One issue that keeps popping up with a lot of themes is the use of PHP include() and require(). This bypasses both OCMod and VQMod which is causing a lot of headaches.
Hopefully there is some sort of marketplace vetting put in place for OpenCart v3.0 to ensure themes conform to OC standards.
Joel.
I thought I'd add to this because more developers seem to be going the route of the Journal theme which is a disaster for anyone with an existing shop.
Why do developers feel the need to create their own set of bestseller, featured, product pages, etc that are all new to Opencart?
Having asked a developer if they over write Opencart files, they said no which was true but they have their own custom duplicate pages for everythng which is annoying (new product page, new menu pages, new modules that duplicate the core, etc).
This is another one I suggest staying away from:
https://themeforest.net/item/destino-ad ... e/19875085
Why do developers feel the need to create their own set of bestseller, featured, product pages, etc that are all new to Opencart?
Having asked a developer if they over write Opencart files, they said no which was true but they have their own custom duplicate pages for everythng which is annoying (new product page, new menu pages, new modules that duplicate the core, etc).
This is another one I suggest staying away from:
https://themeforest.net/item/destino-ad ... e/19875085
https://www.evolvewebhost.com
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I agree, if your goal is to create a theme for general use, you shouldn't touch any tpl and just css it as much as you can to keep compatibility with extensions.
Last edited by artcore on Sun Jul 23, 2017 4:43 am, edited 1 time in total.
Attn: I no longer provide OpenCart extensions, nor future support - this includes forum posts.
Reason: OpenCart version 3+ 
Thanks!
Hopefully there is some sort of marketplace vetting put in place for OpenCart v3.0 to ensure themes conform to OC standards.
This may be right, but it could backfire badly for Many as well, by so moving away from
the former OC OpenSource Stragegy, and probably leaving many Freetime-Dev's out
in the rain, as a logical consequence of it.
In addition, it would require additional Manpower, and so raising cost, in an environment,
already full of Construction-Areas, waiting to be 'handled' by Pro's, in order to meet the
requirements, as expected from a professional looking and working site..
It will be interesting to see, how this all turns out, and how OC, Extensions, and Themes, will be
offered in the future. To me, it was an obvious Fact, that the Concept, as it existed before,
already found it's Limits. Too much has been done 'outside' of OC already, to keep the 'System'
alive and well, still over an extended period of time. OC needs to get back in Control again,
it just makes no sense, to let others enjoy good sales, without getting anything out of it, exept
for frequently beeing under critic, because of mostly unknown extension-related problems.
And this, combined with more and more Code-resistent Users, likely expecting OC to be
installed and handled like a Smartphone APP.
Ernie
This may be right, but it could backfire badly for Many as well, by so moving away from
the former OC OpenSource Stragegy, and probably leaving many Freetime-Dev's out
in the rain, as a logical consequence of it.
In addition, it would require additional Manpower, and so raising cost, in an environment,
already full of Construction-Areas, waiting to be 'handled' by Pro's, in order to meet the
requirements, as expected from a professional looking and working site..
It will be interesting to see, how this all turns out, and how OC, Extensions, and Themes, will be
offered in the future. To me, it was an obvious Fact, that the Concept, as it existed before,
already found it's Limits. Too much has been done 'outside' of OC already, to keep the 'System'
alive and well, still over an extended period of time. OC needs to get back in Control again,
it just makes no sense, to let others enjoy good sales, without getting anything out of it, exept
for frequently beeing under critic, because of mostly unknown extension-related problems.
And this, combined with more and more Code-resistent Users, likely expecting OC to be
installed and handled like a Smartphone APP.
Ernie
Please don't send me OC Forum Personal Messages, just contact: jti@jacob.ch
---
OC 1.5.6.5 LIGHT Test Site: http://www.bigmax.ch/shop/
OC 1.5.6.5 V-PRO Test Site: http://www.jacob.ch/shop/
My Github OC Site: https://github.com/IP-CAM
2'250+ FREE OC Extensions from the World's largest Github OC Repository Archive Site.
We get this problem again and again - we have a potential client ask us if we can build them a shop based on Journal - we suggest that they don't use Journal ... the obvious next question: "What themes do you recommend then?" At which point we get stuck and have to agree that it is VERY hard to find well-coded OpenCart themes - even ones with good ratings and comments on Theme Forest can turn out to be shocking as we have found!
