Zen Cart is an open-source CMS for online stores written in PHP. It supports a system of modules, templates, and payment/shipping plugins. Its flexible architecture, active community, and compatibility with modern PHP versions make Zen Cart a suitable solution for small and medium e-commerce projects, especially when extensibility and control over the code are important. It supports multilingual and multi-currency setups, flexible management of the catalog, coupons, and tax rules, as well as built-in SEO tools. Through the module catalog, you can easily connect payment gateways and delivery services, integrate with CRM/ERP, and customize themes without modifying the core.

Environment preparation

Installing Zen Cart on hosting

1. Download the stable Zen Cart version from the official Zen Cart website.
2. Upload the archive to hosting via the file manager or via FTP.
3. Create a user and a database. Save DB_HOST, DB_NAME, DB_USER, DB_PASSWORD.
4. Run the installer in the browser. Open http://DOMAIN_NAME/zc_install/ and follow the installation wizard:

• Specify the admin panel address and directory settings

• Fill in the previously created database parameters (DB_HOST, DB_NAME, DB_USER, DB_PASSWORD);

• Wait for the database setup to complete

• Fill in the administrator user data

• Finish the installation and save the configuration file provided by the installer.

Installing Zen Cart on a server

1. Prepare the directory and download the release.

sudo mkdir -p /var/www/DOMAIN_NAME && cd /var/www/DOMAIN_NAME
export ZC_VERSION=1.5.9 # example; check the current version
wget -O zencart.zip "https://github.com/zencart/zencart/archive/refs/tags/v${ZC_VERSION}.zip"
unzip zencart.zip && rm zencart.zip
# Move files from the subdirectory if they are inside one
shopt -s dotglob nullglob; mv zencart-*/\* .; rmdir zencart-*/ || true

2. Create the database and user.

mysql -u root <<SQL
CREATE DATABASE DB_NAME CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_unicode_ci;
CREATE USER 'DB_USER'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'DB_PASSWORD';
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON DB_NAME.* TO 'DB_USER'@'localhost';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
SQL

3. Install PHP and extensions.

sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y php8.2 php8.2-fpm php8.2-cli php8.2-mysql php8.2-xml \
  php8.2-gd php8.2-curl php8.2-zip php8.2-intl php8.2-mbstring
php -v
php -m | grep -E "mbstring|intl|zip|curl|xml|gd|mysql"

Configure PHP in the php.ini file: memory_limit=512M, max_execution_time=300. Check service versions:

nginx -v
mysql --version
php -v

4. Grant permissions to the web server.

sudo chown -R WWW_USER:WWW_GROUP /var/www/DOMAIN_NAME
find /var/www/DOMAIN_NAME -type d -exec chmod 755 {} \;
find /var/www/DOMAIN_NAME -type f -exec chmod 644 {} \;

5. Run the web installer. Open http://DOMAIN_NAME/zc_install/ and complete the installation.

Nginx web server configuration

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name DOMAIN_NAME;

    root /var/www/DOMAIN_NAME/;
    index index.php index.html;

    location / {
        try_files $uri $uri/ /index.php?$query_string;
    }

    location ~ \.php$ {
        include fastcgi_params;
        fastcgi_param SCRIPT_FILENAME $realpath_root$fastcgi_script_name;
        fastcgi_pass unix:/run/php/php8.2-fpm.sock;
        fastcgi_read_timeout 120;
    }

    # Protection from direct access to service paths
    location ~* ^/(zc_install/|cache/|logs/|includes/extra_configures/|.git/) {
        deny all;
        return 403;
    }
}

Enable the site and reload Nginx:

sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/zencart.conf /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
sudo nginx -t && sudo systemctl reload nginx

Configuring additional Zen Cart features

SSL certificate (HTTPS)

To work over HTTPS, use Let’s Encrypt or a commercial SSL certificate.

.htaccess for SEO-friendly URLs

1. Enable mod_rewrite and allow .htaccess for the site directory.

sudo a2enmod rewrite
sudo systemctl reload apache2

<VirtualHost *:80>
    ServerName DOMAIN_NAME
    DocumentRoot /var/www/DOMAIN_NAME/

    <Directory /var/www/DOMAIN_NAME/>
        AllowOverride All
        Options -Indexes -MultiViews
        Require all granted
    </Directory>
</VirtualHost>

2. Create/update .htaccess in the project root.

# SEO-friendly URLs for Zen Cart (Apache)
<IfModule mod_rewrite.c>
  RewriteEngine On
  # Set the subdirectory if the shop is installed under /shop/
  RewriteBase /
  # Pass through existing files and directories
  RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} -f [OR]
  RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} -d
  RewriteRule ^ - [L]
  # Route everything else to the front controller
  RewriteRule . index.php [L]
</IfModule>

# Basic hardening
Options -Indexes
<FilesMatch "\.(tpl|inc|bak|sql|sh)$">
  Require all denied
</FilesMatch>

3. Apply the configuration.

sudo apachectl configtest
sudo systemctl reload apache2

Verification! Сategories and products should open without index.php?main_page=.... If you get 404s, ensure AllowOverride All is active for the shop directory and that .htaccess is being read (check logs with sudo tail -f /var/log/apache2/error.log).

Store email (SMTP)

Specify SMTP parameters in the Zen Cart admin panel to avoid problems with sending emails:

account default
host SMTP_HOST
port SMTP_PORT
auth on
user SMTP_USER
password SMTP_PASSWORD
tls on

Backup

• Make regular DB dumps:

0 2 * * * /usr/bin/mysqldump -u DB_USER -p'DB_PASSWORD' DB_NAME | gzip > /backup/zencart-$(date +\%F).sql.gz

• Store copies outside the application server.

Verification

1. Open the storefront: http://DOMAIN_NAME/ — the main page must load without 404/500 errors.
2. Log in to the administrative panel: http://DOMAIN_NAME/admin_your_suffix/. Make sure access is possible only via the new path.
3. Check the installed Zen Cart version:

grep -E "PROJECT_VERSION_(MAJOR|MINOR|PATCH)" includes/version.php

You will see the MAJOR/MINOR/PATCH numbers corresponding to the installed release.

Useful links