Wordpress On ZC [Support Thread]

Strange..not had a problem on test site using WordPress 2.7
and posting on different days, after using kiddo's fix..

Hi all. Thanks for all the pointers and tips throughout this thread. I think Ive managed to get it working properly, although, even with the patch my side bar links are /?p=<number> and not /index.php?mainpage=wordpress&p=<number> and if I try to change the permalinks within wordpress it gets really confused and wont display anything properly!

Anyway, to help others get towhere I am, ive put a small howto together which hopefully will get some people up and running, even if the permalinks are not right yet.

heres the link http://www.techize.co.uk/news/57-how-tos/151-how-to-get-wordpress-and-zencart-to-play-together-nicely.html

Now if someone might help out and show me how to get the permalinks working properly I would be for ever greatful! The site that wordpress is on is here http://www.papatheo.co.uk/.

Many thanks to all.

Jonathan

misty:

Strange..not had a problem on test site using WordPress 2.7
and posting on different days, after using kiddo's fix..Except there are variables on my blog that may not apply to your test blog.

1. There are two admins posting on this blog.. and what's strange is that it's almost as if as soon as the 2nd admin posted a blog article that the issue surfaced.. Though I'll need to do a lot more testing to see if this is related to this issue..
2. The blog was updated to Word Press v2.7.1 and this may be a contributing factor..

I need to rule out a few things so I am going to do some more testing tonight to see if I can figure out exactly what combo of things might be causing the posting issues..

DivaVocals:

Except there are variables on my blog that may not apply to your test blog.

1. There are two admins posting on this blog.. and what's strange is that it's almost as if as soon as the 2nd admin posted a blog article that the issue surfaced.. Though I'll need to do a lot more testing to see if this is related to this issue..
2. The blog was updated to Word Press v2.7.1 and this may be a contributing factor..

I need to rule out a few things so I am going to do some more testing tonight to see if I can figure out exactly what combo of things might be causing the posting issues.. Well more testing and I have determined that this is definitely not an issue due to the slightly updated version of WordPress, or the two admins.. I can't imagine that it's some conflict with an add-on I am running as there really isn't any obvious conflict between this add on and any other Zen add-on that I can see.. if there is the link is not clear..

What I do know is this.. The first posts for this particular blog were created on Feb 15th. Any posts dated after Feb 15th will NOT show up via WOZ until I go into the WordPress admin and change the posting date on them to February 15th. BUT if I view them using the WordPress index.php, I can see posts dated after Feb 15th just fine.. So what the heck is going on is anyone's guess..

So that said I have little patience at this point to try and figure out what little tiny thing is making this add-on go bonkers.. Gonna skin the WordPress blog to match the site, and move on.. Client is okay with this solution, so all's well I guess..:huh: Might look at that RSS mod myself now..

The blog was updated to Word Press v2.7.1 and this may be a contributing factor..
Have you tried wordpress site/forums...see if anyone else had this problem on updating..

kiddo:

This is one of the slickest mods out there!

Thank You!!!

It works very well with both ZC and WP installed in the site root.

Sharing the database makes the MySQL Backup mod grab all the data.

The Google Sitemap mod works perfectly in harmony with the WP sitemap plugin and includes the WP pages in their own entry in the sitemap index file.

Add a few plugins like NextGen and cform II...

This really puts the icing on Zen Cart.

Don't use a wimpy server and all will be well.

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!

misty:

Have you tried wordpress site/forums...see if anyone else had this problem on updating.. I've searched the WordPress forums, and found nothing.. Then again, I didn't really expect to find anything there.. Based on my testing, it seems clear that the problem is not within WordPress, but with the WOZ add-on.. If I run WordPress as a standalone blog, the problem is non-existent. I'm plum out of ideas..:blink:

You mention have 2 admins posting..are they admins for
wordpress or zencart or both...just wondering if conflict
there
:unsure:

misty:

You mention have 2 admins posting..are they admins for
wordpress or zencart or both...just wondering if conflict
there
:unsure:Nope that's not the problem either.. :no: Even if I delete all the posts and have only one admin re-enter them all.. (Which is what I did to test this) The very next day the same admin added one additional post, and it would not show up in WOZ, but was visible if I viewed WordPress standalone. Once I changed the posting date of the new post to match the posting date of the other posts, then WOZ displayed the new post just fine.. Whatever this issue is, it has everything to do with the posting date and WOZ. Running WordPress standalone displays no such issue..:blink: Very odd..

DivaVocals:

Nope that's not the problem either.. :no: Even if I delete all the posts and have only one admin re-enter them all.. (Which is what I did to test this) The very next day the same admin added one additional post, and it would not show up in WOZ, but was visible if I viewed WordPress standalone. Once I changed the posting date of the new post to match the posting date of the other posts, then WOZ displayed the new post just fine.. Whatever this issue is, it has everything to do with the posting date and WOZ. Running WordPress standalone displays no such issue..:blink: Very odd..
There is one bright side to all of this.. I decided to forego using this mod, and simply have a standalone blog that is skinned to look like the main site.. So on my dev site, I moved the blog to it's own directory, made the changes necessary to the WordPress options table to reflect the new blog location, and uploaded and applied my new WordPress template.. THEN.. Just for fun, I decided to see if the links in the WOZ sideboxes would now point to my new blog location.. And WHADAYAKNOW, they did.. :shocking: All the darn sideboxes work perfectly with my standalone WordPress blog!!! (I'm testing this on my dev site now to be COMPLETELY sure that this is not some fluke..)

Though the thing is, I'm not completely clear why they work..:laugh::laugh: Gonna do some testing to see if I can figure out the WHY.:P If I can get the sideboxes to consistently work, I think I will be okay with simply running WordPress as a standalone blog and using the WOZ sideboxes on the ZenCart side.. I'm using the links widget on the WordPress side to link back to featured product categories and the ZenContact form..

Well done for trying every possible scenario..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..
:wink:

misty:

Well done for trying every possible scenario..Color me persistent!:laugh:

misty:

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..
:wink: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!:laugh:

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..:laugh:)

I confirmed that I can indeed use the sideboxes from this mod if I run the blog as a seperate entity.. :clap: 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 useYou'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 BlogHope someone else finds any of my ramblings helpful..:laugh: 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..

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)

DivaVocals:

Update: (for those who care..:laugh:)

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

2. 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

3. 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. I**f 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

4. *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*

5. 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.

6. 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..:laugh: 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

nice job
:clap::hug::wink::clap:

evan70:

nice job
:clap::hug::wink::clap::laugh: Why thank you.. clearly I was OBSESSED with finding a way to use this mod in some shape or form.. :laugh:

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)!

Hi! :thumbsup:

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

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- 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)