Getting Started

Please ensure that you read the getting started articles in preparation for working with this template.

An extra step when configuring Virtuemart Quickstart packages

When installing the quickstart package with Virtuemart there is one extra step in the process that needs to occur before your Joomla Virtuemart simple shop is ready to be populated. Virtuemart stores the site url in a file called virtuemart.cfg.php - this site url does not update in some cases and so the VM config file needs to be edited. You can find this file in the administrator/component/com_virtuemart folder for your Joomla installation.

1. Open the file and scroll down to lines 35 and 36. Where you may see a reference to the localhost. Replace this text with the url of your site.
eg: http://192.168.1.5:8888/joomla/quickstart/J158_simpleshop/ should become http://www.yoursite.com/

Once this occurs and the setting takes hold the images for the quickstart will appear and you will be able to successfully navigate through the Joomla installation.

Extensions used on the demo site

Extensions used on the demo site include:

• Extended menu - Superfish and Panel menus
• Virtuemart Carousels

Layout and module positions

Top shop has a good array of module positions available for you to use on your Joomla site.

It is possible to create a two column layout with two larger columns - this is what you can see on the front page - or you can have a more standard left column alignment with a larger main content body to the right.

We have made the setup of this template as simple as possible so there is no need to worry about applying class suffixes etc in order to get your site looking like a shop. Here is a quick overview for the module positions available and the module variations.

• In order to achieve the layout as shown on the front page of the demo you need to publish a module to the advert1 position and ensure that there are no modules published to the left position.
• In order to create the sub page variation, ensure that there are no modules published to advert 1 and that there is at least one module published to the left position.
• The cart will automatically appear like the demo when you publish it to the User2 position and will automatically generate the shopping cart styling.
• The Suckerfish menu is published to User3.
• The Virtuemart Carousel is published to User 5.
• The front page of the demo has a module published to Advert 1 and no modules published to the left position.
• The sub pages have an extended menu published to the left position and no modules published to advert1.
• The menu at the bottom of the demo site is a standard Joomla menu published to the bottom menu and has the flat list style applied to it. In Joomla 1.5 this is known as a legacy flat list.

The image below highlights the modules available for the front page layout option.

The image below highlights the modules available for the sub page layout option.