Creating a data feed for the Ashop Commerce software is relatively simple. We have included below how to create the feed and the steps necessary to do it properly.
Each shopping engine or network is different and will often require different formats and feed structures. This is why you can provide three types of customisable formats as below;
.XML - This method provides a permanent URL which will feed your product database in the structure you create. It means that any changes you make to any product, automatically updates to the feed in real-time. If a shopping engine supports this method then it's the preferred option as it's simply 'set and forget'.
XML is the preferred option for Commission Factory
.XLS - This is a downloadable spreadsheet which is common to most softwares. It's a method which requires you to download from your admin and then upload to the shopping engine after each update to your products.
.TXT - Comma or Tab Delimited Text File. This is a downloadable spreadsheet which is also common to most softwares. It's a method which requires you to download from your admin and then upload to the shopping engine after each update to your products.
To begin you will need to login to your Ashop admin panel and proceed to Tools > Product Feeds.
Then click on the button labelled "New Export" in the top left corner of the table of pre-generated feeds (if there are any).
A window will now be present in a lightbox so you can begin to create your feed. Start by selecting the type of feed you wish to create by clicking on the drop down list. As mentioned above it would be preferable to create an XML feed so please choose ".XML" in the "Data Feed Type" drop down.
In the "Feed Title" field enter in a name so you can easily identify the feed, logic would suggest something as simple as "Commission Factory Feed".
The "Template" field is now where you define how the feed is structured and what data you would like to report or have available. To see a list of the fields we require please read the Data Feed Guide we have made available.
To create your feed use the below XML example as a starting point:
<root>
<product>
<ProductID>[ProductID]</ProductID>
<ProductName>[Title]</ProductName>
<Keywords>[Keywords]</Keywords>
<ProductDescription>[LongDescription]</ProductDescription>
<Price>[Price]</Price>
<ProductUrl>[ProductUrl]</ProductUrl>
<StockLevel>[InStock]</StockLevel>
<ProductImages>[ProductImages]</ProductImages>
<PicturePath>[PicturePath]</PicturePath>
<Brand>[Brand]</Brand>
<Category>[CategoryTitle]</Category>
</product>
</root>
You can copy and paste this code into your "Template" section and then hit "Save".
You can now view you entire list of feeds and in the list should be the one you just created called "Commission Factory Feed" if not be sure to maybe refresh the page. To obtain the URL for the feed you will just need to click on the "URL" link in the Formats column near the right side of the page.
You will then be prompted to select the domain, in this case your standard domain or the one you are creating a feed for and once done a URL will be shown.
Copy and paste this URL into the Automatic Feeds section of the Commission Factory dashboard and you will almost be there.