Some members of the Zazzle community asked if I could help out by creating a WordPress plugin to allow the Zazzle Store Builder to be used with WordPress without errors. This plugin is the result.

So a few members of Zazzle.com asked me to make a plugin for WordPress to make it easier to install the Zazzle Store Builder into WordPress. Usually it is quite easy, but for a novice coder placing it into WordPress can be a pain since it requires some special workarounds to be done. So to make it easy for people using WordPress I’ve made a plugin. I have asked the permission of Zazzle to release it and have now gotten permission, the only requirement is that you have download the Zazzle Store Builder from their website as you have to be a member & accept their terms & conditions to use it.

How Do I Install It?


Right here we go, the instuctions are as follows:

  1. Download the plugin (can be found at the bottom of this post.)
  2. Download the Zazzle Store Builder from here.
  3. Unzip the contents of the plugin (zstore-helper.zip) to the wp-content/plugins folder in your WP installation.
  4. Go to wp-content/plugins/zstore-helper/zstore which should be empty. Open the Zazzle Store Builder zip file. Go into the folder you can see & drag out the includes & css folders into the zstore folder. See figure 1 for what your directory should look like.
  5. Make sure that you have fancy permalinks enabled. So your URLs don’t have ?p=34 in them, the plugin will not work without this due to Zazzle’s store bulder code.
  6. Now go into your WordPress admin. Head to the plugins section & turn on the Zstore Helper plugin. Next head to the Zstore Helper options page that will appear under Settings & set some global options. These are the options that will always be run, unless you over ride them (more on that later).
  7. Once you’ve set the global options all you need to do is make a page or post & put [zstore] into it. Publish & your store will appear. :)

Options

Here is a list of the options available on the options page & detailed instructions on what they do:

Contributor Handle
The store name (generally shown in the URL of your store’s homepage) of the store you wish to show products from.
Associate ID
An ID used for referrals. Found under the associates center, which can be found in the gallery tab of MyZazzle.
Product Line ID
Allows you to display a specific product line. Leave blank to show all products from a gallery. The product line ID can be found by clicking on a product line in a gallery. The URL will look something like http://www.zazzle.com/coatsofarms/products/cg-196595220567583981. The string or numbers on the end is the product line ID.
Product Type
Exactly what it says. Restrict which type of product is shown from the gallery.
Keywords
Also exactly what it says. Restrict products returned from the gallery by a keyword. Comma seperated. Eg. Cat, star, cow. You get the idea.
Grid Width
How wide, in pixels, should the complete product grid be. Although this is in pixels you do not need the px on the end, just the number.
Grid Cell Size
The size of each grid cell. Just pick a size from the list.
Grid Cell Spacing
The space, again in pixels, between each grid cell. As before although the value is in pixels only the number is needed & not px.
Grid Cell Background Color
The color used for each grid cells background color. In HEX but without the hash(#). Eg. FFFFFF is white. For a list of HEX colors try this link. You want the 6 char string under the column ‘Hex’.
Use Google Analytics
If you want to use Google Analytics then set this to true & then fill in Google Analytics Number with your UA number from your Google Analytics account. If you already have a Google Analytics plugin running on WordPress you probably won’t need this.
Google Analytics Number (ID)
If you set the last option to true then this is where you put your Google Analytics Number. It looks like this: UA-xxxxxxx-x. If you already have a Google Analytics plugin running on WordPress you probably won’t need this.
Show How Many Products
How many products do you want to show per page, or if you have pagination turned off, how many do you want to show in total. Default is 20. It is generally not a good idea to set this above 100 or 150 as it could crash older computers while trying to load all the images.
Starting Page
What page of results do you want to start on.
Show Pagination
Do you want to show a pagination. A pagination is the list of numbers that represent links to other pages if there are too many products to show on the first page.
Show Sorting
Do you want to show the sorting options. This allows visitors to sort by the Date Created or Popularity if set to true.
Default Sorting
What you want the products to be sorted by, Date Created or Popularity. Applies even if Show Sorting is set to false.
Show ‘By’ Line
Do you want to show the products ‘By’ line. This is the line that says ‘by zazzlestore’. In other words do you want to show which store created the product.
Show Product Title
Pretty obvious. Do you want to show the products’ title.
Show Product Price
Again obvious. Do you want to show the products’ price.
Enable Caching
Do you want to enable caching. This helps reduce server load for both you and Zazzle since it saves the images it uses so it doesn’t have to contact Zazzle everytime. Handy if you get a lot of visitors.
Cache Lifetime
How long before the cache is deleted & a new set of images is retrieved from Zazzle. This is in seconds. (3600 seconds = 1 hour)

Shortcode Over-rides

Here is a list, with examples, of the attributes used for over-rides. They are similar to HTML attributes so HTML users should feel right at home. Their uses match the options above so refer to the list above for any explanations.

