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max
09-06-06, 08:19 PM
Do you think it is possible to get a blog set up in Miva? I was thinking it would be neat to have an interactive blog as a review on our store, so people could join the blog to leave a review.

What do you think?

Thanks!
Vic - WolfPaw Computers
09-06-06, 08:23 PM
You certainly could call a blog into an IFRAME or have a link to your blog in a your category tree.
dreamingdigital
09-06-06, 08:33 PM
Or you could use ADS External File Pro module and call the blog PHP file (or whatever language it is in) You'll need to make sure to edit the blog template files not to include the <head> content and include the necessary style and script tags in the miva page. :)
max
09-06-06, 08:43 PM
Wow! thanks for the response. Do you know any place I could see this in action? How could I read more about the IFRAME and ADS External File Pro, are there resources you know of?

Would other people be able to join this blog and would it be controllable through Miva?

Thanks again for your awesome input!
Vic - WolfPaw Computers
09-06-06, 08:46 PM
You can read up on IFRAMEs all over the net. Google the term IFRAME.

ADS' External File Pro module you can read up on at this link (http://tinyurl.com/nrvqz).

And no, you would not be able to control the blog in Merchant. You can however, manipulate how it looks and where it is displayed.

You would still administrate your blog with the blog's own admin.
jason - jmh web services
09-06-06, 08:52 PM
Do you think it is possible to get a blog set up in Miva? I was thinking it would be neat to have an interactive blog as a review on our store, so people could join the blog to leave a review.

What do you think?

Thanks!

For the blog part, use wordpress (http://www.wordpress.org) and install it on your own site.
DesignExtend-MSI
09-07-06, 02:30 AM
For the blog part, use wordpress (http://www.wordpress.org) and install it on your own site.

Yes, WordPress is great. But that doesn't tie right into the store on it's own.

If you want to run WordPress, there is a simple solution without extensive programming. WordPress will let you write the links based on the Post Name, so if you name the post the same as your Product Code, this could ideally work.
jason - jmh web services
09-07-06, 02:38 AM
Yes, WordPress is great. But that doesn't tie right into the store on it's own.

Of course not, but others discussed ways to do that.
DesignExtend-MSI
09-07-06, 02:40 AM
Of course not, but others discussed ways to do that.

I'm sorry, did I step on toes again? :confused:
jason - jmh web services
09-07-06, 02:44 AM
I'm sorry, did I step on toes again? :confused:

nope. just explaining that others talked about that part but nobody else talked about a specific blogging solution.
DesignExtend-MSI
09-07-06, 02:49 AM
nope. just explaining that others talked about that part but nobody else talked about a specific blogging solution.

You did, I gave more info on the actual integration with that. And now, I'm off this thread.
max
09-07-06, 05:47 PM
Yes, WordPress is great. But that doesn't tie right into the store on it's own.

If you want to run WordPress, there is a simple solution without extensive programming. WordPress will let you write the links based on the Post Name, so if you name the post the same as your Product Code, this could ideally work.
Pamela
The Official Guide to MIVA Merchant
http://www.designextend.com (http://www.designextend.com/)


What is the simple solutions? Would the blog be a link from my product page or would we be able to see the blog on the product page itself? How would I make that work?

Thank you for everyones input on this thread!
wcw
09-07-06, 06:05 PM
If you use something like the Emporium Plus Tool Kit you would call the external program directly into your page. So when the chosen page comes up, the blog would be in the middle of it as if it is part of your store. The callurl function lets you call any external program and pass variables (settings) to it. Jason has a copy of the Tool Kit so maybe he has an example of using it with a blog like wordpress.
max
09-07-06, 06:41 PM
That would be great to see an example!

On another note, would it maybe make sense to set up a forum as a review instead of a blog type? Is there a module for this? We want our customers to be able to have a conversation about a product rather than just rate it once and be cut off.

Thanks again for such great advice!
DesignExtend-MSI
09-07-06, 06:50 PM
That would be great to see an example!

On another note, would it maybe make sense to set up a forum as a review instead of a blog type? Is there a module for this? We want our customers to be able to have a conversation about a product rather than just rate it once and be cut off.

Thanks again for such great advice!

Most blog software allows commenting, so they could essentially post back and forth. Some also offer threaded displays so people can respond to others' comments.

A forum is, I think, too robust for this.
max
09-07-06, 07:13 PM
Thank you so much for that bit of advice. So the blog would probably be the best way to go.

Now I just need more information about:
If you use something like the Emporium Plus Tool Kit you would call the external program directly into your page. So when the chosen page comes up, the blog would be in the middle of it as if it is part of your store. The callurl function lets you call any external program and pass variables (settings) to it. Jason has a copy of the Tool Kit so maybe he has an example of using it with a blog like wordpress.

How would I make the toolkit work to call the blog? I havn't done a blog before so this is all so new for me.

Thanks again!