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599 CHAPTER Implementing e-Commerce with VirtueMart THIS CHAPTER Introducing VirtueMart Obtaining and installing VirtueMart Reviewing the VirtueMart control panel Administering the store Configuring VirtueMart I f you want to create an online catalog or sell products on your Joomla! site, you can do so easily by installing the VirtueMart system. VirtueMart turns your Joomla! site into a powerful and full-featured e-commerce system. VirtueMart can either be added to an existing site, or you can obtain an all- in-one installer that provides Joomla! plus VirtueMart and a selection of additional extensions. Once installed, you can configure the extension to handle multiple products and categories and support a wide range of ship- ping and payment options. This chapter examines how to obtain and install VirtueMart, together with the basics of setting up a store and populating it with products. Introducing VirtueMart VirtueMart is an open source ecommerce plugin for the Joomla! Content Management system. VirtueMart can be used either as a simple catalog man- agement system, or as a catalog with a shopping cart that enables online transaction capability. The system interfaces with all the most common ship- ping programs and payment gateways to give a turnkey ecommerce solution for Joomla! users. Figure 23.1 shows the default interface. The VirtueMart project has been around for a number of years, indeed lon- ger than Joomla!, and is the most popular ecommerce plugin for Joomla! The VirtueMart team has created a full-featured system that provides all the most common functionality one expects from an online shopping site. Part IV: Customizing and Extending the System 600 FIGURE 23.1 The front-end of the default VirtueMart package with the sample data installed. Chapter 23: Implementing e-Commerce with VirtueMart 601 Note You can test drive a live VirtueMart installation at the demo site the project maintains. The demo site allows you to check out both the front end and the back end of the system. View it online: http://virtuemart.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=145&Itemid=97. Features The default VirtueMart system supports a wide range of features for both site visitors and adminis- trators. Note that these features are in addition to the standard Joomla! site features and further, that you can extend your VirtueMart site by adding extensions to the installation. For visitors Front-end visitors, or shoppers as they are referred to in the system, have access to a number of features that enable finding items and tracking of their orders. l Quick search for products with filters for features and discounts l Manage your account (registered users only) l Manage your shipping details (registered users only) l View your order history (registered users only) l Pick your preferred currency l View and rate products Here’s a sampling of some of the companies and brands that use VirtueMart. l Bauman College: www.baumancollege.org/ l Cuisine Solutions: www.cuisinesolutions.fr l Cycle Taiwan Shop: http://shop.cycletaiwan.com l Grand Living: www.grandliving.se/ l HD AV: http://hdav.co.uk/ l Ink Bags: www.inkbags.com/ l Nelson Events: www.nelsonevents.co.uk/ l Sejwix: http://sejwix.co.uk/ l Power Balance: www.powerbalanceshop.de/ l The Untouchables: www.untouchables.co.uk Who Uses VirtueMart? Part IV: Customizing and Extending the System 602 l Automatic notifications when product is back in stock l Browse and sort products by relevance, price, newest additions, and so forth For site administrators Site administrators can manage the catalog and the users. The VirtueMart system is intended to cover all the most common needs of an online shop manager, including currencies, taxes, ship- ping, discounts, and order management. l Unlimited number of products and categories l Multiple images per product l Catalog management only, or catalog plus shopping cart l Customizable product attributes l Group shoppers to show different prices and payment options l Handles downloadable products l Support multiple currencies and multiple payment gateways l Flexible pricing l Support SSL connections l Supports multiple delivery methods and shipping modules l Supports multiple discount systems and “specials” l Set stock levels and show product availability l Supports multiple tax calculations l Order status management l Shop statistics Note VirtueMart, like Joomla! itself, is extendable. The VirtueMart site includes an Extension directory with more than 150 entries. Browse the directory at http://extensions.virtuemart.net/ Finding an appropriate use for VirtueMart VirtueMart is intended to be used for two purposes: l Online catalog management l Online sales Chapter 23: Implementing e-Commerce with VirtueMart 603 It is equally well suited to either task, and typically these two functions are combined into one site; that is, the system is used to manage an online catalog from which items are sold. VirtueMart is capable of handling either physical or virtual products, meaning that you can either carry inventory that is physically delivered, or you can provide digital products that are delivered by download directly from the site. Obtaining and Installing VirtueMart The first step to setting up your online store is to obtain the VirtueMart code. There are multiple versions of the package available, so make sure you obtain the proper version for the version of Joomla! you have installed. You should obtain the VirtueMart installer package from only the VirtueMart site, www.virtumart.com or from the JoomlaCode site, as shown in Figure 23.2. Tip You can also find the official VirtueMart packages at JoomlaCode.org http://joomlacode.org/gf/project/virtuemart/ Creating a fresh installation If you want to create a fresh installation, you probably want to obtain the all-in-one installer that bundles Joomla! with VirtueMart and additional related extensions. This package is created by VirtueMart and is called the eCommerce Bundle. The VirtueMart eCommerce Bundle is a package of Joomla! plus the VirtueMart components and modules, all rolled up into one convenient unified installer. If you are creating a fresh installation, this is the easiest way to get