Blog

Installation

• Open the Plugin Manager under Settings > System > Plugins.
• Upload, install and activate the plugin.

Plugin configuration

Settings → Extensions → Blog articles & events → Additional settings

• Default Shopping Experience layout for blogs: Defines the Shopping Experience layout used by default for blog articles. If no individual layout is assigned to a blog article, this layout is loaded automatically.
• Default Shopping Experience layout for events: Defines the default layout for events. This layout is used if no individual Shopping Experience layout has been assigned to an event.

Suitable default layouts are created during installation and assigned to both content types. The layouts can be customized or replaced with your own layouts under Content → Shopping Experiences.

• Google Maps API key: API key required to display event locations using Google Maps.
• Privacy mode – embed only after cookies have been accepted: Defines whether Google Maps is loaded only after the visitor has accepted the corresponding cookie.
• Embed Google Maps only if cookies have been accepted: The map is initially blocked and is loaded only after the visitor has given consent.
• Always embed Google Maps: The map is loaded immediately, regardless of the current cookie consent status.
• Google Maps privacy notice: Defines how the notice is displayed while consent has not yet been given.

• Enable Blog & Co. search: Integrates blog articles and events into the Shopware search.
• Maximum number of Blog & Co. search suggestions: Defines the maximum number of blog articles and events displayed in the search preview.
• Hide the “No search results” text: Prevents a notice from being displayed in the Blog & Co. search preview if no matching editorial content is found.

• Last cache invalidation: Shows when the cache for time-controlled blog articles and events was last updated automatically. This value is managed by the plugin and cannot be changed manually.

Automatic cache updating ensures that articles are automatically displayed or hidden as soon as the date defined under Active from or Active until is reached.

Create authors

Settings → Extensions → Blog articles & events → Authors

• First name: First name of the author. This field is required to save the author.
• Last name: Last name of the author. This field is also required.

Create groups

Settings → Extensions → Blog articles & events → Groups

• Internal name: Name of the group within the Shopware Administration.
• Active: Defines whether the group and its assigned articles are included in the storefront.

• Breadcrumb category: Links the group to a Shopware category. The breadcrumb navigation of this category is then used on the detail pages of the assigned articles. If no category is selected, no breadcrumb is displayed for the group.
• Breadcrumb priority: Defines which group is used for the breadcrumb if an article is assigned to multiple groups with a breadcrumb category. The group with the highest priority is used.

Create a blog article or event

Content → Blog articles & events or Settings → Extensions → Blog articles & events → Blog articles & events

• Internal name: Internal name of the article within the Administration.
• Type: Defines whether the item is a standard blog article or an event. Additional input fields are displayed depending on the selected type.
• Display date: Date used as the publication date of the article and displayed in the storefront. The display date can be defined independently of the actual creation date.
• Author: Assigns a previously created author to the article.
• Active: Activates or deactivates the article.
• Active from: Optional date from which the article is displayed in the storefront.
• Active until: Optional date until which the article remains visible. The article is automatically hidden after this date.

If Event is selected as the type, additional fields for the event date are displayed.

• Event date: From: Start of the event. This field is required for events.
• Event date: Until: Optional end date or end time of the event.

The event date is independent of the display date and the active period of the article. The display date determines the publication date shown in the storefront. The event fields define the actual date and time of the event.

• Blog & Co. groups: Assigns the article to one or more topic groups. At least one active group must be assigned for the article to be displayed in the storefront.
• Sales channels: Defines the sales channels in which the article is available. The article is not displayed in the storefront if no sales channel is assigned.
• Rules: Restricts the display using defined Rule Builder rules.

• Title: Main heading of the blog article or event.
• Subtitle: Optional additional heading that can be displayed using a dedicated Shopping Experience element.
• Short description for the Blog & Co. listing page: Short introductory text displayed in the article listing.
• Content: Main content of the detail page.
• Blog & Co. preview image: Main image of the article. The image can be used in the listing and on the detail page.
• Additional Blog & Co. images: Additional images for the article. These can be displayed using the “Blog & Co. image slider” Shopping Experience element.
• Reading time: Estimated reading time of the blog article in minutes. This field is available only for the Blog type.
• Content type: Defines whether the detail page uses a fixed standard display or an individual Shopping Experience layout.

For articles of the Event type, additional fields for directions and the event location are displayed.

