Creating a link

Use the Type step to define the type of link.

Type attributes

Attribute

Description

Type

The action that occurs when the shopper clicks the link. Choose one of the following options: Add specific product(s) directly to my store's shopping cart—Automatically add one or more products to the shopping cart. Go to a Shopper-Defined Bundle page—When the shopper clicks the link, the link shows an interstitial page where they can choose from a list of products to create their own bundle. Go to a specific product page—When the shopper clicks the link, the link goes to a specific product page. Go to a specific category page—When the shopper clicks the link, the link goes to a specific category page. Go to my store's home page—When the shopper clicks the link, the link goes to your store’s home page. With this type of link, you can also select a theme, locale, currency, program, and offer to further define how the link operates. Custom Page—When a shopper clicks this link, the link goes to a specific custom page on your store. Go to a static Digital River-hosted page—When a shopper clicks this link, the link goes to a page on a Digital River-hosted page. Go to an external web page—When a shopper clicks this link, the link goes to a specific website that is not part of a Digital River-hosted store o your store. Other—When a shopper clicks this link, the link goes to a link based on the action you selected.

Use this step to define the link parameters. The parameters define what type of page the link triggers, as well as what theme, locale, offer, and so on are used. The type of link you chose in the Type step of the Create Link wizard determines the options that appear in the Parameters step.

The following table explains every possible parameter that can appear in the wizard. Note that you will only see those parameters that are relevant to the type of link you are creating.

Parameters attributes

Attribute	Description
Site ID	Shows the unique ID for a site. The value for the SiteID parameter in the store's URL identifies the site ID. You also select the site ID from the Site field when working in Global Commerce. Every link must contain a site ID. Some companies may have more than one site or store, so it is especially important for those companies to include the correct site ID in their links. However, even companies with only one site or store must include their site ID in the URL, or the link will not work.
Name	The name of the link. The name does not appear on your store.
Description	A description of the link.
Product ID(s)	The unique ID for a product. Note: This field only appears when creating a link to automatically add products to the shopping cart or launch product pages.
Quantity	Quantity for each product you want to add to the Shopping Cart when the shopper clicks the link Use a comma to separate multiple quantities. Note: This field only appears when you create a link that automatically adds products to the shopping cart.
Category ID	The unique ID for the category page you want to display when the shopper clicks the link. Note: This field only appears when the link goes to a specific category page.
Parent Category ID	The unique ID for the parent category.
Page Name	The custom page you want to appear when the shopper clicks the link. This may already be selected if you came from a custom page to create the link.
Page Content Type	The layout of the page that shows the link. Content with Shopper Framework— The custom page appears in the main section of a regular store page. Content alone—Creates a page with no navigation or branding. This is useful when you have offers where you want to limit the activity of shoppers. Content with Theme— Creates content based on a theme. This option only appears if you set up a theme. See Managing themes for more information. This field only appears if you are linking to custom pages.
Static URL	The URL to Digital River-hosted store. This field only appears when creating a static Digital River-hosted page.
External URL	The URL to the external store. Example: https://acme.com or http://acme.com
Action	Select the action you want the link to perform.  This field only appears when you select the Other option as the Type.
Theme	The theme you want to load when the shopper clicks the link.
Locale	Select a locale from the list. The locale determines the country and language. A locale represents a language, country, and currency. A code identifies the locale. For example, the United States English is en_US. Locales are not limited to a single country or language. A country can have more than one locale, and some countries share locales. For example, Canada has two locales because it has two official languages: English and French. Including a locale code in the URL is optional. Best Practices: Always include a locale code to ensure the shopper sees the correct version of your store. Add a locale to the URL using the ISO four-character locale code. You can only include one locale code in each link.
Currency	Select a currency from the Currency list. You must select a currency associated with the selected locale for the link to work.
Program ID	The unique ID for the program you want to use to track traffic for the link. Programs track shopper traffic coming into a store from an external location, such as a Google keyword. When a shopper clicks a URL with a program ID, the system logs the click. Reports use this data to determine click and buy ratios.
Offer ID	This field shows the unique offer ID for the customer's order. This field appears blank if the customer did not use a promotion to place the order. When a shopper clicks the link, the link triggers this offer. If needed, you can combine offer IDs to trigger multiple discounts.
Cache Time (in minutes)	Select the time, in minutes, to retain the cache. Choose one of the following options: No Caching 1 3 5
Parameter List	If your store uses unique name/value pairs (parameters), add them to the link here.
Tracking Program ID	The ID for the tracking program associated with the link.
Offer ID(s)	The unique ID for each offer. Use a comma to separate multiple offers.