contributorhandle
Example: [zstore contributorhandle="ZazzleStore"]
associateid
Example: [zstore associateid="THEASSOCIATEID"]
productlineid
Example: [zstore productlineid="THEPRODUCTLINEID"]
producttype
Example: [zstore producttype="cards"]. You may use the three digit code or the name of a product from this list.
keywords
Example: [zstore keywords="cats"]. A list of keywords if more than one is used they must be comma(,) seperated.
gridwidth
Example: [zstore gridwidth="400"]
gridcellsize
Example: [zstore gridcellsize="medium"]. This must match either tiny, small, medium, large or huge.
gridcellspacing
Example: [zstore gridcellspacing="5"]
gridcellbgcolor
Example: [zstore gridcellbgcolor="FFFFFF"]
useanalytics
Example: [zstore useanalytics="false"]. Options are true or false.
analyticsid
Example: [zstore analyticsid="UA-xxxxxxx-x"]
showhowmany
Example: [zstore showhowmany="20"]
startpage
Example: [zstore startpage="1"]
showpagination
Example: [zstore showpagination="true"]. Options are true or false.
showsorting
Example: [zstore showsorting="true"]. Options are true or false
defaultsort
Example: [zstore defaultsort="date_created"]. Options are date_created or popularity.
showproductdescription
Example: [zstore showproductdescription="true"]. Options are true or false.
showbyline
Example: [zstore showbyline="ZazzleStore"]. Options are true or false.
showproducttitle
Example: [zstore showproducttitle="true"]. Options are true or false.
showproductprice
Example: [zstore showproductprice="true"]. Options are true or false.
usecaching
Example: [zstore usecaching="false"]. Options are true or false
cachelifetime
Example: [zstore cachelifetime="3600"]. Length in seconds.

You can use any of these in combination like this: [zstore contributorhandle="ZazzleStore" producttype="Mugs" keywords="cats, dogs"].

Product Type List

This is the list of product types for use with the producttype Shortcode attribute. The name on the left is the name to use in the shortcode. The name on the right is just to use as reference.

  • zazzle_apron – Aprons
  • zazzle_bag – Bags
  • zazzle_binder – Binders
  • zazzle_bumpersticker – Bumper Stickers
  • zazzle_button – Buttons
  • zazzle_calendar – Calendars
  • zazzle_card – Cards
  • zazzle_candyjar – Candy Jar
  • casemate_case – Casemate Cases
  • zazzle_coaster – Coasters
  • fuji_coaster – Cork Coasters
  • musicskins_skin – Custom Skins
  • zazzle_doodle – Doodle Speaker
  • fuji_electronicsbag – Electronics Bags
  • zazzle_embroideredbag – Embroidered Bags
  • zazzle_embroideredhat – Embroidered Hats
  • zazzle_embroideredshirt – Embroidered Shirts
  • zazzle_envelope – Envelopes
  • zazzle_flyer – Flyers
  • fuji_mousepad – Gel Mousepads
  • zazzle_giftbox – Gift Boxes
  • zazzle_hat – Hats
  • zazzle_invitation – Invitations
  • zazzle_speckcase – iPad/iPhone Cases
  • zazzle_keychain – Keychains
  • mojo_kitchentowel – Kitchen Towels
  • zazzle_label – Labels
  • zazzle_letterhead – Letterhead
  • zazzle_magnet – Magnets
  • zazzle_mousepad – Mousepads
  • zazzle_mug – Mugs
  • mojo_napkin – Napkins
  • zazzle_necklace – Necklaces
  • fuji_notebook – Notebooks
  • fuji_notepad – Notepads
  • zazzle_ornament – Ornaments
  • zazzle_petshirt – Pet Apparel
  • zazzle_petbowl – Pet Bowl
  • zazzle_photocard – Photo Cards
  • zazzle_photoenlargement – Photo Enlargement
  • fuji_plaque – Photo Plaques
  • zazzle_photoprint – Photo Prints
  • zazzle_photosculpture – Photo Sculptures
  • zazzle_pitcher – Pitcher
  • mojo_placemat – Placemats
  • fuji_plate” – Plates
  • zazzle_stamp – Postage
  • zazzle_postcard – Postcards
  • zazzle_print – Poster Prints
  • planetjill_giftbox – Premium Gift Boxes
  • fuji_fleximagnet – Premium Magnets
  • zazzle_profilecard – Profile Cards
  • fuji_puzzle – Puzzles
  • zazzle_rackcard – Rackcards
  • rickshaw_flapsleeve – Rickshaw Flap Sleeves
  • rickshaw_folio – Rickshaw Folio
  • rickshaw_messengerbag – Rickshaw Messenger Bag
  • rickshaw_sleeve – Rickshaw Sleeve
  • zazzle_skateboard – Skateboards
  • zazzle_specialitymug – Speciality Mugs
  • zazzle_stationery – Stationary
  • zazzle_sticker – Stickers
  • zazzle_teapot – Teapots
  • zazzle_tie – Ties
  • zazzle_tile – Tiles
  • mojo_throwpillow – Throw Pillows
  • zazzle_shirt – T-Shirts
  • libertybottle_bottle – Water Bottles
  • zazzle_wrappedcanvas – Wrapped Canvas

Where Can I Download This Marvelous Invention?

Right here. Just click here to download the zip. Then jump back up to the top and follow the instructions carefully.

What About A Premium Version?

Why yes, there is one. If you are looking for all the bells & whistles and you don’t mind spending a little cash to get them. You can get a special premium version of the ZStore Helper. Find out more about the special premium ZStore Helper WordPress Plugin, or you can purchase it straight away at the shop for the Premium Zstore Plugin.

An note about the premium plugin. The plugin is sold by Bill H, however I am still the main developer of all main code that runs the plugin. If you have any questions regarding sales, please direct them towards Bill. If you have any problems or questions about the plugin in general feel free to ask me or Bill and we’ll help in any way we can. Thank you.

What About WordPress MU?

Well after a little bit of adjustments it will work in WPMU. You can download that version here. This version is only a mu-plugin if you want to use it as a normal plugin in WPMU then download the version above & place it in your plugins folder.

Is There Promotional Opportunities?

You can now show off your site running ZStore with your own custom banners. You’ll even get a link back to help promote your website which is great for SEO purposes. There will be a page showcasing links for both standard and premium zstore users. All you need to do is create a banner for your website sized 500 pixels by 100 pixels and visit the WP Theme 4 U website.