jodean:
Can anyone tell me what advantages thier is using CEON over Ultimate SEO?
So like all things there are good and bad. Advantages that I considered, and perhaps USU can do this without issue was that CEON doesn't require any type of numbers or other product/category default formatting to be in the uri so that when we are out in public to advertise our cause, we just speak/type/write the uri and it is easy to remember for all. Another advantage is that the store owner/operator has full control over what the uri(s) are to go to a given page. One can enter almost any number of uri options to get to a single page, for example say the login page, well could have: /login, /log-in, /log_in, /LogMeIn, /loggin, /enter, /opensesame,/opensaysme, etc... Capitalization used for emphasis of where the words are divided. Another advantage that I considered before use was the quality/completeness of the instructions. They were written now well over two years ago, and well, basically gave all of the requirements necessary to use the software. They may in some cases be obscurely written, but perhaps the functionality desired wasn't considered so necessary at the time to consolidate the thoughts into a single paragraph or sentence. From a programming side, CEON URI Mapping somewhat forces the use of ZC standard programming and helps identify where such is not used. It rewrites the coded version of a uri, not the "typed in" version and it becomes that much easier to spot when someone has taken a shortcut to provide a uri as compared to using the zen_href_link method of building a uri.
That said, now some disadvantages. The original author has passed and further development of this plugin has dwindled. Support of the plugin has been primarily it's users, not those that took on it's "development". Even the author (current/former) of USU chimes in with support. Possibly the biggest drawback for established stores is the need to populate the database with uris of existing product as compared to USU autogenerating the uri on the fly. There are tools to do this population even posts here and there, but it is perhaps the one biggest drawback to using CEON as viewed by a store owner/operator. I'm not sure if it is a plus or minus as I am not highly familiar with the details of USU, but misspellings of a uri using CEON lead to whatever page-not-found is to be loaded as CEON does not use any type of "best guess" of the uri, it is whatever is populated in the database. The .htaccess rewrite as originally developed includes a specific coding for the admin directory and requires updating when new directories are created off of the store's path. Also, as part of the uri "maintenance", if the store's uris change as compared to the HTTP_SERVER path, then the rewritten uris need to be modified/duplicated in the database. (Ie, mystore[dot]com/store moves mystore[dot]com/shop needs a database mod, but mystore[dot]com/store to hisstore[dot]com/store does not need a database mod provided all information is/was copied one-for-one from the other database.)
Hopefully that helps in determining the route to go, whether it is CEON or some other rewriter. I think most of these plusses and minuses though are already in the instructions, so unfortunately again say, read the manual. :P
