalog/ directory.

osCommerce customisation - pricing chart
Page Control, not installed - code & documentation only	£99
Page Control installed, but no look-and-feel changes done by us	£199
Page Control installed, plus look-and-feel changes	£349

Please note:

• Some websites cannot be integrated, particularly those that are generated from a template.
• Some websites may require modification before they can be integrated. These modifications are not included in the above prices, and will be charged at our usual rates, which are below.
• Page Control may not be compatible with some other osCommerce addons.
• All documentation is provided in PDF format.

We will check for these issues before work commences - no fee will be charged if we find a problem. We will need access to your webserver to do this, however.

Rates, fees and charges

For larger projects, we usually create a design specification, and then cost each item. This provides us with a solid development plan, and you with a fixed price. Modifications to the specification, once agreed, are charged at the hourly rate (see below).

For small projects and ad-hoc work, we charge an hourly rate, as follows:

• Our rate is £60/hour.
• Our minimum charge is 1 hour.
• We bill in half-hour intervals - this means, for example, that you won't need to pay for a full hour if you only use 15 minutes.
• If you request work that is to be completed within three (3) working days, an Emergency Coding Fee of £40 may be charged.

Discounts may be available for larger projects.