Ecwid is a great tool to add an e-commerce functionality to your Joomla site. Ecwid is very different from usual "Joomla" shopping carts and has these unique advantages:
- The store is displayed on your existing website as its integral part. However, it uses the power of our Amazon servers to store and generate content. So, your store is always fast, no matter what hosting you use or how many visitors you get.
- Seamless upgrades. It's easy to get new features! You just wake up one day and your store is already upgraded. No coding, patching or other time-consuming work is required from you. We do all the technical work. Moreover, your store will not depend on your Joomla version. So, feel free to upgrade your site, it will not break the Ecwid store in any way.
More about Ecwid features.
What do Joomla users say about Ecwid?
Patvb:
"I love how easy it was to set up products and set shipping rates. No tricky configuration screens, no confusing image issues. It came with several basic modules and checkout is really professional looking too. I'm a Virtuemart convert!"
MaisyD:
"I came across this on another website - I liked the look and ease of use of their shopping cart. I tried a few others but they were just not right. This one is free, quick, looks great and was so easy to set up. When I go in and edit or add products, I can do it so quickly. It seems to take longer doing it through virtuemart. I just discovered ECWID they have a joomla extension so I installed it and it has integrated seamlessly. Their instructions are so clear and concise and their website contains everything you need to know. Love it!"
In order to use Ecwid you should create a free account first. You can sign up at my.ecwid.com. Then it is necessary to add your Ecwid store to your Joomla website. There are three different ways to do this:
- Using a free "RokEcwid" extension.
- Using a paid "Ecwid4Joomla" extension made by USP Web Solutions. This extension adds some great features, for example, much more powerful SEO tools. So, if you want to have full control over your product/category titles or SEO friendly URL’s, we suggest using it.
- Using manual installation. This way isn't recommended, we suggest using one of the modules listed above.
Install the free "RokEcwid" extension
Installation
Joomla 1.5
- Download this extension file: ecwid-joomla15-plugin-1.3.zip
- Open the "Extensions → Install/Uninstall" page in your Joomla backend.
- Upload and install the extension using the "Upload Package File" section.
Joomla 1.6, Joomla 1.7 and Joomla 2.5
- Download this extension file : ecwid-joomla16-j17-plugin-1.3.zip
- Open the "Extensions → Extension Manager" page in your Joomla backend.
- Upload and install the extension using the "Upload Package File" section.
Notes
- These extensions require PHP5 on your server. If you still use PHP4, then it will be necessary to install your Ecwid store manually.
- Extensions were initially developed by Rick Blalock and modified by Ecwid team. Then they were greatly improved and adapted for Joomla 1.6 and 1.7 by RocketTheme team.
- Extensions are licensed under GPL.
Set up your extension
- Open the "Components → RokEcwid" page.
- Enter your free Ecwid Store ID and save the changes.
Add your Ecwid page to your site's menu
Joomla 1.5
- Go to "Menus → Main menu" in your Joomla backend. If you have many menus, then select the necessary one instead of the main one.
- Click the "New" button.
- Select "Menu Item Type": "RokEcwid", then select "ECWID Default Layout".
- Name your page and save the changes.
Joomla 1.6, Joomla 1.7 and Joomla 2.5
- Go to Menus → Main menu → Add New Menu Item in your Joomla backend. If you have many menus, then select the necessary one instead of the main one.
- Press the "Select" button next to the "Menu Item Type" option.
- Select "RokEcwid / RokECWID Default Layout".
- Name your page and save the changes.
Your store is ready. Now you can open it from your site.
Add sidebar modules (optional)
By default, when you install RokEcwid extension in your Joomla administrator panel, the following related module types are added automatically (they represent the corresponding Ecwid widgets):
After installation they all are listed among the extensions.
Each of these module types is actually a kind of pattern for creating your own modules, which can later be used for displaying corresponding widgets on your site. This is how you can do it:
- In your Joomla administrator interface, go to Extensions → Module Manger → New. You will see the list of module types you can use. Choose the type you want (RokEcwid Mini-Cart, RokEcwid Categories, RokEcwid Search Module). This will create a new module for you.
- On the module settings page (it will appear after you select a type), you will be able to select pages and a position in your site template where you want the corresponding widget to be displayed. Each Joomla template has its own set of positions, which may already be occupied with menus and other elements, so it is up to you what position you choose for your module. If you're configuring the Ecwid categories module, it will also let you choose the desired view (horizontal/vertical). You will be able to set some additional parameters for the created module there as well.
That's all. After clicking the 'Save' button, a new module will be published. The corresponding widget's code will be automatically added to your site. If, however, the widget doesn't appear after described actions, please check the following module settings:
- status (should be 'Published'),
- access (should be 'Public'),
- position (you should choose a position which is displayed somewhere on your site),
- module assignment (if no pages are selected there, the module will never be displayed).
This extension integrates your Ecwid store with your Joomla website and adds some features the free "RokEcwid" extension doesn't have. Some of them:
- SEO friendly URL’s for your product pages.
- Ability to set custom titles and meta descriptions for your product pages.
- Adding all of your categories and individual product pages to your site map.
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More information on this module, feature descriptions and demo is available at www.ecwid4joomla.com
Manual installation
If you for some reasons cannot use the ready extensions, then you can install Ecwid manually.
- log into your Ecwid control panel
- copy the Ecwid integration code from the Dashboard
- create a new page in your site, open it for editing
- switch the editor to the HTML mode, i.e. disable the WYSIWYG mode (must-do). Use the 'Toggle editor' button below the texarea.
If you use JCE, you should use "show/hide" link to disable the WYSIWYG editor.
If you don't see this link, please refer to the article from JCE site on how to enable it: http://www.joomlacontenteditor.net/support/faq/48-editor/226-no-showhide-link
- insert the integration code and save the changes. Your store is ready, you can view it by opening the saved page.
Related reading
