X-Cart forums

[KaviSkin]

Hello,

We have been trying to get the CDSEO packages (including static embedded pages) from WebsiteCM to work for almost two weeks now and it has been a complete nightmare. We get emails from Jon about every other day and to date, we're still having issues.

(1) Instructions are non-existent. All you get is a set of php install pages. There is no indication of what to expect after installation or how this software works.
(2) All of the mod's PHP pages are encrypted, eliminating any possibility of troubleshooting without Jon's help.
(3) Any HTTPS links to product, category, and static pages now either return to the home page or 404.
(4) All links to static pages were 404'ing from Day 1. We asked Jon to take a look. He said he did but in actuality, didn't. Because of the lack of directions, we determined that if we linked to the actual static page name, it would work. After having spent 2 hours relinking all pages.php?pageid=n links all over the site to hardcoded links, we found that meta analyzers were no longer finding these pages. Long story made short, turns out we were never supposed to re-link and the CDSEO software was supposed to dynamically change these pages for us (how were we supposed to know? there's no manual!). Unfortunately, we can't relink to pages.php?pageid=n because then we will 404. So, we're stuck waiting for another wld goose chase from Jon.
(5) The concept of having to specify a unique directory name for products, categories, and static embedded pages should be optional. It's a cheesy requirement.
(6) Unlike the product and category package, it appears there is no way to turn off the static pages package. Rolling back seems to be the only way to turn it off.

All told, our site is now in flux, Jon is once again nowhere to be found, and we're wishing X-Cart would have had this addressed in their base package so that we could have avoided this mess with WebsiteCM

[intel352]

Hi KaviSkin, as a disclaimer, I'm not associated with WebsiteCM (I actually have a free alternative module available, called XC SEO).

1. All urls are supposed to be automatically rewritten by the CDSEO module, as I'm sure you've found out by now.
2. It's actually code obfuscation, a slight difference. (Explanations at bottom of my post)
3. That sounds like an issue with the Apache rewrites
4. Eek
5. Agreed, but it's actually a requirement due to the method of CDSEO implementation (XC SEO Pro seeks to solve this limitation)
6. You're correct on this as well, CDSEO has an option to disable it, but that doesn't work, the only way to disable is to uninstall.

Regarding Jon being unavailable, that's due to the weekend and happens with most PHP firms around X-Cart.

If you'd like, I should be able to help you troubleshoot this issue. Contact me via email at jon@phpsitesolutions.com if you'd like my assistance (no charge).

Cheers

An obfuscator attempts to secure your code by scrambling your code enough to make it unreadable by another human being. A programmer looking at obfuscated code has a hard time understanding what it does. The pro and a con to this is that it does nothing to stop a computer from reading the code. This is good because you want your code to still execute. It is bad because obfuscated code can be de-obfuscated. This does add an extra layer to overcome for a hacker, however once a de-obfuscator is built for a certain type of obfuscator all bets are off.

Encryption is different. Neither human nor any computer can read encrypted code. This means that by default your code cannot execute. This completely blocks out any attempt to unscramble your code. With the help of a separate application such as Zend or Ioncube, your encrypted code can be decrypted and then executed on the fly at runtime.

[Jon]

There is always some level of technical expertise required to install modules - particularily on customized stores. You elected not to have us install for you, and have elected not to provide FTP information for us to perform changes which could ensure this is working correctly within a couple of minutes.

I feel we have gone above and beyond to compensate for your lack of technical knowledge - we performed all the installation file edits for you without FTP access at no cost to you. Additionally I feel we have been more than prompt with replies working through holidays and weekends when our support desk is closed despite your consistent threats of public posts and refund requests.

In short, I feel you do not have the technical knowledge to install this yourself, will not allow us to do so for you, and are projecting your frustration for your inability to do so upon us.

[Jon]

FYI, it's been 4 business days since you asked for installation assistance.

[KaviSkin]

I respect your business and don’t want to be quick with a public post about the problems I’m experiencing. If you like, I can include all of the emails I’ve sent in over the last couple of weeks and you can decide just how responsive your team has been. And the technical issues only started 4 days ago, because it took you a week to deliver the software.

Anyhow, we’re almost there..

2 issues remain:

(1) I’ve since relinked all static pages to use the pages.php?pageid=n format and have remarked out

include $xcart_dir."/modules/cdseolinks/cdseo_pages.php";

to avoid 404’s.

Therefore, a link like http://www.kaviskin.com/glycolic-acid.html is no longer valid. That specific link is now http://www.kaviskin.com/pages.php?pageid=17. However, as soon as I unremark the above include statement, then http://www.kaviskin.com/pages.php?pageid=17 returns a 404.

After further reading, it would seem that the expected behavior would be for the static page to rewrite/redirect to http://www.kaviskin.com/content/glycolic-acid.html. Is that correct?

(2) When in HTTPS mode, if I click on a product or category, it sends me to the home page, and not to the same product or category page in HTTP mode.

Our site has sensitive customer information and I can’t just open FTP access. If you like, we can work through the problem over IM or on the phone, if you think it will be faster.

[intel352]

Hi Kaveh, according to your email to me, the url actually should be /info/ instead of /content/

I would suggest that you revisit the static page TPL edit, as that may be why the folder reference is missing

Additionally you might need to check the config variable in the cdseo pages configuration

[KaviSkin]

Jon L.,

Yes, you're right. I was trying to simplify the explanation, but perhaps complicated it. The default value 'content' was changed to 'info' both in the .htaccess and the cdseo_pages_config.php files.

Thanks!

[intel352]

Kaveh, there are multiple edits total required for Static Pages, did you perform each edit?

[intel352]

BTW, the characters below are showing up on pageid 14, in the header of each subsection:

&nbsp

[KaviSkin]

Yes, they were all performed.

Please note that now all product and category rewrites/redirects are working just fine. Just static pages, which I believe should be the simpler of the two to get working.