developer_guide:developer_guide:recommended
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===== Overview ===== | ===== Overview ===== | ||
- | The following sections are for developers that want to create a shopping cart integration with SubscriptionBridge.com. As a developer you will have many decisions to make about how to integrate the APIs into your shopping cart system. | + | The following sections are for developers that want to create a shopping cart integration with SubscriptionBridge. |
+ | |||
+ | * you will have to determine how to best allow the store manager to " | ||
+ | * you will need to decide how to handle tax and shipping if there is a trial period | ||
+ | * you will need to decide how to display subscription information on your product details | ||
+ | * etc. | ||
+ | |||
+ | This article will attempt to answer those questions so you can focus on your code. | ||
+ | |||
+ | We recommend that you review the [[: | ||
===== Control Panel ===== | ===== Control Panel ===== | ||
- | The control panel area of your shopping cart should | + | For the shopping cart to successfully integrate with SubscriptionBridge, |
==== Activation ==== | ==== Activation ==== | ||
- | The very first thing that needs to happen is for the shopping cart to be activated to use the API. If you have not reviewed | + | First, you will need a way for the merchant to authorize their store to communicate with SubscriptionBridge. In other words, |
+ | |||
+ | So the shopping cart's administration area will first of all need to include a page where the merchant can enter their **SubscriptionBridge | ||
+ | |||
+ | When the form is submitted, it will invoke an API call to SubscriptionBridge. The documentation contains sample code for this call. Once you have successfully made the // | ||
+ | |||
+ | If the activation was not a success then check for a " | ||
+ | |||
+ | ---- | ||
- | So the shopping cart will need a page in the control panel consisting of a form. The form will contain a place for the merchant to type their SubscriptionBridge API Credentials. You should also provide a link to the [[:cartintegration: | + | Here is an example of the " |
- | When the form is submitted, it will invoke an API call to SubscriptionBridge. Go back to the developer guide and sample code sections for help making the API call. Once you have successfully made the // | + | {{: |
- | If the activation was not a success then check for a " | + | ---- |
- | ==== Linking Packages ==== | + | ==== Linking |
- | After the store is activated, you will need to provide a way for the merchant to associate items that exist in the shopping cart's catalog with the corresponding //package// in the merchant' | + | Once the store has been activated, you will need to provide a way for the merchant to associate items that exist in the shopping cart's catalog with the corresponding //package// in the merchant' |
- **Modify Product ** \\ Just about every shopping cart has a page where you can modify a product. You can simply expand that page to include the following items: | - **Modify Product ** \\ Just about every shopping cart has a page where you can modify a product. You can simply expand that page to include the following items: | ||
* A checkbox to flag the product as a subscription. | * A checkbox to flag the product as a subscription. | ||
- | * A drop-down menu populated by the [[: | + | * A drop-down menu populated by the [[: |
* A checkbox to flag the product as having a trial | * A checkbox to flag the product as having a trial | ||
* A new field for the trial price (if applicable) | * A new field for the trial price (if applicable) | ||
- | - **Search and Select ** \\ Some shopping carts have very complex product pages. You may not want to edit the product pages as it would make it difficult to install future shopping cart updates. | + | - **Search and Select ** \\ Some shopping carts have very complex product pages. You may not want to edit the product pages as it would make it difficult to install future shopping cart updates. |
* A checkbox to flag the product as a subscription. | * A checkbox to flag the product as a subscription. | ||
- | * A drop-down menu populated by the [[: | + | * A drop-down menu populated by the [[: |
* A checkbox to flag the product as having a trial | * A checkbox to flag the product as having a trial | ||
* A new field for the trial price (if applicable) | * A new field for the trial price (if applicable) | ||
+ | |||
+ | For example, in the [[cartintegration: | ||
+ | |||
+ | {{: | ||
+ | |||
+ | ---- | ||
Regardless of which method you choose the process is the same. | Regardless of which method you choose the process is the same. | ||
+ | |||
* The user will flag the product as being a subscription. | * The user will flag the product as being a subscription. | ||
- | * Next, they will select the matching package from the drop down, which was populated with all packages that exist in the merchant' | + | * They will then select the matching |