Use the Options step to define the options for the link. The options control how the link behaves. Link options also control whether the link expires and what happens when a shopper clicks an expired link.

Options attributes

Attribute	Description
Options	Choose one or more of the following options: Save to Links List—Select this checkbox when you want to save the link when you complete the Create Link wizard. By default, the system does not save links. If you do not select this checkbox, the link will not be saved you when complete and exit the Create Link wizard. Hide Offer ID, Hide Tracking Program ID, Email Friendly URL, and Less than Eighty Characters—Select this checkbox when you want to hide the offer and program IDs from the final link, as well as create a shorter URL link and "friendly" link for email and Google purposes. While the system hides the offer and program ID, the system still tracks them when a shopper clicks the link. Expires—Select this checkbox when you want the link to expire. When you create a link for an offer, you can set the link to expire when the offer expires. When you select the Expires checkbox, additional fields appear where you can enter the expiration date and the URL. When the shopper clicks this URL, the link goes to the specified URL. Virtual Domain—Select this checkbox when you want to use a virtual domain when creating the link. If you have any questions about your store's virtual domain, contact your Store Operations team. This option only appears when you set up a virtual domain for your store.
Custom URL	Specify your customized Store Builder promotional link. By default, the custom URL is http://store.digitalriver.com. To change the link, click Customize and enter the new URL.
Expiration Date	The date when the link expires.
Expiration URL	The URL that replaces the offer URL when the link for the offer URL expires.

The summary step shows the attributes of the link you created.

Summary attributes

Attribute	Description
Name	The name of the link. The name does not appear on your store.
Description	A description of the link.
New URL	Shows the new URL.
Preview	Click this button to view the new URL in another browser tab.
Options	Shows one or more of the following options: Save to Links List—Select this checkbox when you want to save the link when you complete the Create Link wizard. By default, the system does not save links. If you do not select this checkbox, the link will not be saved you when complete and exit the Create Link wizard. Hide Offer ID, Hide Tracking Program ID, Email Friendly URL, and Less than Eighty Characters—Select this checkbox when you want to hide the offer and program IDs from the final link, as well as create a shorter URL link and "friendly" link for email and Google purposes. While the system hides the offer and program ID, the system still tracks them when a shopper clicks the link. Expires—Select this checkbox when you want the link to expire. When you create a link for an offer, you can set the link to expire when the offer expires. When you select the Expires checkbox, additional fields appear where you can enter the expiration date and the URL. When the shopper clicks this URL, the link goes to the specified URL. Virtual Domain—Select this checkbox when you want to use a virtual domain when creating the link. If you have any questions about your store's virtual domain, contact your Store Operations team. This option only appears when you set up a virtual domain for your store.

Use the Create Link wizard to create a link and define its behavior. When a shopper clicks a link, the link goes to a specific page in your store, goes to another website, or triggers certain actions such as adding a product to the Shopping Cart.

1. Select Storefront, select Links and Parameters and then click Create Link. The Type step on the Create Link page appears.

2. Select the type of link you want to create. The type you select determines how the link functions and the options you set for the link in later steps. See Type for more information.

   Note: You cannot change the link type once you create and save a link.

3. Click Next. The Parameters step appears.
4. Select or enter the parameters for the link. See Parameters for more information.
5. Click Next. The Options step appears.
6. Select or edit the options for the link. See Options for more information.
7. Click Next. The Summary step appears and shows the attributes for your link. See Summary for more information.
8. Optional. To preview the link you created, click Preview. The system loads the link in a separate browser tab.
9. From the Summary step, click Finish.

