I do some HTML I learned in college but don't have the right software for what I want to do now. I love the Coffee Cup software I bought years ago and want to stay with the company if possible.

I have a large number of templates my hosting company provides free of charge but I am unable to modify these templates with my existing software. My questions are these:

If I buy Firestarter can I open and change files made in other Flash programs? The templates I have already have wording such as "Company Name" and "Lorem Ipsum" comments in the Flash portions. I am totally new to Flash but have a decent learning curve so will be able to pick it up (I hope!) if I get the right program.

I do HTML but I am sooooooooooooooooo slooooooooooooow and, to be honest, I'm still caught in 4.0. Will I be able to get my websites up and running faster if I go to WYSIWYG? I hated it back in school but that was a very long time ago and I imagine it has evolved. Any input from people who are used to HTML that have moved to WYSIWYG? Also, how about compatibility with other company's templates?

Lastly, I need a very simple to use e-commerce cart to start with but hope to grow. Should I spend the extra money to get the higher end cart and how does it compare to the others? Does it also work with templates from other companies?

Thanks a million, fellow CC fans. I really truly appreciate any help you can give me and please forgive me if I've asked a question that has an obvious answer.

cant advise on html as i do not have the foggiest idea what to do with it total novice,

However as a newbie VSD is childs play, wysiwyg i now make my own templates using vsd.

The scc basic is great if you just want a handfull of categories and one price per product,

If you want sub categories, and price options ie small £10.00 medium + 2.00 large + 3.00 SCC pro is the business.

I bought basic, uograded to pro and designer pro, and its possible with a bit of fiddling , to design home page in VSD, and import it chopped into 3 sections header, body, footer into cart designer.

Then the whole site can be run in just SCC pro

hope that all helps, very basic explanation but it is roughly what i have done.

My suggestion as far as the Firestarter software is concerned... download the free trial and test this for yourself to see what you are able to do.

If you already have a registered version of the CC HTML Editor, you should be able to download the latest version for free. Personally I would not move back to WYSIWYG, but you could of course just use the visual editor in the HTML Editor application. Just don't switch between the 2 though as you will get yourself in a tangle!

How compatible with other templates... depends what the other templates are based on... flash, html etc. but it is not likely that you will be able to open them in the Visual Site Designer that viv mentions. On the other hand, you can download that trial version too and see what you can achieve.

Depends how fast you need things done, but IMHO it would be a shame to lose your background in HTML. Try to stick with it and the HTML Editor.

Lastly, that shopping cart... I would go for the Pro version...and I would go for the Designer too. You can do as viv says and adapt templates to the shop, and vice versa. Personally I feel that it is enough for the shop to have the same "look and feel" as the web site without religiously attempting to have exactly the same template in both... but that's just me. I tend to make my own rules, so don't take me as an example!!

Welcome to the forum, Jade!



Go Pro - and get the Designer, too. Plan for growth now so it won't be a hassle later.

And a plug for VSD... I used to use Photoshop to work out my site designs (colors, backgrounds, lay-out),
but it's so much faster to do this with VSD. And, unlike a graphics program, you can preview designs in different browsers. Makes it easy to figure out sizes for photos and graphics and the best lay-out for the content. Plus, you can show clients a "live" sample before you ever write a line of code.

Thanks for all of the great advice! I'm going to try the free downloads and think I will follow everyone's advice and go with the pro software rather than the cheaper models. Better to buy now and not need to upgrade sounds like the very best idea. Your websites are all so fabulous!!!! I hope I can eventually do that, too. Wish me luck (eyes, fingers and knees crossed).

paintbrush, with almost 40 years as a writer and editor, I love deadlines, too.......... hahaha. Thanks for the smile!

if it weren't for deadlines, I'd never finish anything - got to have that pressure!

Be warned.... Coffee (Cup) is addictive! Have fun with it and show off your site when you're ready.

Hiya Jade and Welcome to CC forums

Make sure if you do decide to get the Shopping Cart Creator Pro and also want a designer that you get the Shopping Cart Designer Pro also and not the Basic as the Basic designer version won't style for the Pro Cart Creator. Have fun and let us know if you have any questions