- | * They will also add a //Trial Price// is applicable. The price is not needed because it is already | + | * They will also add a //Trial Price// is applicable. The price of the product itself |
- | You will save all of the user selections | + | Technical recommendations: |
+ | |||
+ | * Save the relationship between products and packages in a separate database table | ||
+ | * Make sure that the relationship is unique: the same package should only be associated with one product in the store catalog | ||
+ | * Additional, package-level options can be useful and should be stored in the same table. They include: | ||
+ | * Trial price, as mentioned above | ||
+ | * Terms & Conditions: you may want to show the customer terms and conditions that the customer must agree to before signing up for the product/ | ||
+ | * All of the above needs to be saved in the store database so that it can be queried | ||
==== View / Modify Linked Packages ==== | ==== View / Modify Linked Packages ==== | ||
- | Provide a page where the user can find and edit their linked subscription products. | + | Provide a page where the user can find and edit their // |
==== Settings ==== | ==== Settings ==== | ||
- | We recommend that you also provide a basic // | + | We recommend that you also provide a basic // |
- | * Text field to type in "Terms and Conditions", | + | |
+ | * Text field to type in "Terms and Conditions", | ||
* Ability to turn all subscription products " | * Ability to turn all subscription products " | ||
- | * Ability to select | + | * Ability to control |
===== Storefront ===== | ===== Storefront ===== | ||
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=== Recommendation: | === Recommendation: | ||
- | The //Add to Cart// mechanism in your cart should be modified so that only 1 subscription product can exist in the cart at any time. If you choose to allow multiple items in the cart along with a subscription product you must solve some complex scenarios, such as: | + | The //Add to Cart// mechanism in your cart should be modified so that only 1 subscription product can exist in the cart at any time. If you choose to allow multiple items in the cart along with a subscription product you must solve some __complex scenarios__, such as: |
* separating the subscription' | * separating the subscription' | ||
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* calculating which portion of the total shipping charges (if the subscription contains shippable products) | * calculating which portion of the total shipping charges (if the subscription contains shippable products) | ||
- | These and other scenarios can be quite challenging to resolve through the shopping cart's storefront code. As such, we recommend that you do not allow multiple items in the cart when a subscription product is involved. | + | These and other scenarios can be quite challenging to resolve through the shopping cart's storefront code. As such, we recommend that you do not allow multiple items in the cart when a subscription product is involved. |
=== Preparing the data you will need === | === Preparing the data you will need === | ||
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* A flag indicating if there is a trial | * A flag indicating if there is a trial | ||
* The trial price, if applicable | * The trial price, if applicable | ||
- | |||
==== Product Details & Payment Terms Widget ==== | ==== Product Details & Payment Terms Widget ==== | ||
- | The product details pages will need to be modified to display | + | The product details pages will need to be modified to display |
< | < | ||
- | $35.00 | + | $35.00 |
- | Plus shipping, tax, and handling</ | + | Plus shipping, tax, and handling |
- | You may wonder how you will display such information if that data is saved at SubscriptionBridge.com. | + | You may wonder how you will display such information if that data is saved at SubscriptionBridge.com. Luckily, there is a **simple widget** to achieve this goal. You simply place the widget in your HTML and pass into the widget the " |
Learn about the [[: | Learn about the [[: | ||
- | ==== View Cart ==== | + | ==== Where to display the Subscription Terms Widget |
- | Each view of the cart should be modified to accommodate a trial price. | + | We recommend |
- | In either scenario you must update | + | - One the **product details page** \\ This ensures that the customer can visually, immediately recognize the product as a subscription product, |
+ | - On the **shopping cart page** \\ This ensures that the customer knows that a subscription product has been added to the shopping cart. | ||
+ | - On the **payment page** \\ This ensures that the customer | ||
+ | Here is an example of the Terms Widget shown on the shopping cart page on a [[cartintegration: | ||
- | FIXME - Add screen shot here | + | {{: |
+ | ==== Terms & Conditions ==== | ||
- | ==== Agree to Terms ==== | + | Prior to the customer completing the order you should |
- | + | ||
- | Prior to the payment screen | + | |
+ | As mentioned above, since different subscription products/ | ||