The wait is finally over!JNeuhoff wrote: ↑Thu Jan 21, 2016 7:47 pmI have yet to see an Opencart-compliant web theme. What I don't understand is why theme makers can't make proper use of CSS only, along with supporting images. An ideal web theme should not have to use its own re-structured template files which are bound to break other 3rd-party extensions using VQMod/OCmod/Override Engine.
We are developing a range of CSS ONLY OpenCart themes starting with "iStore" which is now live in the marketplace!
https://www.opencart.com/index.php?rout ... n_id=36706
Feedback appreciated!
If @Qphoria, @JNeuhoff and @Johnathan agree it's well-coded and only modifies CSS (which it does) then perhaps they could add it to the list of safe themes at the top of the page? If any CSS issues are found we will fix of course!
For quick, professional OpenCart support please email info@antropy.co.uk
Expert Member
@paulfeakins: Thanks for publishing your themes, looks good. I have updated my first post on this thread.
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Hello @paulfeakins ...
I really like the appearance of this theme. Very clean. I will have it signed as a next purchase for next projects. Good luck with sales..
It is true that it is difficult to find well-made templates, or extensions, without errors in the marketplace. I've been for the last few months, providing help to the community, in the spanish forums. And it is quite frequent to find people with problems that should not exist, because they have paid extensions that give errors to developers who do not respond or support them, but happily receive money. Something should be done with the XXXXXX extensions or themes that are in the marketplace, and that do not work properly. I really would like to see a section like you said "safe themes" or "safe extensions" .... I even would be happy to paid OpenCart, for validate the quality of the extension I sold.. have a badge of "safe extension" and clean the marketplace.
I really like the appearance of this theme. Very clean. I will have it signed as a next purchase for next projects. Good luck with sales..
It is true that it is difficult to find well-made templates, or extensions, without errors in the marketplace. I've been for the last few months, providing help to the community, in the spanish forums. And it is quite frequent to find people with problems that should not exist, because they have paid extensions that give errors to developers who do not respond or support them, but happily receive money. Something should be done with the XXXXXX extensions or themes that are in the marketplace, and that do not work properly. I really would like to see a section like you said "safe themes" or "safe extensions" .... I even would be happy to paid OpenCart, for validate the quality of the extension I sold.. have a badge of "safe extension" and clean the marketplace.
Dharma Web Studio - Daniel Civit
Web Developer
Website: https://dharmawebstudio.com
Well, you probably would, but Fact is, that most others would wait, to then get those Extensions,I even would be happy to pay OpenCart, for validate the quality of the extensions ...
either for free, or then for only a fraction of the official price, from some widely known darknet Sites.
And one of the only ways, to keep OC Users from doing such, would be, to make it like IsenseLabs is
doing it, by adding a personal Code, and so keeping distribution more or less under control. Their
Extensions are also available anywhere, but in order to make them work, one needs a specific Code.
But OC cannot hire People, just to test everything first. It would be a giant task, to make sure, that
everything matches every Theme and Setup, regardless of other Extensions used, and regardless of,
what someone possibly changed somewhere in existing default Source before.
Not to forget, that the frequently changing Versions also partly require changed Code in Extensions.
Not to mention built-in Subversion Misses, also possibly preventing some Mods to work in the first place,
if used in a slightly earlier or later subversion as well.
It therefore not as easy as it might sound. And OC is Open Source, meaning, that everybody is free, to
add or change, whatever one likes. To regulate such, in whatever way, would fundamentally change
the OC Concept, one needs to be aware of that.
Just a few thoughts...
Ernie
Please don't send me OC Forum Personal Messages, just contact: jti@jacob.ch
---
OC 1.5.6.5 LIGHT Test Site: http://www.bigmax.ch/shop/
OC 1.5.6.5 V-PRO Test Site: http://www.jacob.ch/shop/
My Github OC Site: https://github.com/IP-CAM
2'250+ FREE OC Extensions from the World's largest Github OC Repository Archive Site.
A while ago I saw the beginning of this post for the first time. As it was from two years ago and also because I was used to making new themes with only small changings I didn't worry too much until today after I unzipped a theme I bought on Opencart. It cost only $20 but I didn't buy it because of the price but just because I liked it best of all the themes here for version 3.0.3.2. You don't find any themes for 3.03.2 anywhere else yet. But when it was unzipped I saw there was only a "default" theme in the map catalog > themes. I suppose I have to overwrite them in my installation and would ask the support of the theme if this is the normal way of building themes these days but why would he tell he's doing something wrong? So I ask it here but now that I arrived at the end of the discussion I see nothing has changed since 2016 when it began. I suppose a lot of the themes they sell on Opencart are made that way. Why doesn't the administration do anything against it if this is so terrible?
