Developers

Information for Developers

For the overall site layout you can use any of the following methods:

1. Use one of our templates. You are still able to override CSS by inserting it into the HEAD of your pages. You can override CSS by placing your own css in your admin panel under General Settings -> HTML Inserts -> Section 4. Tables are used to "hold" the layout together. Currently there is still no way to implement a 3 column, 3 row, full/equal height liquid layout using DIVs.
2. Use Design 5 (CSS Template for Advanced Users). Using this the site is esentially rendered with container DIVs. You can then create your own CSS and graphics. User's who use this option also typically use the option to use their own home page HTML. See section 2.c. Tables are only used for some of the product detail layouts. The tables that are used have classes or IDs and can be modified quite a bit. The tables restrict the order and general position of items within them more than DIVs would and this is intentional to give us more predictable results when we make changes in the future. We also automatically include jQuery which can be used to override almost any page element.

For home page customization you can use any of the following methods:

1. Use one of our templates. You are still able to override CSS by inserting it into the HEAD of your pages. You can override CSS by placing your own css in your admin panel under General Settings -> HTML Inserts -> Section 4. - you can also specify your own CSS file to use in General Settings -> Advanced -> Misc Settings -> Advanced Settings -> "You can change the file your CSS links to here (note: advanced users only):".
2. Use the Home Page Builder. The Home Page Builder was created for web designers so they could use the eFC program to create a custom home page (still within certain specifications, but much more flexible then the standard eFC platform). Knowledge of HTML and CSS is required as is the ability to create graphic images to specific sizes to fit properly within the structure of the template. To access this click "Manage Home Page" and clicking on "Try the new home page builder (beta): Click here" then clicking on "Submit", checking "Ecommerce Style Layout", then "Submit". If you do not see the "Try the new home page builder (beta): Click here" option, please contact us via support ticket in order to enable it for your account. This option can now be used with the Design 5 Adavanced CSS Template.
3. Use your own HTML. If you want total control over the home page code you can paste in the entire HTML of your home page. To access this go to "General Settings" -> "Advanced" -> (scroll all the way down) "Design 5 (CSS Only) Settings": Check " I am using my own HTML for my home page" and enter the HTML in the "Custom Home Page HTML" box. Note: This method will break any integration with the Collection/Category menus, featured styles and slideshows. To customize your home page and still keep these features integrated, use the "Home Page Builder".

See also: http://www.efcmailserver.com/wiki/index.php/General_Settings_Advanced

Customizing eFashionCentral's Templates

If you'll be customizing our templates with our own CSS there are two ways this can be accomplished:

1. (recommended) You can override CSS by inserting it into the HEAD of your pages. You can override CSS by placing your own css in your admin panel under General Settings -> HTML Inserts -> Section 4. This is the recommended method because any future classes we need to add for new features will also be added to your web site for better compatibility.
2. You can also specify your own CSS file to use in General Settings -> Advanced -> Misc Settings -> Advanced Settings -> "You can change the file your CSS links to here (note: advanced users only):". If you use this method your website won't be updated with new CSS classes used for new features. You would need to add these manually.

Title Element Composition

The title bar is composed of the following: [Category or Collection Name][Style Number][Product Short Description][Global Title Bar text which is set in General Settings -> HTML Inserts -> 1 ], in that order.

To edit the title element for a specific category go to "Edit Collection/Category Details" called "Title of this Collection/Category for HTML "TITLE" element if different from above". This will override the collection name if given, otherwise the collection name is used. This will also be used as the automatic add-in for the meta tags.

To edit the Title element for a specific product, go to "Manage Products" -> Navigate to a product and click "Edit", enter the new Title in "Product HTML Title Override". You can also edit META keywords/description for the product here in "Product META Keywords Override" and "Product META Description Override". Enter only the keywords/description, not the entire META tag.

Customizing the Built-in Slide Show

The maximum height of photos in the slideshow is the same as the height set in "Slide Show Settings" -> "Slide Show Height". If you upload photos when the slide show height is set to 457px, for example, and later update the slideshow height to 700px, you will need to re-upload the photos again so the server can resize them to the new height.

You can include any jQuery/javascript/Flash/etc content you want in the Home Page Builder and custom homes pages. However, some developers find it helpful to use the built in slideshow (Manage Home Page -> Misc Site Look and Feel -> Manage Home Page SlideShow) to make it easier for clients or other employees to update the slideshow. If you don't want to use the Flash based slideshow and still want to have the client/employee use the management tools in the admin (Manage Home Page -> Misc Site Look and Feel -> Manage Home Page SlideShow) you can integrate the XML file used by the Flash slideshow into your own custom script. The XML file is: http://efashioncentral.com/xbasecode/slideshow/images.xml?EfId=YOUR_3DIGIT_CLIENT_ID

Using Text Entered in Manage Home Page in the Home Page Builder

If other clients/employees will be updating home page text but you don't want them using the Home Page Builder to do so, you can have them use the text fields in "Manage Home Page" and just insert the placeholder keywords [HomeText] [HomeTextAlt1] [HomeTextAlt2] or [HomeTextAlt] within the home page builder text area where you want each respective field to be inserted. These correspond to the "Your current home page text:", "Text which will appear above the featured products", "Text which will appear below the featured products" and "You can enter text in the box below that will be shown in its place", respectively.