tw, birdman doesn't want all the files in the root cuz they create a mess. He only wants the index file in the rot to keep things looking tidy
Birdman, I left all the files in the subdir including the index file
I then inserted the following into the .htaccess file
Redirect 301 /index.htm
http://www.xxxxx.com/store/
Redirect 301 /index.html
http://www.xxxxx.com/store
Redirect 301 /index.php
http://www.xxxxxx.com/store/
This means redirect any calls to index.htm or index.html or index.php to the store directory
"but messed up the "appearence of the site"
This might be because the link to the css file in the index file is incorrect. Look at the header of the index file and is it pointing to the correct location of the css file?
I haven't got time to work it out anymore but one thing I was going to consider was to do as you did ie put the index file in the root but edit the index file includes to correct the directory
eg Up top of the index.php, I was going to change
include_once("./includes/common.php");
to
include_once("../store/includes/common.php");
or something like that
Do the same for the other includes
If you're brave, try that out. Remember to keep a backup of the file before making changes
If you works, can you post back here please