Happy Christmas all....
I have just upgraded to V2 which I use with joomla 1.5.25 and the latest version of SH404SEF ( 2.4.5.1028). My shop - http://www.sofasonlineltd.com - is working except for a cart problem (reported in this forum elsewhere) and a problem with the URL strings for virtuemart related categories and products.
Firstly, SH404SEF is working fine with other components e.g. DJ Catalog 2, K2 etc - a typical SEF URL delivered is http://www.sofasonlineltd.com/index.php/item/3-contemporary-sofas/6-alban-3-seater-sofa.html. No problem there.
However, since upgrading to V2 my shop urls are wrong - yes, I have purged and refreshed, cleaned cache etc etc. What I get with SH404SEF activated for virtuemart is http://www.sofasonlineltd.com/index.php/buy-sofas.html?view=productdetails&virtuemart_category_id=5&virtuemart_product_id=11 which is clearly a non SEF URL. I can only assume then that, for some reason, SH404SEF is unable to translate the virtuemart string to SEF form.
Am I doing something wrong here? Is there a plugin I need to load perhaps to make the two play nicely together?
Grateful for some advice.
Kind regards
Dave
SEF for VM2 works fine in Joomla 1.7 using the native Joomla functions, a third party SEF tool is not necessary. I guess that SH404SEF would need a plugin/mod to work with VM2 in J1.5
Am I too assume form your answer that there isn't an SH404SEF plugin for J.15 / VirtueMart V2?
Has anyone here had success with SH404 and V2 - it seems very unlikely that I am the only person to have this problem.
Regards
Dave
sh404sef does not work with vm2 and why do you need it?? vm2 creates sef urls!
Thanks Hutson but clearly from the example I provided, it doesn't create SEF URLS in J1.5 - I tried disabling SH404SEF to see what happened - same URL's as with it enabled. This implies that it needs an sef plugin perhaps to get it to work, unfortunately, something I am not capable of doing.
Thanks for the comment though - appreciated.
Regards
Dave
Joomla's core SEF is low on possibilities. The sh404SEF guys should write a plugin for VM2 sometime soon.
Hi!
I have VM2 and J1.5.23
I get these url:s
http://www.lastentavarat.fi/component/virtuemart/vauvan-nukkuminen/swaddlepod-vetoketjullinen-kapalo-luonnonvalkoinen-detail
Everything else than "component/virtuemart" is just fine if thinking SEF
Vauvan nukkuminen is category name and swaddlepod-vetoketjullinen-kapalo-luonnonvalkoinen is product name.
And for removing that "component/virtuemart" text I believe that I have seen forum topic for this. I just have't got time to find it yet.
Quote from: Venkko on December 25, 2011, 23:30:48 PM
Hi!
I have VM2 and J1.5.23
I get these url:s
http://www.lastentavarat.fi/component/virtuemart/vauvan-nukkuminen/swaddlepod-vetoketjullinen-kapalo-luonnonvalkoinen-detail
Hi Venkko - are you saying that V2 and SH404 do work together? Your URL looks like an sef url. If yes, can I ask what you did to get the two working together.
Many thanks
Dave
Quote from: Venkko on December 25, 2011, 23:30:48 PM
Hi!
I have VM2 and J1.5.23
I get these url:s
http://www.lastentavarat.fi/component/virtuemart/vauvan-nukkuminen/swaddlepod-vetoketjullinen-kapalo-luonnonvalkoinen-detail
Everything else than "component/virtuemart" is just fine if thinking SEF
Vauvan nukkuminen is category name and swaddlepod-vetoketjullinen-kapalo-luonnonvalkoinen is product name.
And for removing that "component/virtuemart" text I believe that I have seen forum topic for this. I just have't got time to find it yet.
http://forum.virtuemart.net/index.php?topic=88977.0
Quote from: dave collerton on December 26, 2011, 13:50:16 PM
Hi Venkko - are you saying that V2 and SH404 do work together? Your URL looks like an sef url. If yes, can I ask what you did to get the two working together.
Many thanks
Dave
Hi Dave!
I do not have SH404 installed and that is why it works
Integrated Sef router work whel on virtuemart.
Why you wan't use sh404 and slow down your server ?
Quote from: Electrocity on December 27, 2011, 11:36:01 AM
Integrated Sef router work whel on virtuemart.
Why you wan't use sh404 and slow down your server ?
^^^ the joomla sef and virtuemart works perfect.
SH404SEF kills the server speeds!!
How negatively will this impact your google rankings? (the reason you installed sh404sef in the first place!)
sh404SEF will let you create your own TITLEs which is the first thing Google looks for.
Even if it slows down the server a lot of other Joomla stuff do that too, joomla itself to start with.
Full sh404SEF support is a mandatory thing for a Joomla webshop if it wants to be a player. So someone has to write a sh404SEF plugin for VM2, I know that the folks at Anything digital will not do it, it is a task for the VM-crew.
As I see it there are a few things still missing in VM2 for it to be a full featured webshop alternative for Joomla.
Jan
Quote from: jan suhr on December 30, 2011, 21:52:25 PM
sh404SEF will let you create your own TITLEs which is the first thing Google looks for.
Even if it slows down the server a lot of other Joomla stuff do that too, joomla itself to start with.
Full sh404SEF support is a mandatory thing for a Joomla webshop if it wants to be a player. So someone has to write a sh404SEF plugin for VM2, I know that the folks at Anything digital will not do it, it is a task for the VM-crew.
As I see it there are a few things still missing in VM2 for it to be a full featured webshop alternative for Joomla.
