Ultimate SEO v3 (and v2.200) [Support Thread]

[dbmel]

This is an issue with your template NOT this add-on.. The links in question are hardcoded into your template versus using the proper Zen Cart link function to pull them in dynamically..

The code in the footer menu is:
<li><a href="' . zen_href_link(FILENAME_SHIPPING) . '">' . BOX_INFORMATION_SHIPPING . '</a></li>

What should change to make this the proper Zen Cart function?

Thanks,
Melissa

[lhungil]

... 1.5.1 version/Ultimate Seo UrLS 2.12 ... footer links not (showing) correctly on all the templates ... The strange part is that the top menu and the sideboxes DO (show) CORRECTLY ... I was wondering if you have come across this previously and know a fix for it? ...

The Usual Suspects
If the exact same link is showing up differently in different places in the same template: 98% of the time the cause is a hardcoded link in the specific template and 2% of the time something is not installed correctly.

If the exact same link always shows up as the Zen Cart URL and not the alternative URL (no matter where the link appears): 70% of the time the link is hardcoded, 28% of the time the link is not in the list of "pages to rewrite" (configuration), and 2% of the time something is not installed correctly.

If the link comes from an "EZ-Page" (some templates use EZ-Pages to define links in the header / footer) and the URL is not being altered: 70% of the time the cause is an incorrect URL specified for the "EZ-Page", 20% of the time the link is not in the list of "pages to rewrite" (configuration), and 10% of the time something is not installed correctly.

Keep in mind Zen Cart allows override folders and will fall back to the files inside the "default_template" (core files in the "default_template" should never be modified). So double check both places.

Last Resort
If after checking the usual suspects problems are still encountered, chances are the installed copy of Zen Cart has been modified in some way which is causing the issue (or USU is not installed correctly). In this case someone with good troubleshooting skills and a strong understanding of Zen Cart (including the templates and modules involved) may need to be engaged.

In the meantime, customers can still browse the site, will get to the correct pages via either URL (Zen Cart default or USU alternative), and the canonical link will keep search engines happy (unless your template removes this feature).




Note 1: For the purposes of this module, a hardcoded link is one not using the function zen_href_link() or using zen_href_link() incorrectly.

Note 2: Ultimate (seo) URLs falls back to using the standard Zen Cart URL generation in the event something goes wrong. This reduces the possibility of website visitors encountering issues. It would be a good idea to check the Zen Cart "debug" logs and PHP "error" logs and see if they contain anything.

Note 3: When upgrading from Zen Cart 1.2.x or 1.3.x to Zen Cart 1.5.x with a version of USU < 2.200, it is vital all portions of the older version of USU are uninstalled before performing upgrading. In most cases rebuilding the site on 1.5.x is the preferred method and lowers the chance of conflicts from older modules not compatible with Zen Cart 1.5.x.

Note 4: Percentages are estimates based upon a VERY small sample representing the number of times a similar problem has been reported.

[dbmel]

That is a great explanation - thank you! In this case, the footer links are pulled from the template's language file footer_menu_defines.php instead of template/common/tpl_footer.php. This is the same for many of the responsive templates that I am looking into and each one has the same problem. If I move the shipping link code into the tpl_footer file, I does re-write correctly.

Indeed the canonical link is to the correct page. Works for me!

Thanks you again!

[DivaVocals]

That is a great explanation - thank you! In this case, the footer links are pulled from the template's language file footer_menu_defines.php instead of template/common/tpl_footer.php. This is the same for many of the responsive templates that I am looking into and each one has the same problem. If I move the shipping link code into the tpl_footer file, I does re-write correctly.

Indeed the canonical link is to the correct page. Works for me!

Thanks you again!

Not to call anyone out, but to HELP others, you should share this issue (and your solution) in the template's support thread..

[pixelpadre]

I cant seem to get this mod working on 1.51. Url's are rewritten, But, I get a 404 error when I click on the links. I've tried cleaning cache. store is in root directory. htaccess was set as rewrite base /, then I commented it out after reading that you can do this if store is in base. Tried default template, same problem. Tried with and without www.

[pixelpadre]

Rewritebase (no space)

[pixelpadre]

Is Litespeed Technologies to blame for this?

[lhungil]

Rewritebase (no space)

Link to site? Any other changes made to the .htaccess file at the Zen Cart store root? Any other .htaccess files on the site? More information about the server and environment?

[lhungil]

Is Litespeed Technologies to blame for this?

If your web server is running LiteSpeed, you may need to manually enable / allow the rewrite engine (if not already enabled by your hosting provider). There are some notes here and here.

[pixelpadre]

Link to site? Any other changes made to the .htaccess file at the Zen Cart store root? Any other .htaccess files on the site? More information about the server and environment?

No other mods to the htaccess file.

Links will only give you a 404 page that says :

404 Not Found
The resource requested could not be found on this server! Powered By LiteSpeed Web Server
LiteSpeed Technologies is not responsible for administration and contents of this web site!