Wordpress On ZC [Support Thread]

[DivaVocals]

Well done for trying every possible scenario..

Color me persistent!

might actually
be another bonus...always found in live zencart production site with
numerous categories, products, attributes etc,
that wordpress and zencart each run quicker when run seperately but dont
envisage problem using sidebox links..

I agree.. In fact my client and I think we like the blog better as a seperate entity.. I think the WOZ sideboxes are enough to help tie the two together.. (just gotta make sure they really will work, and it's not some fluke..)

[supersnow]

Which WP sitemap plugin is the best? Does this intergrate into the zencart sitemap addon too?

I have the core zencart sitemap with ezpages integration plus I have the goolge XML sitemap installed to communicate with Google on zencart 1.3.7.1.

I really like wordpresss but I want Google and our customers to be able to locate both pages and posts from our integrate wordpress module from our sitemaps.

Please help!

Has anyone got some ideas about a woz sitemap plugin with integration into the google zencart XML sitemap addon?

I went to wordpress and there are a number of sitemap plugins and I would like too know if anyone has some first hand experince with any and if they will work with the googole XML sitemap for zencart.

Plus it would be nice to have the wordpress pages and posts on the zencart core sitemap too!

[DivaVocals]

Color me persistent!

I agree.. In fact my client and I think we like the blog better as a seperate entity.. I think the WOZ sideboxes are enough to help tie the two together.. (just gotta make sure they really will work, and it's not some fluke..)

Update: (for those who care..)

I confirmed that I can indeed use the sideboxes from this mod if I run the blog as a seperate entity.. Wasn't a fluke at all.. Here's how (in BRIEF)

1. Install WordPress (v2.7.x) in it's OWN directory -- you can use the same database where you have your Zen tables installed; just make sure that you use a table pre-fix to distinguish your WordPress tables from your Zen Cart tables
2. Follow all of the install instructions for this mod -- you can skip using Kiddo's change for v2.7.x since you won't be embedding the blog inside
3. Modify the "WP side bar" sidebox to comment out the code that creates the sidebox header link to the main blog page -- again since you are not embedding the blog you won't need this link.
4. Activate which ever WOZ sideboxes you want to use

You'll of course need to skin your blog to match your ZenCart template. Some other suggestions for tying your WordPress blog to ZenCart include: (these are only a FEW suggestions, with a little imagination you can do a lot more)

• Using the WordPress "Links" widget and create links back to specific products or product categories
• Add links to your "Contact Us" forms, policies, & other Zen content.
• Create a menu identical to your EZ Pages menu in the header or footer of your Blog

Hope someone else finds any of my ramblings helpful.. I will post links to what I did soon.. My client is getting a new header graphic for her blog. As soon as we incorporate that new graphic, I will post an updated link in case anyone wants to see an example..

[DivaVocals]

A few updates to my previous post.. I wanted to include a few more details, plus there's one tweak I thought might be useful in general to folks using this mod.. (changes highlighted in blue below)

Update: (for those who care..)

I confirmed that I can indeed use the sideboxes from this mod if I run the blog as a seperate entity.. Wasn't a fluke at all.. Here's how (in BRIEF)

1. Install WordPress (v2.7.x) in it's OWN directory -- you can use the same database where you have your Zen tables installed; just make sure that you use a table pre-fix to distinguish your WordPress tables from your Zen Cart tables
2. Follow all of the install instructions for this mod with the exception of "Step 2" in the WOZ instructions. -- you may skip this step in it's entirety.. since you won't be embedding the blog, this step will cause problems later on. If you want, you can also choose to skip using Kiddo's change for v2.7.x since you won't be embedding the blog
   
   Also since you will be running the blog as a seperate entity, you do not HAVE to use the default Word Press template that comes with WOZ. Therefore, you will not need the modified default template files included in this mod. So you can also skip the 2nd step of Step 3 in the WOZ instructions
3. Go to "includes/templates/template_default/sideboxes". Open all of the WOZ sidebox files and look for this line $content .= '<ul>'.$out.'</ul>';
   
   Just above this line add this: $content .= '<div id="' . str_replace('_', '-', $box_id . 'Content') . '" class="sideBoxContent">';
   
   This will format the WOZ sideboxes to look like your store's other sideboxes
4. Go to includes/modules/sideboxes. Modify the "wp_sidebar.php" sidebox as follows: Comment out this line "$title_link = 'wordpress';" (should be line 27, this is the code that creates the sidebox header link to the main blog page) -- again since you are not embedding the blog you won't need this link.
5. Activate which ever WOZ sideboxes you want to use.