Hello! Its always raised a question before designing any site that which theme we supposed to buy for our site. Themes play a vital role in designing website. We supposed to buy that theme which must be compatible with our every requirement that we supposed to do on site. I totally agree on this point, now days, selecting theme become a dificult task as there are lots of theme available in market and sometimes most of the themes dont complete our requirment. Therefore, we must check demo version before buying a theme for website.
Beside this, I would like to recommend to buy theme from reputed and worthful sites.
Beside this, I would like to recommend to buy theme from reputed and worthful sites.
Greetings everyone!!!
First, I am wondering if there has been any improvement in themes since this thread began? Second, I am completely new to OC and I have actually been out of the web design business for a few years now (goodness how things have changed!) So I am wondering if y'all would be willing to recommend or have some ideas on the best places outside of these forums for assistance as I work my way back into the world of eCommerce web design and starting off brand new with OC (3.0.3.2)
Many thanks in advance and I wish y'all a spectacular day!!
First, I am wondering if there has been any improvement in themes since this thread began? Second, I am completely new to OC and I have actually been out of the web design business for a few years now (goodness how things have changed!) So I am wondering if y'all would be willing to recommend or have some ideas on the best places outside of these forums for assistance as I work my way back into the world of eCommerce web design and starting off brand new with OC (3.0.3.2)
Many thanks in advance and I wish y'all a spectacular day!!
It might be an idea for OpenCart to enforce standards on themes. As for core files they should either be banned from change by theme developers or if thats not workable then all changed files must be identified upfront before any download is made.
I wonder if OpenCart could run a scan of extension/theme archives to look for core files present in the package and if they are found give an extra tab on the download page headed "Core Files" with a list of core files that are present.
I wonder if OpenCart could run a scan of extension/theme archives to look for core files present in the package and if they are found give an extra tab on the download page headed "Core Files" with a list of core files that are present.
Qphoria@ If you are so much against overwriting files why do you admit that they sell this kind of themes on Opencart's marketplace?Qphoria wrote: ↑Thu Jan 21, 2016 6:16 amYea at this point I just pick the lesser of the other evils, but some are so evil they must have been created by the devil himself.Johnathan wrote:Thanks for this -- I just told someone the other day that I had no recommendations for good OpenCart themes, because I haven't ever encountered one I thought was well-coded to conform to OpenCart template standards.
Furthermore to prevent silly games form buyers, they should be allow to feedback their experience with the particular product they purchased, only once, not every time they login. If they need further support or clarifications they can use the other channels available to them... But I can't stress enough how important it is not to delete any of the feedback that customers leave in the store.reverse image search email checker port checker
You asked for a feedback, and I think you have a nice theme, but is there any chance to access the backend to actually see what options are available?paulfeakins wrote: ↑Sat Apr 27, 2019 12:05 am
The wait is finally over!
We are developing a range of CSS ONLY OpenCart themes starting with "iStore" which is now live in the marketplace!
https://www.opencart.com/index.php?rout ... n_id=36706
Feedback appreciated!
If @Qphoria, @JNeuhoff and @Johnathan agree it's well-coded and only modifies CSS (which it does) then perhaps they could add it to the list of safe themes at the top of the page? If any CSS issues are found we will fix of course!
Cheers
Over 95% of all computer problems can be traced back to the interface between the keyboard and the chair...
It's CSS-only, so no options are available in the admin other than those built-in to OpenCart.
But because it is simple and well-coded it would be quick and easy for any front-end CSS developer to customize it.
For quick, professional OpenCart support please email info@antropy.co.uk
Expert Member
And I'm getting quite sick and tired of all this bashing on the journal theme.
Has any one looked at this from a customer point of view? With all respect for the developer of that Istore theme. It may be well coded and follow all standards but as a OC user I would never buy it. For me it's just like the standard OC theme with just a few small changes.
Reason I opted for journal is due to its flexibility. It's years ahead on everything else. I wanted to build a site that I can differentiate from the so many other OC websites. And that's exaclty what I can do with Journal without having to need any coding skill (which I haven't).
What the extentions are concerned. Several of the extentions I was using before, I no longer need because they are build into Journal. I know a lot of extentions are being modified to work with Journal, but even then... I have about 25 different extentions running. with everything running smoothly. If journal would be so badly coded this would never work.
