How do I rebuild my site on the new version, instead of upgrading?

[SupeSite]

The EASIEST way to conceptualize an upgrade is that it's an accelerated re-build of your site, using the new version, and keeping all your existing store data/configuration.

Now … DON'T LET THAT word "rebuild" scare you! IT WILL NOT TAKE AS LONG to upgrade as it did to build your site in the first place!!
Maybe the first time you set up your store it took you a few weeks … mostly because you were starting green, had no idea what a template was or where to put your graphics or product images, etc. But since your existing site is now a map of all the things you've done to customize your site, the rebuild is a much shorter exercise.


How do I rebuild my site on the new version, instead of upgrading?

Well, an upgrade *is* basically a rebuild. At least, that's what I find to be the simplest approach to take when upgrading.

In a nutshell, an upgrade is simply this:

a) make a list of all your existing customizations
- This includes all your addons/plugins, templates, custom features, etc
- There are handy file-comparison tools that help you quickly see any changes/additions/deletions you've made
- If you've already made good notes about your own customizations over the years, these notes will be very handy checklists/references for the next stage

b) re-make those on the new version
- installing updated addons/plugins designed for the new version, if necessary
- adding any small templating changes from the new version into a new copy of your existing template, or maybe using a new template altogether if that suits
- re-making your custom coding changes into the new version's files
- sometimes it might mean merging changes from the new version's core files into your own customized files, and/or vice-versa. This is no different than what you need to do when installing two addons that touch the same files, since their unique changes need to be merged together before they can be safely used together anyway.

c) upgrade the database to the new version
The zc_install script is used to do this in an automated way. Just a couple clicks to take care of keeping all your data intact and bringing its data structure up-to-date to work with the new version.

And of course, doing all of this in a TEST COPY of your site first, not on your live site directly, lets you ensure that everything is working and nothing is missed, before putting it all onto the live site. This way, when it comes time to actually touch your live site, you can do it in just a few minutes instead of potentially having your store down for much longer while testing/checking addons and customizations, etc.

How do I do an upgrade and still keep my live store running in the meantime?

You're a busy storeowner. You know you need to keep the business running while you safely test your upgrade, and you don't want to lose any data in the process.

The SMARTEST way to do that is this:

a) keep your live store running, as-is. With its own admin. Its own database. Its own folder of files on the server. Everything as-is.

b) build your new store in a temporary location. THIS IS ONLY FOR TESTING AND PREPARING FOR LIVE DEPLOYMENT.
This separate testing area will use a complete copy of your live site, in another subdirectory of your site, AND another database.
This is done following the main upgrade procedure as described in steps a), b),

REMEMBER: Any settings you adjust in your Admin, and any SQL scripts you run against your database will need to be re-done after "going live". SO TAKE REALLY GOOD NOTES so you know all the things you need to do again.
Same with any addons that you install. You'll need to re-run their installation process and configure them, since their setup won't be present in that database until you do. (See next step to understand these last 2 statements better.)

c) once you're ready to "go live", your temporary "new" store will be out-of-date because you'll have new customers, new orders, new payments, new products, etc in the live store.
So, you simply upgrade your live shop (since it has the most current data):
(THIS IS *AFTER* YOU'VE BUILT AND TESTED YOUR "TEST" SITE IN PREPARATION)
You can do this upgrade now on your live site BECAUSE you've already done all the testing and preparation in a temporary space.
This is the only scenario when you should upgrade your live site directly!

Pick a time when your live store is less-busy. This might be a typically "slow day", or an evening or a weekend, depending on your business. Follow these steps:

1.Put your live shop down for maintenance (Admin->Configuration->Website Maintenance->first option, turn it on)
2.Backup your live database for safekeeping
It's also wise to backup all your existing php files/folders, images, etc … everything in your hosting account.
3.Replace all the Zen Cart php files/folders/images/everything in your live store with the new files (except the configure.php files which usually stay the same)
Be sure to also delete any files that don't belong anymore.
4.Upload all the files for the zc_install folder, and run zc_install/index.php and choose database-upgrade
5.Re-do any admin settings and SQL changes, new addons/modules, etc relevant to the new setup.
Refer to the list of notes you took while you did any additional customizing in your temporary site
6.Turn off down-for-maintenance
7.Do a test transaction to be sure checkout works
And browse around all the pages to make sure things are working correctly.
8.Do another backup of everything for peace-of-mind.
9.Take a deep breath.



TIP: You *could* do a "trial run" of this whole upgrade process by making ANOTHER copy of your live site and doing
this upgrade to that site. Then you'll have either a checklist of additional things you'd missed, or you'll have simply the peace-of-mind of knowing that your live upgrade will go smoothly.
In fact, this is what I always do!

d) You can then delete your temporary site (files and database) because it's no longer needed. It was only ever used for "staging" to prepare yourself for the actual live upgrade of the live shop.


ADDENDUM:
If you are considering changing webservers or hosting companies, do ALL of your upgrade activities BEFORE or AFTER the move. NOT DURING. If you confuse the picture by doing an upgrade at the same time, then you make it nearly impossible to determine whether your problems are the result of "moving" or a result of errors in "upgrading". So, always upgrade before OR after, but never "during" a move.