VirtueMart up and running. Caution Because the eCommerce Bundle is maintained by VirtueMart, not the Joomla! team, you will need to make sure your Joomla! installation is up-to-date. Immediately after installation you should check if there are any upgrades or patches for the Joomla! Code, and if so, get them installed without delay. Part IV: Customizing and Extending the System 604 FIGURE 23.2 The VirtueMart.com downloads page. Note the various packages available. Chapter 23: Implementing e-Commerce with VirtueMart 605 The VirtueMart eCommerce Bundle includes the following core files that are consistent with the default Joomla! distribution: l Core Joomla! Components l VirtueMart component: The key VirtueMart extension. l Custom QuickIcons component: Third-party extension that provides a replacement for the standard Joomla! Control Panel Quick Icons. l eXtplorer component: Third party extension that provides a file manager you can use from within your Joomla! admin interface. l JCE component: Third-party extension that provides an alternative WYSIWYG editor. Note that this editor is enabled as the default editor in the VirtueMart eCommerce Bundle. l Core Joomla! Modules l JA News module: Third-party extension that provides a functionality similar to Joomla’s Newsflash module. Though this is included in the bundle, it is not enabled by default. l JA Slideshow module: Third-party extension that provides a basic slideshow inside a module position. Though this is included in the bundle, it is not enabled by default. l JA VM Product Slideshow: Third-party extension that provides a rotating slideshow of products drawn from one or more categories. This is enabled in the default configura- tion at the top of the home page. l Product Scroller module: This VirtueMart module displays a scrolling list of products inside a module position. It is included with the bundle but disabled in the default configuration. l Products module: This VirtueMart module displays a list of product categories inside a module position. It is included with the bundle but disabled in the default configuration. l VirtueMart module: This all-purpose VirtueMart module can be configured to display a number of items, from lists of categories to search boxes to login forms. Numerous configuration options let you control the output. This is enabled in the default system and assigned to the left-hand column. l All-In-One module: This VirtueMart module can display the latest products, featured products, top ten products, or random products in one module using tabs. It is included with the bundle but disabled in the default configuration. l Cart module: This VirtueMart module is a mini-cart that has a link to the full cart page. The module is enabled in the default configuration. l Currencies module: This VirtueMart module displays a list of currencies and allows your visitors to select the currency for prices. l Featured Products module: This VirtueMart module displays the products you have marked as being on special. Part IV: Customizing and Extending the System 606 l Latest Products module: This VirtueMart module displays the most recent products. l Manufacturers module: This VirtueMart module displays a list of manufacturers, with a link to all products by the manufacturer. l Random Product module: This VirtueMart module randomly displays a product from your store or from a specific category. l Search module: This VirtueMart module displays a search form for your store. l Top Ten module: This VirtueMart module displays the top ten most popular products, in terms of sales. l CustomQuickIcons module: This administrator module enables the display of the out- put of the Custom Quick Icons component. It is set to display on the control panel. l JCE QuickIcon module: This administrator module enables the display of icons for the JCE component’s administration control panel. l Core Joomla! Plugins l VirtueMart Product Snapshot plugin: Enables you to place products inside of articles. For guidance on the syntax, read the comments inside the file /plugins/content/ vmproductsnapshots.php l Editor - JCE 1.5.1 plugin: Enables the JCE WYSIWYG content editor. l VirtueMart Extended Search plugin: Enables search of the VirtueMart products. l System - VM Mainframe plugin: This plugin renders the VirtueMart CSS and JS on non-VirtueMart pages. l Core Joomla! Templates l js_larix template: The default template in the bundle. l js_jamba template: An optional template included with the bundle. The installation process applicable the VirtueMart eCommerce bundle is identical to installation process for the Joomla! core. Cross-Reference See Chapter 2 for a full explanation of how to install the Joomla! core files on your server. Tip Note that the bundle installer includes the option to install sample data. If this is your first time to work with VirtueMart, installing the sample data is recommended as a way to grasp the system’s capabilities and see vari- ous modules in action. Note The technical requirements for VirtueMart are consistent with the requirements for Joomla! Chapter 23: Implementing e-Commerce with VirtueMart 607 Integration with an existing site If you already have an existing and properly functioning Joomla! site, you can add VirtueMart into the site using one of three installation techniques: l Complete Package l Remote Installer l Manual Installation Package Installing the Complete Package The installation download package labeled Complete Package by VirtueMart contains all the com- ponents and various modules needed to install VirtueMart on an existing Joomla! site. To use this package, you must extract the contents, and then upload and install them one by one. The Complete Package contains: l The VirtueMart component, ready to install, in .zip format l A modules directory that contains the following modules, ready to install, all in .zip format: l Product Scroller module: This VirtueMart module displays a scrolling list of prod- ucts inside a Module position. Included with the Bundle but disabled in the default configuration. l Products module: This VirtueMart module displays a list of product categories inside a module position. Included with the Bundle but disabled in the default configuration. l VirtueMart module: