We recently completed the update of the X-Cart for The Kitchen Outlet in order to bring it up to the current version (4.3.2) from its previous 4.1.9 setup. The ultimate goal is to bring it fully current to 4.4.0 version once the Xcart developers have created a database upgrade/patch file for the conversion.One of the challenges in upgrading is the steps needed to work through the various branches of Xcart’s versions. The process always starts with a backup of the current live cart. Then, a backup of the database that will serve two purposes: 1) to use in the upgrading process, and 2) as a backup if something goes astray.

First, we had to upgrade/patch the 4.1.9 to 4.1.12. From there we could upgrade from 4.1.12 to 4.2.x using the Xcart upgrade packages available in the license area. Once that was completed we then make a backup of the upgraded 4.2.x database to keep safe since we are now going to be applying SQL updates/patches to the new test cart (version 4.2.x). Once this step has been completed successfully we should be at the 4.3.2 version. It is now at the point we can fully address the modification of the skin.

In this case we chose to work with the Vivid Dreams / Lotus skin since it was closest to the color scheme the client wanted. There are a number of images that need to be recreated and there’s two CSS files that need to be altered in order to facilitate the customizations. The client wanted a fairly simple and clean look. Therefore minimal graphics were used in the creation.

Overall the client’s site will now have more functionality than before, easier updating to the latest version, and complance with the various modules.

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