You'll of course need to skin your blog to match your ZenCart template. Some other suggestions for tying your WordPress blog to ZenCart include: (these are only a FEW suggestions, with a little imagination you can do a lot more)

• Using the WordPress "Links" widget and create links back to specific products or product categories
• Add links to your "Contact Us" forms, policies, & other Zen content.
• Create a menu identical to your EZ Pages menu in the header or footer of your Blog

Hope someone else finds any of my ramblings helpful.. Here's a link to a real working version of this in case anyone wants to see an example of this in action.. http://www.lanikshair.com

[evan70]

nice job

[DivaVocals]

nice job

Why thank you.. clearly I was OBSESSED with finding a way to use this mod in some shape or form..

[speedcreed]

WOW! You've done a lot of work on this. And it's ironic that you would post your success on the very same day that I decided to try and find a WordPress blog solution for current Zen Cart (almost to the very same hour! ... that's just wierd...).

But let me make sure I understand (Newbie, here- and I WANT THIS): Does the blog on your Zen Cart begin in the sidebox heading that says "Lanik's Corner?" Or is that something else? Sorry if I appear dense but I get confused when I follow your link in above post, to wit-

in case anyone wants to see an example of this in action.. http://www.lanikshair.com

and then I see the page that says "AT LAST!!!! Check out Lanik's Corner, our (still new) now improved blog!!!" but without an archive of past blogs there ???

Again- I appologize for my lack of comprehension but what am I missing (having trouble connecting the dots, A to B, then back to A again)?

Look's great! Hope it doesn't end up being over my head (your efforts were epic)!

[cleasterwood]

Hi!

I'm a newbie & have some quick questions. I have the newest Zen Cart installed in my root & am looking for compatible community software to use to build a "Guild" for 3D Artists.

Will WOZ work with WordPress MU?

Can I prevent the WordPress section for showing on the shop's main page? I really only want products in the "Store" area, which is the home page, but I like the fact that I can integrate users so they automatically get community access.

I'm really loving Zen Cart as I've had none of the issues I've had with other shopping cart software.

Thanks in advance for your help.
Lynn

[DivaVocals]

WOW! You've done a lot of work on this. And it's ironic that you would post your success on the very same day that I decided to try and find a WordPress blog solution for current Zen Cart (almost to the very same hour! ... that's just wierd...).

But let me make sure I understand (Newbie, here- and I WANT THIS): Does the blog on your Zen Cart begin in the sidebox heading that says "Lanik's Corner?" Or is that something else? Sorry if I appear dense but I get confused when I follow your link in above post, to wit- and then I see the page that says "AT LAST!!!! Check out Lanik's Corner, our (still new) now improved blog!!!" but without an archive of past blogs there ???

WOZ embeds WordPress into ZenCart, since I'm running a seperate instance of the blog I only wanted to use the WOZ sideboxes to ties my store to the blog. I am only using the WOZ sideboxes on the Zen Cart side. links to the blog are in the WOZ sidebox.. (I changed my sidebox header to the name we've given the blog - Laniks Corner)

[DivaVocals]

Hi!

I'm a newbie & have some quick questions. I have the newest Zen Cart installed in my root & am looking for compatible community software to use to build a "Guild" for 3D Artists.

Will WOZ work with WordPress MU?

Can I prevent the WordPress section for showing on the shop's main page? I really only want products in the "Store" area, which is the home page, but I like the fact that I can integrate users so they automatically get community access.

I'm really loving Zen Cart as I've had none of the issues I've had with other shopping cart software.

Thanks in advance for your help.
Lynn

If you don't want ANY of the blog content or links in your store, then you don't need this mod at all.. this mod is not a c"community builder" the WP and ZC users are not synchronized at all.. All this mod does is allow you to display WP content within Zen Cart.