This all-purpose VirtueMart module can be configured to display a number of items, from lists of categories, to search boxes, to login forms. Numerous configuration options let you control the output. This is enabled in the default system and assigned to the left-hand column. l All-In-One module: This VirtueMart module can display the latest products, featured products, top ten products or random products in one module using tabs. Included with the bundle but disabled in the default configuration. l Cart module: This VirtueMart module is a mini-cart that has a link to the full cart page. The module is enabled in the default configuration. l Currencies module: This VirtueMart module displays a list of currencies and allows your visitors to select the currency for prices. l Featured Products module: This VirtueMart module displays the products you have marked as being on special. l Latest Products module: This VirtueMart module displays the most recent products. l Manufacturers module: This VirtueMart module displays a list of manufacturers, with a link to all products by the manufacturer. l Random Product module: This VirtueMart module randomly displays a product from your store or from a specific category. Part IV: Customizing and Extending the System 608 l Search module: This VirtueMart module displays a search form for your store. l Top Ten module: This VirtueMart module displays the top ten most popular products, in terms of sales. l A plugins directory that contains two plugins. l An installation guide in .pdf format To install this version of VirtueMart, follow these steps: 1. Download the Complete Package. 2. Unzip the archive locally. You can see the contents described. 3. Log in to the admin system of your Joomla! site. 4. Click on the option Install/Uninstall, under the Extensions menu. The Extensions Installer dialogue opens in your browser. 5. Click the Browse button next to the Upload Package File field. The file upload dia- logue opens. 6. Find and select the file com_virtuemart_x.x.x.zip. Click the Open button. The file upload dialogue closes and the name of the file appears in the field next to the label Package File. 7. Click Upload File & Install. The system will now install the component. If successful, you will see a confirmation message, as shown in Figure 23.3. 8. If you want to add the sample data, click the Install Sample Data button, or else click the button labeled Go Directly to Shop. The component populates the database accordingly and then take you to the Store Control Panel and a confirmation message. 9. You must next install the main VirtueMart Module. Click on the option Install/ Uninstall, under the Extensions menu. The Extensions Installation Manager opens in your browser. 10. Click the Browse button next to the Upload Package File field. The file upload dialogue opens. 11. Find and select the file mod_virtuemart_x.x.x.zip. Click the Open button. The file upload dialogue closes and the name of the file appears in the field next to the label Package File. 12. Click Upload File & Install. The system now installs the module. If successful, you will see a confirmation message. 13. Repeat the installation process for any additional modules or plugins you desire. 14. Access the Module Manager by selecting the option Module Manager under the Extensions menu. The Module Manager loads in your browser. 15. Enable all VirtueMart modules. 16. Access the Plugins Manager by selecting the option Plugin Manager under the Extensions menu. The Plugin Manager loads in your browser. 17. Enable all VirtueMart plugins. [...]... You can see the contents 3 Access your Joomla! installation on your server 4 Copy the contents of the VirtueMart /components directory to your Joomla! installation’s /components directory 5 Copy the contents of the VirtueMart /modules directory to your Joomla! installation’s /modules directory 6 Copy the contents of the VirtueMart /plugins/content directory to your Joomla! installation’s /plugins/content... /plugins/search directory to your Joomla! installation’s /plugins/search directory 8 Copy the contents of the VirtueMart /administrator/components directory to your Joomla! installation’s /administrator/components directory 9 Log into the admin system of your Joomla! site 10 Go to this URL: www.your domain.com/administrator/index php?option=com_virtuemart You should see a confirmation page 611 Part IV: Customizing... Installation package The Manual Installation package is not installable through the Joomla! Extensions Installer This package must be unpacked and then moved to the appropriate directories manually, via FTP or your web hosting control panel’s file manager This option is provided for those whose server configuration blocks the use of Joomla s default installer The complete Manual Installation Package contains... Given the large size of the VirtueMart installation files, the Remote Installer can save you a bit of time 609 Part IV: Customizing and Extending the System To use the Remote Installer, follow these steps: 1 Download the Remote Installer Component package 2 Log in to the admin system of your Joomla! site 3 Click on the option Install/Uninstall, under the Extensions menu The Extensions Installer dialogue... populates the database accordingly and then takes you to the Store control panel where it displays a confirmation message 12 Access your Joomla! database installation; typically this is done through phpMyAdmin 13 Import into your database the file virtuemart.installation.addons .joomla1 .5.sql, which is located inside the /administration/components/com_virtuemart/ sql directory If successful, you see a confirmation . standard Joomla! Control Panel Quick Icons. l eXtplorer component: Third party extension that provides a file manager you can use from within your Joomla! admin interface. l JCE component: Third-party. browser. 10 . Click the Browse button next to the Upload Package File field. The file upload dialogue opens. 11 . Find and select the file mod_virtuemart _x. x .x. zip. Click the Open button. The file. multiple tax calculations l Order status management l Shop statistics Note VirtueMart, like Joomla! itself, is extendable. The VirtueMart site includes an Extension directory with more than 15 0 entries.