==== Saving the Order ==== | ==== Saving the Order ==== | ||
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If you have all of this information saved with the order, then you can easily query it after payment is submitted and generate the XML for your [[: | If you have all of this information saved with the order, then you can easily query it after payment is submitted and generate the XML for your [[: | ||
+ | === An example === | ||
+ | |||
+ | Here is a practical example to visualize why you need all of this information: | ||
+ | |||
+ | * trial total: $17.50 + $1.75 = $19.25 | ||
+ | * total: $35 + $12.50 + $3.50 = $51 | ||
+ | * trial tax: $1.75 | ||
+ | * tax: $3.50 | ||
+ | * trial shipping: 0 | ||
+ | * shipping: $12.50 | ||
+ | |||
+ | The above assumes that the subscription is for a product that requires taxes and shipping charges calculated during checkout (e.g. monthly wine shipment; monthly vitamin shipment; etc.). If the customer is instead purchasing a service, things are much easier as you will typically have no shipping and taxes. For example, assume there is a service that costs $19.95 a month, with a free trial. In this scenario you would have: | ||
+ | |||
+ | * trial total: $0 | ||
+ | * total: $19.95 | ||
+ | * trial tax: 0 | ||
+ | * tax: 0 | ||
+ | * trial shipping: 0 | ||
+ | * shipping: 0 | ||
==== Payment Screen ==== | ==== Payment Screen ==== | ||
+ | |||
+ | Incompatible payment options should be disabled in the storefront when a subscription is being purchased. The customer must be taken automatically to the only payment option supported, which is the payment form that you have created to pass information to the SubscriptionBridge API via the [[: | ||
The payment screen is your final opportunity to be clear about the pricing terms for the subscription that the customer is signing up for. We recommend that you again display the [[: | The payment screen is your final opportunity to be clear about the pricing terms for the subscription that the customer is signing up for. We recommend that you again display the [[: | ||
- | Now, if the cart is adding tax and shipping then your total will obviously be different than the price displayed in the terms. | + | Now, if the cart is adding tax and shipping then your total will obviously be different than the price displayed in the terms. |
- | ==== Post Payment | + | < |
+ | $35.00 per month after the Trial | ||
+ | Plus shipping, tax, and handling fee</ | ||
- | After the payment form is submitted, you will generate | + | If you require additional legal terms or specifications to be displayed we recommend that you add additional form fields to the // |
+ | ==== Subscription creation request and confirmation ==== | ||
+ | |||
+ | After the payment form is submitted, you will need to contact SubscriptionBridge to create the new subscription profile that the customer just requested. This is done through | ||
The important thing to remember at this point is that you validate the [[: | The important thing to remember at this point is that you validate the [[: | ||
- | Once you get a " | + | Once you get a " |
+ | |||
+ | ===== After the purchase ===== | ||
+ | |||
+ | We recommend that you customize the additional areas of the shopping cart so that both the merchant and the customer can recognize that an order was placed | ||
+ | ==== Administration area ==== | ||
+ | |||
+ | By checking the products that an order contains, you can easily determine whether it includes a subscription product. You can also do so by checking to see if there is a subscription GUID associated with the order (depending on how that information has been saved - see above). | ||
+ | |||
+ | If the order is for a subscription product or service, you should make this clear on the order details page, and link to the SubscriptionBridge Merchant Center so that the merchant may manage the subscription. The syntax for the link should be as follows, where < | ||
+ | |||
+ | < | ||
+ | |||
+ | ==== Customer account area ==== | ||
+ | |||
+ | Similarly to the administration area: | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Detect whether an order is for a subscription product or service | ||
+ | * Add information to the order details page indicating that this is the case | ||
+ | * Provide a link to the SubscriptionBridge Customer Center (unless you are not using the Customer Center, but rather performing all subscription management tasks via the API itself). For example, a customer might need to view recent subscription payments, update their billing information, | ||
+ | |||
+ | The syntax for the link to the SubscriptionBridge Customer Center should be as follows, where < | ||
+ | |||
+ | < | ||
+ | |||
+ | == Landing Pages < | ||
- | Your system should not display | + | * **Detail** \\ |
+ | * **Transaction History** \\ Replace < | ||
+ | * **Edit Billing** \\ Replace < | ||
+ | * **Edit Shipping** \\ Replace < | ||
+ | * **Cancel Subscription** \\ |
developer_guide/developer_guide/recommended.1263391115.txt.gz · Last modified: 2010/01/12 23:00 (external edit)