As above. I'm no coder. I consider myself as a power user. And the only thing I can say about Journal are positive things.
If I would be the owner of the OC project, seeing how popular Journal is and all the features it has, I would try to acquire Journal, integrate it in my shopping cart software and sell this as a premium version of my free open source software. With the options Journal has, you could blow the competion out of the water. And the extra cash would help me to further develop my shopping cart to even make it better.
Just my 2 cents...
Has any one looked at this from a customer point of view? With all respect for the developer of that Istore theme. It may be well coded and follow all standards but as a OC user I would never buy it. For me it's just like the standard OC theme with just a few small changes.
Reason I opted for journal is due to its flexibility. It's years ahead on everything else. I wanted to build a site that I can differentiate from the so many other OC websites. And that's exaclty what I can do with Journal without having to need any coding skill (which I haven't).
What the extentions are concerned. Several of the extentions I was using before, I no longer need because they are build into Journal. I know a lot of extentions are being modified to work with Journal, but even then... I have about 25 different extentions running. with everything running smoothly. If journal would be so badly coded this would never work.
As above. I'm no coder. I consider myself as a power user. And the only thing I can say about Journal are positive things.
If I would be the owner of the OC project, seeing how popular Journal is and all the features it has, I would try to acquire Journal, integrate it in my shopping cart software and sell this as a premium version of my free open source software. With the options Journal has, you could blow the competion out of the water. And the extra cash would help me to further develop my shopping cart to even make it better.
Just my 2 cents...
Well, just compare Journal with a beautiful woman, some like em, and some hate em,
it all depends on personal feelings and looks.
And if she is successful, she's
hated even more, especially by those, not able, to compete ...
But that's not even the Problem, when it comes to OC, Journal is a commercial Mod,
and a very bulky one too, and it therefore just does not belong into the FREE OC Forum
Sections. If that would 'globally' be accepted, nobody would have a problem, I guess.
Or then, every paid Extension should be handled 'equal', or the whole discussion just
makes no sense.
it all depends on personal feelings and looks.
And if she is successful, she'shated even more, especially by those, not able, to compete ...
But that's not even the Problem, when it comes to OC, Journal is a commercial Mod,
and a very bulky one too, and it therefore just does not belong into the FREE OC Forum
Sections. If that would 'globally' be accepted, nobody would have a problem, I guess.
Or then, every paid Extension should be handled 'equal', or the whole discussion just
makes no sense.
Please don't send me OC Forum Personal Messages, just contact: jti@jacob.ch
---
OC 1.5.6.5 LIGHT Test Site: http://www.bigmax.ch/shop/
OC 1.5.6.5 V-PRO Test Site: http://www.jacob.ch/shop/
My Github OC Site: https://github.com/IP-CAM
2'250+ FREE OC Extensions from the World's largest Github OC Repository Archive Site.
The problem with Journal is that many of its users don't take no for an answer when asked whether our extensions work with Journal. Most 3rd party extensions available from the OpenCart marketplace were tested for standard OpenCart releases.
Journal3 uses at least 21 extra DB tables, where the majority of them have nothing to do with a web theme. For example, 11 DB tables are used for a Blog module which has nothing to do with a web theme. Then it stores CSS details in various other DB tables instead of a standard CSS file. Finally, why does it have to re-invent some standard OpenCart features, e.g. modules or product attributes? No wonder Journal3 clashes with so many other 3rd party extensions. If they want to have their own ecommerce or blog software, then fine. But they should then offer proper customer support for their software, and not send their users over to OpenCart. You can't expect OpenCart's 3rd party extension developers to purchase Journal3 licenses just to test their extensions on it. The OpenCart marketplace is for OpenCart extensions!
Journal3 uses at least 21 extra DB tables, where the majority of them have nothing to do with a web theme. For example, 11 DB tables are used for a Blog module which has nothing to do with a web theme. Then it stores CSS details in various other DB tables instead of a standard CSS file. Finally, why does it have to re-invent some standard OpenCart features, e.g. modules or product attributes? No wonder Journal3 clashes with so many other 3rd party extensions. If they want to have their own ecommerce or blog software, then fine. But they should then offer proper customer support for their software, and not send their users over to OpenCart. You can't expect OpenCart's 3rd party extension developers to purchase Journal3 licenses just to test their extensions on it. The OpenCart marketplace is for OpenCart extensions!
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