The Web Shop Solution - About HREF Links


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This HTML:

<table border=0 CELLPADDING=5 CELLSPACING=0>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="125">
<a href="http://www.bluegalaxy.info/webshopsolution/cgi-bin/my_cart.pl?name=Set+of+five+candles&price=9.95&custom2=Scented+and+wrapped+in+plastic&custom1=Item%231000723&custom3=For+$5+dollars+off+your+entire+order,+use+the+coupon+code+ABC+below.&custom4=%23no_custom_price_override%23&quantity=1&sh=1&img=http://www.bluegalaxy.info/webshopsolution/images/candles.jpg&continue_shopping=http://www.bluegalaxy.info/webshopsolution/demo.html&product_details=http://www.bluegalaxy.info/webshopsolution/images/candlesL.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.bluegalaxy.info/webshopsolution/images/candles.jpg" border=0 alt="Click this picture to add the candles to the cart."></a>
Click the photo to add the candles to the cart.<BR>
</td>
<td valign="top">
<FONT FACE="verdana" SIZE=-1 COLOR=#000000>
<b>Set of five candles</b><BR>
<b>Price: $9.95</b><BR>
Add this item to the cart to get a coupon for $5.00 of your entire order.
</td>
</tr>
</table>

Makes this:

Click this picture to add the candles to the cart.

Click the photo to add the candles to the cart.

Set of five candles
Price: $9.95
Add this item to the cart to get a coupon for $5.00 of your entire order.

This HTML:

<BR>
<table border=0 CELLPADDING=0 CELLSPACING=0>
<tr>
<td valign="top">
<FONT FACE="verdana" SIZE=-1 COLOR=#000000>
<b>Set of five candles</b><BR>
<b>Price: $9.95</b><BR>
<a href="http://www.bluegalaxy.info/webshopsolution/cgi-bin/my_cart.pl?name=Set+of+five+candles&price=9.95&custom2=All+scented+and+wrapped+in+plastic&custom1=Item%231000723&quantity=1&sh=1&img=http://www.bluegalaxy.info/webshopsolution/images/candles.jpg&continue_shopping=http://www.bluegalaxy.info/webshopsolution/demo.html&product_details=http://www.bluegalaxy.info/webshopsolution/images/candlesL.jpg" target="_blank">Buy Now</a><BR>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<BR>

Makes this:

Set of five candles
Price: $9.95
Buy Now

This HTML:

<FORM METHOD=POST ACTION="http://www.bluegalaxy.info/webshopsolution/cgi-bin/my_cart.pl">

<b>Upsell using HREF links:</b><BR>
To see an example of upselling using HREF links, add this <i>PacMan Collection video game</i> to the cart.<BR>

<INPUT TYPE=HIDDEN NAME="name" VALUE="PacMan Collection GBA">
<INPUT TYPE=HIDDEN NAME="price" VALUE="14.95">
<INPUT TYPE=HIDDEN NAME="continue_shopping" VALUE="http://www.bluegalaxy.info/webshopsolution/demo.html">
<INPUT TYPE=HIDDEN NAME="product_details" VALUE="http://www.bluegalaxy.info/webshopsolution/demo.html">
<INPUT TYPE=HIDDEN NAME="sh" VALUE="1">
<INPUT TYPE=HIDDEN NAME="img" VALUE="pacman_game.jpg">
<INPUT TYPE=HIDDEN name="custom2" value="Item #1234">
<INPUT TYPE=HIDDEN name="custom1" value="Plays only on Game Boy Advance">
<INPUT TYPE=HIDDEN name="custom3" value="">
<INPUT TYPE=HIDDEN name="custom4" value="Perhaps you would be interested in purchasing <a href=http://www.bluegalaxy.info/webshopsolution/cgi-bin/my_cart.pl?name=Frogger&price=14.95&custom1=Game+Boy+Advance&custom2=Item+%232345&quantity=1&sh=1&img=http://www.bluegalaxy.info/webshopsolution/images/frogger.jpg&continue_shopping=http://www.bluegalaxy.info/webshopsolution/demo.html&product_details=http://www.bluegalaxy.info/webshopsolution/demo.html>Frogger</a> as well?">
<INPUT TYPE=SUBMIT NAME="add" VALUE="Add To Cart">
</FORM>

Makes this:

Notes:

In the first example, clicking the image will add the product to the cart. This HREF link also makes use of the cart's #no_custom_price_override# feature:
&custom4=%23no_custom_price_override%23
The URL encoding %23 was used in place of the pound symbols '#'. The #no_custom_price_override# tag tells the cart to not change the price of the product based on a currency symbol, followed by a number in any of the custom product descriptions.
The second example shows that you can use a text link to add a product to the cart.
The third product provides an example of an "upsell" or suggestive selling technique. A regular HTML product form is used and an HREF link for another product is included as one of the product's "custom" descriptions. The shopper can add this second item to the cart by clicking on its link on the cart contents page. Here is how the upsell is accomplished:

<INPUT TYPE=HIDDEN name="custom4" value="Perhaps you would be interested in purchasing <a href=http://www.bluegalaxy.info/webshopsolution/cgi-bin/my_cart.pl?name=Frogger&price=14.95&custom1=Game+Boy+Advance&custom2=Item+%232345&quantity=1&sh=1&img=http://www.bluegalaxy.info/webshopsolution/images/frogger.jpg&continue_shopping=http://www.bluegalaxy.info/webshopsolution/demo.html&product_details=http://www.bluegalaxy.info/webshopsolution/demo.html>Frogger</a> as well?">

Notice that only one set of double quotes was used, beginning with value="P and ending with well?">
<INPUT TYPE=HIDDEN name="custom4" value="Perhaps .... well?">

Follow these guidelines to construct an HREF link:

Start with a link to the full URL to your cart.pl script.
Then put a question mark '?' on the end.
The first variable name must be "name" as you see in the examples above.
Use the equal sign '=' to separate the names from the values.
Use the ampersand '&' to separate each name/value pair.
Since browsers don't like space characters in a URL, subsitute each blank space with a plus sign '+'.
All of the form names that the cart can accept can be included in an HREF link.
The pound symbol '#' needs to be encoded with this special URL encoding: %23. So instead of custom2=#noshipping#, you would use custom2=%23noshipping%23
If you would like to pass a URL with the "return" variable and it has a query string inside the URL, then encode these characters: (?,=,&) with these respective URL encodings: (%3F,%3D,%26).