X-Cart FAQ
I'm often asked to answer the following questions:
- What measures are necessary to optimize the layout and make X-Cart more search engine friendly?
- My online store is based on X-Cart. I'd like to allow my customers to place phone order. What's the best way to do this?
- Is there a Russian interface for X-Cart?
- I need some tools for X-Cart to compare and pick products basing on their parameters. Can you recommend any solution?
- Is it possible to define related products for a particular product and list them on a product page?
- How can I optimize X-Cart to increase the performance and the speed of pages generation?
- Are table-based layout and built-in JavaScript codes bad for search engine spiders?
- Is the HTML and database optimization permanent? Meaning that it won't have to be redone every time a new database is uploaded?
- Has X-Cart a input field for shipping dimensions? And will it send those to the UPS server when requesting shipping cost?
- Do you accept payment by Paypal?
- How would payment for the programming be split? What percentage on order and what percentage on completion?
- I want to know if you can support both versions: 4.0.13 Gold and 4.2.0 Pro
- Does the module Relevant Search use sphinx?
- Is it mandatory in x-cart to register or there is a way around it?
- I'd like to transfer my store to X-cart. Will it be possible to extend functionality?
- The cost and terms of delivery of Russian version X-cart.
What measures are necessary to optimize the layout and make X-Cart more search engine friendly?
Such measures are aimed at three main targets:
- The increase of useful content ratio against the whole page code size as a result of decreasing the formatting code size;
- The increase of keywords weight as a result of using extra tags attributes and URL optimization;
- The increase of internal links weight as a result of excluding the unnecessary ones from indexing.
Therefore, it is necessary to:
- Move style definitions into separate CSS files;
- Convert large table codes into compact div-based layout (where possible);
- Move JavaScript codes into separate files;
- Rename product images using relevant keywords (e. g. some-key-words.jpg);
- Get rid of unnecessary self-links on all pages;
- Use noindex and nofollow attributes for links not pointing to important pages;
- Use keyword-rich phrases in ALT attributes for images used in website layout;
- Convert all relative links into absolute (full URLs);
- Setup both regular and XML sitemaps (not a layout issue, it's still a very important factor for indexing);
- Use other non-standard methods.
My online store is based on X-Cart. I'd like to allow my customers to place phone order. What's the best way to do this?
Phone orders can be enabled in two ways:
- Using "Phone order" payment method which allows a customer to complete an order through online shop and then just call and settle payment details with you. This feature is available in X-Cart by default. All you need to do is activate the corresponding payment method within the administration back-end.
- Another option is when a client calls directly to the office and the operators creates an order (for management and statistics) himself using the administration area.
For this purpose, you may use a ready-made module for order editing/management, X-AOM, which comes directly from X-Cart makers, or develop your own interface (in case some special adapted forms are needed to optimize and speedup order processing).
Is there a Russian interface for X-Cart?
Russian Translation is available now.
I need some tools for X-Cart to compare and pick products basing on their parameters. Can you recommend any solution?
There is a ready-made add-on module from X-Cart called . Please, check .
Is it possible to define related products for a particular product and list them on a product page?
Yes, it is possible to do so.
How can I optimize X-Cart to increase the performance and the speed of pages generation?
- Be sure to use the static HTML catalog;
- Check your X-Cart version. If you have version less 4.2.0 then apply SQL-path: ALTER TABLE xcart_products ADD INDEX manufacturerid(manufacturerid);
- It's possible to perform a site audit and find queries producing the heaviest load in order to optimize them;
- It's also possible to implement a simple caching system for generated pages;
- In case of very high server load it's necessary to optimize server-side configuration and setup a database caching system (memcache, for example).
Are table-based layout and built-in JavaScript codes bad for search engine spiders?
A part of search engine responsible for scanning is, overall, a syntax and semantic page analyzer. It means that this part processed information located on a web page in accordance with some algorhytm.
It can throw out the information which is not interesting for him and index only the data it considers important.
Scripts built into layout are not important for a search robot and, therefore, they will be ignored. But the thing is that search engines use some internal rules allowing them to save time on page processing.
And if a page is hard to analyze (by some parameter), the engine just stops the process and leaves a page. Therefore, we can say that building JavaScripts directly into code/layout does not make a web page more clear but, on the contrary, makes it harder for processing.
However, if a number of inclusions is not high, they won't affect the possibility of not indexing too much. So if a JavaScript code has to be used on a web pages, it can be, but your should minimize the number of inclusions and localize them in external files.
Is the HTML and database optimization permanent? Meaning that it won't have to be redone every time a new database is uploaded?
Optimization consists of several parts. Some of them concern the structure and requests for data base. This optimization is permanent and doesn't depend on import new data. Another part of procedures optimize the order of data storage. It is temporal. This procedures will be taken away to separate script and implemented automatically with some periodicity. You also will be ale to implement it manually after new data import.
Has X-Cart a input field for shipping dimensions? And will it send those to the UPS server when requesting shipping cost?
Yes, X-Cart supports shipping dimensions of package. They are also taken into consideration when the total shipping cost is calculated including sending data to the UPS server. Default X-cart supposes that all products will be placed in one package. You also can set the package dimensions in UPS module settings.
Do you accept payment by Paypal?
You can pay through 2Checkout using paypal.
How would payment for the programming be split? What percentage on order and what percentage on completion?
50% on order and 50% on completion.
I want to know if you can support both versions: 4.0.13 Gold and 4.2.0 Pro
Russian Translation is compatible with old versions of X-Cart, because usually new X-Cart versions contain all languages variables from old versions. Language file contains all standard front-side variables and 90% of admin area variables (some special payment modules variables still leave in English because it is good for its understanding by administrator).
Does the module Relevant Search use sphinx?
Yes. It does.
Is it mandatory in x-cart to register or there is a way around it?
Customer can use anonymous account if this feature is enabled in admin area.
I'd like to transfer my store to X-cart. Will it be possible to extend functionality?
Yes.
The cost and terms of delivery of Russian version X-cart.
Please take a look on module page
P. S. Thank you for your attention
P.S. SEO summary: I can offer you X-Cart modification, X-Cart adaptation and X-Cart customization.
P.P.S. Related wrong searches: "x cart", x cart, as x cart.