• Directions: Free-text field for information about directions, parking, public transport or the venue.
• Street and house number: Street address of the event location.
• Postal code: Postal code of the event location.
• City: City in which the event takes place.
• Country: Country in which the event takes place.

The stored address can be displayed on the detail page using the Event address element and shown as a map location using the Event Google Map element.

This section contains three additional HTML content fields.

This section is displayed when Shopping Experience layout is selected as the content type.

• Products: Select individual products to display on the detail page in connection with the article.
• Dynamic product groups: Links the article to one or more dynamic product groups.

The linked products can be displayed on the detail page using the Blog & Co. product slider Shopping Experience element.

• SEO URL: Individual path for the detail page. A single term or a multi-level path with slashes can be entered, for example guides/product-care. The value must not begin with a slash.
• Meta title: Individual page title for search engines and the browser tab.
• Meta description: Description of the content for search engines.

The general SEO path template for Blog & Co. detail pages can also be adjusted under Settings → Shop → SEO.

Custom fields can be used to store additional information for the respective blog article or event. The saved values can then be used through data mapping within a Shopping Experience layout and displayed flexibly on the detail page.
Before custom fields are available, a corresponding custom field set must be created and assigned to blog articles and events. The setup is described in the following section.

Create custom field sets for blog articles and events

Settings → Content → Custom fields

Custom field sets containing individual custom fields can be created for blog articles and events.

• Create a new custom field set or open an existing set.
• Add and configure the required custom fields within the set.
• In the Used for section, select the Blog articles & events entity.
• Save the custom field set.

The assigned custom field set is then displayed in the Custom fields section when creating or editing blog articles and events.

Design detail pages with Shopping Experiences

Content → Shopping Experiences

The included standard layouts for blog articles and events can be customized, or custom layouts of the Blog & Events detail page type can be created. Various blocks and elements are available in the ACRIS Blog & Co. block category.

• Blog & Co. title: Displays the title of the current article.
• Blog & Co. subtitle: Displays the stored subtitle.
• Blog & Co. author & date: Displays the author and publication date together or separately. Available display options include Default, Author with text, Author only, Date with text and Date only.
• Blog & Co. image: Displays the preview image of the article.
• Blog & Co. image slider: Displays the additional article images in a slider. The preview image can optionally be included as the first image.
• Blog & Co. content: Displays the main content of the article.
• Blog & Co. group: Displays the assigned topic group.
• Blog & Co. product slider: Displays products assigned to the article or products from dynamic product groups.

• Event date: Displays the start and optional end of the event.
• Download event calendar file: Adds a button that visitors can use to download the event as a calendar file.
• Event address: Displays the stored event address. The directions can optionally be displayed above or below the address.
• Event Google Map: Displays the event location using Google Maps. Settings such as the zoom level and map height can be configured directly in the element.

Create a Blog & Co. listing page

Content → Shopping Experiences

The included ACRIS standard blog listing layout can be used for the listing page, or a custom Shopping Experience of the Shop page type can be created. The Blog & Co. article listing element displays blog articles and events in a box or list view.

Display the latest articles

Content → Shopping Experiences → ACRIS Blog & Co. block category

In addition to the standard article listing, two additional elements are available for current content.

This element displays current content in a highlighted layout with one large article and several smaller articles.

This element displays the latest articles in a horizontal slider.

Link the listing page in the navigation

Catalogues → Categories

To make the Blog & Co. listing accessible through the storefront navigation, create a new category or open an existing category.

• Assign the “ACRIS standard blog listing” layout or a custom Blog & Co. listing page to the category.
• Assign the category to an active navigation area of the required sales channel.
• Activate and save the category.

The detail pages of the individual articles are accessed automatically through their respective SEO URLs and do not need to be created as separate categories.

Maintain multilingual content

Blog articles, events and groups can be translated using the language selector in the Administration.

Requirements for displaying content in the storefront

• The article must be active and within the period defined under “Active from” and “Active until”.
• At least one active Blog & Co. group must be assigned to the article.
• The current sales channel must be assigned to the article.
• If Rule Builder rules are assigned, at least one of these rules must apply.
• A start date must be entered for events.
• When using a Shopping Experience layout, either a layout must be assigned directly to the article or a global default layout must be defined for the respective content type.
• A valid Google Maps API key is required to display the event map.