Articles or Blog functionality

My client uses Zen cart mostly as a store (obviously), but the client would also like to post articles or blog posts. I was looking for an addon for articles or blog posts to your store but did not see anything. Adding pages manually in EZ pages is not going to work for my clients needs.

Within the Blog or Articles addon my client also wants this:

A. A Content Management System environment where she can paste text, create hyperlinks, and add images in a WYSIWYG environment. Creating posts for categories would be nice also.
B. Social media icons and or RSS feed so visitors can take these posts and put on their website, blog, or post onto social media sites.

Anyone know of any plugin that is even close? What are other users doing if they want an articles area with categories? Just wondering how to go about this. I would think there would be an article or blog add on but I did not see anything.

sports guy:

My client uses Zen cart mostly as a store (obviously), but the client would also like to post articles or blog posts. I was looking for an addon for articles or blog posts to your store but did not see anything. Adding pages manually in EZ pages is not going to work for my clients needs.

Within the Blog or Articles addon my client also wants this:

A. A Content Management System environment where she can paste text, create hyperlinks, and add images in a WYSIWYG environment. Creating posts for categories would be nice also.
B. Social media icons and or RSS feed so visitors can take these posts and put on their website, blog, or post onto social media sites.

Anyone know of any plugin that is even close? What are other users doing if they want an articles area with categories? Just wondering how to go about this. I would think there would be an article or blog add on but I did not see anything.
There isn't as it is generally thought that EZ Pages should serve in this capacity.. This has NEVER been the case for any of my clients who had blogging needs.. The only solution is to create a WordPress blog and skin it to match your store.. (I'll be happy to show you examples of where I've done just that..)

Another option others have used is the Numinix blog embedding solution (search for that and you will get more information) This solution embeds your whole blog into the stores center content area.. (still requires the creation of a WordPress blog)

I have long ago stopped using the blog embedding solution as I found it works out much better for the site visitors when the blog is it's own entity. I usually (not always) create a subdomain for the blog (http:the blog.yourdomain.com), and I like to make the blog look VERY similar, but not necesarily twins identical to the shop so that site visitors are aware of what part of the site they are in.. (think fraternal versus indentical twins:laugh:)

As for social media.. suggest searching the plugins section.. LOTS of options.. too many to name..

That is exactly the information I was looking for. I appreciate your time in formulating each of your arguments and solutions, its exactly what I needed. Wordpress on subdomain looks the way to go, as not to interfere with current Zen Cart navigation, and SEO friendly URLs.

I was hoping not to have to install a full blown blog, design a similar template, and run separate control panels, but I understand the difficulties in a merged add on. Thank you!

sports guy:

That is exactly the information I was looking for. I appreciate your time in formulating each of your arguments and solutions, its exactly what I needed. Wordpress on subdomain looks the way to go, as not to interfere with current Zen Cart navigation, and SEO friendly URLs.

I was hoping not to have to install a full blown blog, design a similar template, and run separate control panels, but I understand the difficulties in a merged add on. Thank you!
You're welcome..

The good news is WordPress is easy-peezy to install and easy to skin.. (so many template frameworks and templating tools to make the job easy -- I totally recommend Artisteer if you want to be able to QUICKLY spin up a WP template) So it's a fairly painless process.. For my last WP site I used Artisteer and was able to quickly pull together a matching WP template..

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There is also the About_Us plugin for adding individual pages to zencart.

dw08gm:

There is also the About_Us plugin for adding individual pages to zencart.

I found the plugin here: http://www.zen-cart.com/downloads.php?do=file&id=86 have you used it? Would it affect my EZ pages? I know I can also use EZ pages but I already use EZ pages for navigation on the bottom site menu for my informational pages. Therefore, I cannot also use EZ page for footer auto menu for the blog, because its already in use. What I am thinking is I would still have to manually link each new page of the blog to each other, instead of it creating an auto-menu for each new page (blog post).

sports guy:

I found the plugin here: http://www.zen-cart.com/downloads.php?do=file&id=86 have you used it? Would it affect my EZ pages? I know I can also use EZ pages but I already use EZ pages for navigation on the bottom site menu for my informational pages. Therefore, I cannot also use EZ page for footer auto menu for the blog, because its already in use. What I am thinking is I would still have to manually link each new page of the blog to each other, instead of it creating an auto-menu for each new page (blog post).
Defined pages are not the same thing as EZ Pages.. They serve two different purposes, and I woud never consider spinning up a bunch of defined pages as a "solution" to creating a blog..

IMHO, if you need blog functionality, EZ Pages on it's own won't do the trick.. While EZ Pages have some "blog-like/CMS-like" features, they are not a good substitute for blog functionality on their own.. I know that the Zen Cart admins don't agree with this POV, but this has been my experience/opinion..

I know most people would like an integrated blogging solution because they see the work of skinning a blog to match a store as "extra" work.. Perhaps inthe WordPress v2.0 days it was extra work.. OLD WP Templates are a PITA to deal with.. this is certainly not the case now.. there are TONS of templating options that make short order of spinning up WP templates.. Frameworks like Catalyst (my personal fav), Thesis, and Headway, and template generators like Artisteer make the process of creating WP templates easy peezy.. From my clients POV who are working in this mode (seperate blog and store)l, they have NO ISSUES whatsoever with the dual admins either..

sports guy:

I found the plugin here: http://www.zen-cart.com/downloads.php?do=file&id=86 have you used it? Would it affect my EZ pages? I know I can also use EZ pages but I already use EZ pages for navigation on the bottom site menu for my informational pages. Therefore, I cannot also use EZ page for footer auto menu for the blog, because its already in use. What I am thinking is I would still have to manually link each new page of the blog to each other, instead of it creating an auto-menu for each new page (blog post).

I have used it 138-151 for diverse content, including as a container for some forms, accessed via dropdown/flyup menu links in header/footer. It is quite simple to install and use.

I have used the Numinix Wordpress integration, and I like it, but I'm a pretty fair CSS hand and there is a certain amount of CSS work required to make it fit within Zencart. Installing Wordpress in a subdirectory and styling it to match might be easier, since, as diva said, there are thousands of excellent templates available for WP.

To me, introducing a distracting social element goes against the purpose of eCommerce. The eComm site should be just that... nothing more. No chit-chat, no "entertainment" - just channels to checkout.

Blogs and Social Pages are an essential part of your "wider web presence" and if you are in business, their role is to "harvest" potential customers and "engage" existing ones.

But the zencart site is your till-point. Don't give people an opportunity to abandon the purchase procedure.

For my clients their blogs and Facebook pages are simply additional sales tools which are meant to support the store versus serving as a distraction.. I have one client where the blog is the "front door" to their store as it serves to bring in visitors and then guide them to the store..

Regardless of this, I still find it is much more effective for the blog to remain a seperate entity.. I am not longer using blog embedding tools.. I am much more interested in embedding elements of the store inside the blog.. Right now I use manual methods to achieve this.. Still waiting for a GOOD WordPress plugin for this purpose.. (alas today none such plugin exists)