Zen Cart 2. 0 came out early April, quickly followed by 2.0.1  in early May. I’ve been playing with it ever since and am still at work on the updated template, but you can see it in action here: https://200.deliatest.com. I’m working on making Zen Cart more mobile friendly with dropdowns for both categories and the navigation. Next up is to improve that all important product page as it can get really unwieldy with complicated products and attributes. When the final edits are done, this product will be a good showcase for the new features: https://200.deliatest.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=22&products_id=34

Of course some of  the Zen Cart mods are lagging behind but my fav Image Handler was just released today and the upgraded Sitemap XML is also ready. A number of mods that have been upgraded in the past year or so are already 2.0 ready so in some ways we are ahead of the game.

2.o is designed for PHP 8.0 through PHP 8.3 which is the normal setup for many hosting companies nowadays. Upgrade now before your hosting company goes to those versions only and then impacts your website.

One new feature in this version is new image popups, relieving me and most designers the need to install an additional lightbox element. I like the new “image modals” as they are now called but so far have had no luck in using them in previous versions. They are a combination of php and css and may be a PHP 8+ feature only.

I encourage everyone to consider upgrading this year. I’m offering the first three clients who upgrade to 2.o free upgrades for 6 months just in case more bugs are identified that need tending to. I’ve been adamant for years since 1.5.4 that folks should wait at least a year after the initial release. We all got burned badly that year but things have gone smoother since 1.5.7 and I am willing to risk it at no cost to the first folks that agree. I also will upgrade my template in case you upgrade before my work is done on the newest version.