Jan
Its not hard to change the vmart code to change category title, and product page title.
and SEF is not mandatory for a site to do well. I dont use SEF on my 1.1 site
Quote from: BanquetTables.pro on December 31, 2011, 12:03:36 PM
Its not hard to change the vmart code to change category title, and product page title.
and SEF is not mandatory for a site to do well. I dont use SEF on my 1.1 site
So why don't you change it so that there is a field for TITLE among the other Meta data settings?
Jan
It's me again ;D - AFAIK Google indexes the title tag, not the title meta tag. So I agree with this link: http://www.webmarketingnow.com/tips/meta-title.html (http://www.webmarketingnow.com/tips/meta-title.html)
With my old webshop, designed 7 years ago, I have plenty of number one positions at Google without a single title meta tag.
Hi,
please have a look here
http://forum.virtuemart.net/index.php?topic=93746.0
Quote from: BanquetTables.pro on December 31, 2011, 12:03:36 PM
Its not hard to change the vmart code to change category title, and product page title.
and SEF is not mandatory for a site to do well. I dont use SEF on my 1.1 site
Any tips to where to find that code to change and maybe some hints on how to do it?
Jan
Well, just like some of you I installed VM2 and updated SH404sef to the latest version. Seems to be a problem with them working together (not yet a plugin available) but you can make a small improvement. In SH404sef you can just skip the virtuemart component and VM2's seo routing does it instead. It's not the best solution but better than no solution at all.
But of course, the best trick would be a SH404sef plugin, it should not be that hard to create. Maybe it's already there?
I never managed to resolve this problem - in the end I migrated my entire site to j1.7.3 using jupgrade and dropped SH404SEF - using just core joomla in j1.7 everything in fine. I have to say that j1.7 hosts Virtuemart V2 very nicely and they play well together. J1.5 and Virtuemart don't seem to have been given the same thought - I guess to be expected as J1.7 is the latest and greatest from the joomla team.
This also resolved a problem with Virtuemart Cart not functioning properly - posted elsewhere. Whether this was a jscript error or another problem I don't know but having a new platform to work on allowed me to look at the jscripts being loaded.
With regards SEF, I always try to use this on every site - humans like to see meaningful URLS and php, bless it, simply doesn't do this. All of my websites - my commercial ones, have very good ranking and some of this will be down to SH404SEF which also creates reasonable meta tags. To my mind it is the combination of content, tags and meaningful URL's which matter - getting all three dead right makes a big difference.
Regards
Dave
I'm using J1.7 and VM2.0. I have "no" sef software installed. No matter the combinations of options, I'm unable to get sef working with the system more than 95%. With sef on in J1.7 and VM2.0, all works well until you drill down to a specific product. When you click on the product details you are sent back to the parent category - BUT...the url shows that you are on the product item page.
The entire system works 100% if I just turn off the sef in J1.7. But, my client is going nuts about all the code in the url and wants sef - just because he likes that look better.
Yet, sef should work anyway. Personally, I've never been able to get a J1.7 sef system working 100% with all software and extensions installed, and I don't sweat that. But this client wants sef working.
There must be something I keep overlooking, but I'm baffled.
Further, when attempting to create menu items to specific VM products, NOT categories or sub-categories, I have a list of only 6 products in "Required Settings > Select a Product". The site has more than 100 products. I don't get that either. After selecting "Virtuemart Product Details Layout" there are only 6 products from which to choose.
Banquet, you're a VM expert. Any thoughts?! My head is getting sore from beating it on the desk.
Thanks.
My J1.7.3/VM2 SEF is working great. Concerning your first problem - comparing your URL with one of mine:
Your URL:
.../index.php?option=com_virtuemart&view=productdetails&virtuemart_product_id=50&virtuemart_category_id=33
Note: For some reason your URL doesn't include an "&itemid=x". (sh404sef rewrite still active?)
My URL:
.../index.php?option=com_virtuemart&view=productdetails&virtuemart_product_id=1312&virtuemart_category_id=7&Itemid=125
SEF and URL rewriting switched off in Joomla (the latter displays "index.php?" in the URL), plus SEF switched off in VM2:
Same product URL as above with SEF and URL rewriting switched on in Joomla, plus SEF switched on in VM2:
.../gallery/automobile-art/absolutely-british-jaguar-e-type-detail
Concerning your second problem - if you can't get menu items for specific products to work, you simply could use VM2's "Featured Products" module instead. (Just my suggestion)
Itemid does not appear in all cases, depends how you get to the product.
If you get to the product through a category link that has a joomla menu item, you get it.
From the product module, no itemid
From the Joomla root frontpage, thats a vmart layout, no item id.
If you are having problems with SEF, its probably due to htaccess,
I always use akeeba admin tools to create htaccess, it always does it right
Quote from: BanquetTables.pro on December 31, 2011, 12:03:36 PM
Quote from: jan suhr on December 30, 2011, 21:52:25 PM
sh404SEF will let you create your own TITLEs which is the first thing Google looks for.
Even if it slows down the server a lot of other Joomla stuff do that too, joomla itself to start with.
Full sh404SEF support is a mandatory thing for a Joomla webshop if it wants to be a player. So someone has to write a sh404SEF plugin for VM2, I know that the folks at Anything digital will not do it, it is a task for the VM-crew.
As I see it there are a few things still missing in VM2 for it to be a full featured webshop alternative for Joomla.
Jan
Its not hard to change the vmart code to change category title, and product page title.
and SEF is not mandatory for a site to do well. I dont use SEF on my 1.1 site
Kicking your legs is not necessary for swimming. I can swim with just my arms. Still... it's easier if I kick my legs.