The Create Link wizard is a quick and easy way to create basic links for your store. If you need a link that does more than what the Create Link wizard offers, you can manually create your own link. The only requirement is that you follow the same structure and format used by links created using the Create Links wizard.

To create a custom link, replace the highlighted elements in the example provided in Basic link structure with the appropriate elements from the tables in the following topics.

Site ID

Every link must contain a site ID in the URL, or the link will not work. Some companies have more than one site or store. Those companies should ensure they include the correct site ID in their links.

Locale

Including a locale code in the URL is optional.

Add a locale to the URL using the ISO four-character locale code. You can only include one locale code in each link.

Action

There are many different actions you can specify in a link to in your store.

The following table outlines the actions you can use with links.

Action	Description
buy	Adds one or more products to the Shopping Cart. This action replaces all previous AddItemToRequisition actions previously used within Global Commerce. This action requires the productID parameter. If the product has variations, you must specify the variation product ID. You can also include the quantity parameter if you want to have more than one of the product added to the Shopping Cart.
cart	Takes the shopper to the Shopping Cart.
cat	Takes the shopper to the category listing page. This action requires the categoryID parameter.
contact	Takes the shopper to the Contact Us page
global	Takes the shopper to the locale selection page.
help	Takes the shopper to the Help pages.
home	Takes the shopper to the store Home page.
html	Loads an custom page that has been uploaded to your store. Note: This action requires the pbpage parameter.
list	Takes the shopper to a product listing page.
login	Takes the shopper to the login page for your store.
pd	Takes the shopper to the Product Details page. This action requires the productID parameter.

Parameters and variables

Depending on what action you include in the URL, you may need to specify one or more parameters to tell your store exactly what you want the link to do. The following table outlines the parameters that you can include in your URL.

Parameter	Description	Variables
backlink	Used with the buyaction to indicate where you want the Continue Shopping button in the Shopping Cart to go when clicked. Note: Only use this parameter with the buyaction.	Any valid Web address is an encoded URL.
categoryID	Used to indicate which category you want to use when displaying the Category Listing page.	Any valid category ID for the store.
clearCart	Used with the buy action to remove any products that are in the cart when the shopper clicks the link. Does not clear out products added using the same link. Note: Only use this parameter with the buy action.	yes no
currency	Indicates which currency you want to use when displaying pricing on the store.	Use any valid three-digit ISO currency code with the currency variable.
externalRefID	Used with the buy action when you want to use the External Reference ID for a product, instead of the system-generated Product ID to identify which product you want to add to the Shopping Cart. Note: Only use this parameter with the buy action.	Any valid External Reference ID set for a product on the store.
forceProduct	Used with the buy action to add the product to the cart, bypassing any interstitial pages or forcing the shopper to select a variation (if present). When used with products with variations, the link uses the first variation listed on the Product Details pages.	yes
nextPage	Used with the buy action to indicate what page you want to load when the shopper clicks the link to add the product to the Shopping Cart.	HomePage ShoppingCartPage
pbpage	Used with the html action to indicate which Custom Page you want the link to display.	Any valid Custom Page name.
productID	Used with the buy or list actions to indicate which product you want the link to add to the Shopping Cart or show on the store.	Any valid product ID for a product on the store.
programID	Used with the buy action to indicate what program should be used to track traffic on the link. When a shopper clicks a link with a program ID, the system tracks the visits, page counts, and revenues for each unique program ID.	Any valid program ID. The program must be deployed on the store.
quantity	Used with the buy action to indicate how many units of the product to add to the Shopping Cart.	Any valid positive number.
showCouponCode	Used with the buy action to show the Coupon Code entry field in the Shopping Cart when it normally is hidden or not shown for the store. Note: Only use this parameter with the buy action.	yes no
themeID	Used to indicate what theme you want to use when the shopper clicks the link.	Any valid theme ID. The theme must be deployed on the store.