Speed Up Your Site With Zen Cart
Zen Cart is one of the leading e-commerce platforms in the industry today. Although it does have a number of nice features and simple integration, it has been known to slow down some sites. If you have implemented Zen Cart and your site has slowed down, there are some steps that you can take to speed things up. Here are a few tips to keep in mind when you want to speed up your site with Zen Cart installed.
Get Rid of the Sidebox
One of the features on the Zen Cart that many sites have enabled is the side box. This side box provides additional information to people when looking at a product. Although you may have it enabled on your site, you might not be using it. If you don’t use the side box, disable it. It can cause speed problems with your site, and it may not be necessary. To turn it off, click Admin, then Tools, and then Layout Boxes Controller. Click the “Off” button under sideboxes/manufacturers.php section.
Dealing With Images
Another reason that you may be having problems with the speed of your site is because of the images that you are using. It can be tempting to try to put big, crystal-clear images of your products on your site. However, this can really slow down the load time. If you want to speed up your site, consider optimizing the images for your pages. For example, you should use small thumbnail images for the pages with multiple products on them. Then you can use bigger images for specific product pages. By doing this, you will be able to show people what the products look like without slowing down your site.
Turn Off Unnecessary Features
Within the settings of Zen Cart, there may be a number of different features that you are using which are not necessary. Go into the settings of the program by clicking on Admin, Configuration, and Attribute Settings. If you don’t allow downloads, turn off Enable Downloads. Turn off Enable Qty Price Discounts if you’re not giving discounts for big quantity orders. Most people should also turn off Enable Attribute Images if they aren’t adding images to attributes. By turning off these unnecessary features, you may be able to significantly improve the speed of your pages.
Turn Off Specials
Some people who use Zen Cart have problems with the main pages of their sites. If you’re having problems with your home page loading, consider turning off the content boxes for specials or promotions. These can generate a lot of action on your site, and they may not actually be providing much value for you. Try this out and see if it makes a difference for your site.
Considerations
Zen Cart is a versatile e-commerce platform that many people use successfully without any problems. However, if you are having speed issues, you may need to play around with some of the settings to make sure that you are giving your site the best chance to succeed.
Category: Website Tips
