eCommerce server controls

Most eCommerce server controls let customers move from one control to another via template properties that let you define the location of another server control. For example, if you define the path to the Cart server control in the Product server control’s TemplateCart property, customers are directed to the Cart control when they click the Product control's Add to Cart button.

Ektron’s server controls let you insert standard methods and properties within the Visual Studio environment. This means that you can see the effect of your changes in real time; you don’t have to modify a page and then compile to see results.

You can insert server controls using drag and drop or programmatically. You can also use databinding to retrieve and display data from Ektron.

Ektron provides a complete set of eCommerce server controls that let you set up an online marketplace where customers can purchase merchandise, services or content.

The following list shows typical actions a customer might perform when visiting your eCommerce site and how you can facilitate these actions.

• Viewing account information. Create a link in the master page that leads to the template containing the MyAccount server control. This link should be available from any page.
• Viewing previous and current orders. Create a link in the master page that leads to the template containing the OrderList server control. This link should be available from any page.
• Changing the currency type. Add the CurrencySelect server control to a master page. This server control should be available from any page.
• Searching for products. Either create a link to the template containing the ProductSearch server controls. Or, on the master page, add a text box that passes the text to a hidden ProductSearch server controls and post the results to a separate template. This link or text box should be available from any page.
• Viewing a list of products. Create a template that contains the ProductList server control. This template might be the first page customers see when they view the eCommerce portion of your site. Whenever you want to display a list of products based on a catalog, taxonomy or a list content IDs. For example, you could create a list of products in a panel on the right side of your website.
• Viewing a product’s details. Create a template that contains the Product server control. Use this whenever a customer needs to view details of a product. Set any of the following server control’s TemplateProduct property to the path of this control. This makes a product’s title being displayed by one of these controls a clickable link that takes the customer to this control.
  • ProductSearch
  • ProductList
  • OrderList
  • Cart
  • Recommendation
• Viewing additional products associated with another product. Add the Recommendation server control to a template that contains a Product server control and set the Recommendation control’s DynamicProductParameter property to the QueryString parameter that’s used to pass a products ID. When ever you want to present a customer with cross-sell and upsell opportunities associated with a given product.
• Adding a product to their shopping cart. Set the TemplateCart property in the following server controls to the path of the Cart server control. Setting this property is one of the requirements for the Add to Cart button or link to appear in these controls.
  • ProductSearch
  • ProductList
  • Product
  • Recommendation

  NOTE: In addition to setting the above property, a product must be in-stock, not archivethe state of content upon reaching its end date. What happens next is determined by your choice at the content's Schedule tab > Action on End Date options field. Choices are * Archive and remove from site (expire) * Archive and remain on site * Add to CMS Refresh Reportd and buyable. Otherwise, the Add to Cart button or link does not show for a product.

  • Use this when you want to let customers add products to their shopping cart.
  • Viewing products in their shopping cart. When a customer adds a product to their cart, they are sent to the Cart server control. You should also create a link in the master page that leads to a template containing this control. The link should be available from any page.
• Checking out and paying for their selected product. Add the Checkout server control to a template and add that template’s path to the Cart server control’s TemplateCheckout property. When you do, the Checkout button in the Cart server control becomes active. You must set this up for customers to checkout.

Customizing eCommerce server controls with event hooks

The eCommerce server controls contain event hooks so you can customize or manipulate them. To use these event hooks, create a handler for each needed event in the code-behind of the ASPX page that contains an eCommerce server control. Then, in that page’s OnInit method, hook each event.

• PhaseChange. Used only in the Checkout server controla server control uses API language to interact with the CMS and Framework UI to display the output. A server control can be dragged and dropped onto a Web form and then modified. and called when the current phase is about to change. Supervise phase changes and allow or prevent changing as needed. It also lets you jump to a specified phase. For example, you could jump to a passed phase, prevent the phase from changing from the current one under certain conditions, or jump to a phase that is not necessarily the next one in line.
• PreProcessXml. Called immediately before the control’s XML is transformed. Inspect or manipulate the server control’s XML before being processed. This is the only time the XmlDoc property should be used to access the controls XML.
• PostProcessXml. Called immediately after the control’s XML is transformed. Work with processed transformed XML output inside the Text property before sending it to the browser. This allows simple string manipulation of the server control’s markup.
• FilterAjaxCallback. Called when an Ajax-Callback event occurs. Inspect or modify callback parameters. For example, you could use this event to receive custom values entered in a page.
• PostLogin. Used only in the Checkout server control and called immediately after a (possibly new) user logs in with this control. Calls custom code immediately after a returning user logs in with an email and password. Or, immediately after a new customer fills out the billing info screen. For example, you could add code that lets new customers sign up for Web Alerts after they add their information to the billing screen.