ShopWindow Custom Content

[Marc Gear]

Custom Content

At last, ShopWindowCustom Content is here. Custom Content is the easiest ShopWindow delivery method availiable to affiliates to show merchant product data on your website. You can create a fixed set of product information for display on thier page, based upon a number of aspects including price, keyword, category, merchants etc. The content and appearance of the content unit is completly under the affiliates control.

This is availiable to All affiliates - right now!

How Does it work

Custom Content is setup by choosing ShopWindow > Custom Content > Add New Content Units. Just run through the setup and configure exactly how you want your custom content to appear and what you want to appear and save it.

Content units can be used in a number of ways:

• To display a range of merchant products in a prominent place on your website
  
• To generate a list of products to use in a menu or feature list.
  
• Highlight particular deals or offers from merchants.
  

Custom Content groups are setup using a simple wizard and hence easy to use, extremely flexible and leave the decision of what products to promote in the hands of the Affiliate. Custom Content is designed to be used by any affiliates regardless of thier experiences with other web technologies.

To read more about ShopWindow Custom Content and other ShopWindow features click here

[drivetowin]

Marc

First thoughts

1. The new interface for getting datafeeds is a great improvement on the old one - well done

2. Unless I was unlucky in the first 10 merchants I chose, there don't appear to be any CSV files only XML - not a problem for me as I've been using the XML files for ages but could be a problem for others.

3. On the content unit creator, there appear to be some anomalies - if I select white wine from the category list, I get products but if I select all merchants and enter white wine in the search box I get told there are no results

4. The category list window is too long if you're running at 800 x 600 resolution (which I do all my development at) and does not appear at all if you are using Netscape as your browser.

5. There appear to be some errors in B&Q's product data unless they really do sell tins of paint for 10p

6. Why have merchants in the list who have no products - Pharmacy2u for example.

7. I selected B&Q all products max of 6 sorted by price and 1 column display and got a two column display

8. Is there an easy way for us to set the width of the returned results.

Overall despite all of the above - I like it - great to see IPS (sorry Shopwindow!!) moving ahead.

[madeinbritain]

Tried to apply for the datafeed but the form seems to display an error every time I've tried. I have already applied for ips.

[Marc Gear]

If you're able to use the Shopping Channel, then you can fetch the datafeed too - We are working through a backlog of ShopWindow applications.

[Marc Gear]

Originally posted by kbudden 2. Unless I was unlucky in the first 10 merchants I chose, there don't appear to be any CSV files only XML - not a problem for me as I've been using the XML files for ages but could be a problem for others.

This should be working now - oops

3. On the content unit creator, there appear to be some anomalies - if I select white wine from the category list, I get products but if I select all merchants and enter white wine in the search box I get told there are no results

I'll look into this,

4. The category list window is too long if you're running at 800 x 600 resolution (which I do all my development at) and does not appear at all if you are using Netscape as your browser.

It'll be a javascript thing with the netscape browser and i'll report that. The popup for the category list fits on my window in 800x600 though it does have a scrollbar. Unfortunatly we cannot optimize for 800x600 - there simply is too much information. Most of the visitors to our site browse in much bigger resolutions.

5. There appear to be some errors in B&Q's product data unless they really do sell tins of paint for 10p

Its quite possible but unlikley (unless its 'tesco value paint') I'll look through thier feed to check and check the output.

6. Why have merchants in the list who have no products - Pharmacy2u for example.

Some merchants have not yet provided us with product data or the product data is temporarily missing.

8. Is there an easy way for us to set the width of the returned results.

Only through changing the HTML code for the output, which you can customize as you like.

Overall despite all of the above - I like it - great to see IPS (sorry Shopwindow!!) moving ahead. [/quote]

[ianm]

Originally posted by kbudden 5. There appear to be some errors in B&Q's product data unless they really do sell tins of paint for 10p

Just took a look on B&Qs site and they've actually got it listed there for 0.10p

Think I'll go and order a few tins and flog them at the local car boot sale!