It’s been a few weeks, and I’ve been under the hood trying to master the skinning process behind Magento. It’s a lot more complicated than WordPress, that’s for sure!

However, I’ve made progress, and managed a three-column liquid layout for the front page. However, it’s still ALOT to learn, and I’ve got a long way to go. So we’re going to install the Modern Template for Magento, and finish up entering the products and such, then open the site and I’ll keep working on the skin. I hate feeling rushed when there are so many details to absorb, and this will give me the time to learn other aspects of the back end that I’ll need to know before we launch.

Yes, it’s hard to skin. Yes, it’s a lot more complicated than ZenCart. But if it’s twice as complicated as Zen, yet 100 times better, then I think the strain on the brain is worth it!

I wanted to share what I believe is the best solution for an eCommerce site, bar none, and it’s FREE!

Magento is an opensource shopping cart application from Varien, and it beats all other solutions that I’ve tried, to hell and back!

One thing, though, the skinning is a pretty steep learning curve. If you don’t know html and css well, and at least know your way around a php file, then you’ll probably want to hire a designer - not me though, I’m still learning!

Check it out - I think you’ll agree that it’s worth the struggle! I finally got a little more comfortable with the files and have succeeded in replacing a logo and adjusting some widths.

Out of the box, it validates to XHTML 1.0 Strict - another plus for an obsessive-compulsive like me!

I give Magento 5 flowers, but it deserves 10!