altering looks

This is a total n00b question, I know, but are there alternative templates?  How do I alter the look of the site I have?  Is there a gui way?

Not a gui way.. gotta do it the old fashioned way. There are templates on the contributionsite but they are mostly all for older versions of OpenCart. Unfortunately we are in this "interim" period right now of getting ready to release a new version so many things are going to need updates.

You can use the tab and background images from the template contributions on the main site to change the colour of the template. Just replace the images with those. Do not use the files, though, they are not compatible with the latest version. Just use the images.

David has some templates for sale at a nominal fee. Look in the template forum or it might be the commercial forum. There might be others there too and their prices are extremely reasonable. Much cheaper than doing it yourself.
There is also a thread in here somewhere for how to make a 3 column template

To skin it yourself, all you need to know is basic html and basic CSS
The template files are the .tpl files
These call upon variables in the controller .php files
They also call upon styles in the .css files, mainly the default.css file in the template folder.

If you want a really good looking out-of-the-box template, try Magento. It's got a great default skin but you will strike other problems that are far more complex than learning to skin.

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