WP e-Commerce Gold Cart with Plugin Built Into Theme

Question

I am using this theme on our site. http://themeforest.net/item/icarus-business-ecommerce-theme/1535471

It has the wp e-commerce theme built into the theme in the /wp-content/themes/icarus/plugins/wp-e-commerce directory. I want to know how to install Gold Cart with this theme. I have tried just installing Gold Cart normally to the wp-content/plugins directory, but if I remember correctly it caused the white screen of death when I tried to activate (I'd have to try it again to confirm that's what happened).

Then I tried moving it to the same directory structure as WP e-commerce (/wp-content/themes/icarus/plugins/gold-cart-plugin-2.9.7.2), but it doesn't seem to be recognized. I don't see any new options in wp e-commerce; I am expecting to see additional gateway options.

Can anyone tell me how to get gold cart to work with this set up?

Also, can you tell me how to update wp e-commerce independently from updating the theme? Do I just copy the new version into the /wp-content/themes/icarus/plugins/wp-e-commerce directory?

Thanks so much!!

Answer 1

Typical Plugin Structure

Generally speaking WordPress plugins are located at /wp-content/plugins/ they are not typically installed within the /wp-content/themes/... directory tree. If your theme is installing the plugin (wp e-commerce) under it's own directory then you'll need to work with your theme provider to work out how to update/upgrade.

For a typical install of WP e-commerce with Gold Cart your structure would be:

• /wp-content

  -- /plugins

  --- gold_cart_plugin

  --- wp-e-commerce

To upgrade or install any of the plugins you'd use the standard WordPress method of updating from the repository or uploading a zip file. All within the 'Plugins' admin menu.

Gold Cart

The issue that you're having with the Gold Cart installation may well be a result of memory settings within your php.ini file. The white screen is often the result of PHP simply running out of memory when trying to process a request.

Troubleshooting should start with checking your error logs and depending upon your hosting environment you may need to contact your provider for assistance.

WP e-commerce Theme Files

WP e-commerce provides for customizing the theme and functionality by copying some files to a theme's directory. These are not the core plugin files, they are the files that control the layout and style of your store so that if fits within the theme's design.

From there you can modify the files in a safe way; if you upgrade the plugin the upgrade will not overwrite you customizations. If you're seeing WP e-commerce files within you theme's directory more than likely the theme is using this method.

Before upgrading WP e-commerce I'd check with the theme provider to make sure that the theme supports the version that you are upgrading to. Only they can tell you.