List of storefront pages and associated templates


	List of storefront pages and associated templates
	Last Edited - 03/24/2014 3:53pm PDT
	Category Path - Shopping Cart Software Components > Storefront

This article is intended to explain how the storefront pages are organized, and which templates are applied to which pages.

Default Store Pages and Templates

questions

How do all of the store pages interact together?

What template should I edit to customize the appearance of a specific store page?

Is there a built-in page for a specific function, such as a customer log in page?

The various store pages are listed later in on this article, with a brief description of the function of each page, how the page relates to other store pages, and the default template and URL for each page.

But before reading about the default templates and URLs, it might be helpful to have an understanding of the differences between custom templates, default templates, and the universal template.

tip: template file extensions

In the current version of the Modular Merchant shopping cart, template files use the .tpl extension. In older versions of the Modular Merchant shopping cart, template files used the .template.php extension.

The current version is backwards compatible with the .template.php extension, so template packages that have been revised over time may contain files with a mix of .tpl and .template.php extensions.

If both versions of a template are present in the same template package (for instance, product.tpl and product.template.php), then the version with the .tpl extension will be used.

Custom Templates

question

Can I select different templates for different instances of a page (such as applying Template A to the product page of Product SID 123, and Template B to the product page of Product SID 456)?

In this article, the default URL and template are noted for each store page. However, many store pages may be customized to override the default URL and/or template.

For instance, the Category Editor includes options to specify an Alternate Store Page and to select an individual Template. Those settings will override the defaults, so that the specific Alternate Store Page will be used in place of the default http://www.example.com/cX.php URL, and the selected template will be used in place of the default category.tpl template.

tip

Assigning an individual custom template to an individual store page is described in the Knowledge Base article Creating Custom Templates Using the Template Package Sandbox.

It is not necessary for a template package to include every individual template. If a template package does not include a specific indvidual template, then the universal template will be used in place of that specific template. For instance, if a category is set to use the default category.tpl template, but the live template package does not include category.tpl, then universal.tpl will be applied to that category page.

Universal Template

question

When is the universal template used, and what does the universal template do?

The universal template is a bit like a Swiss Army knife. If you don't have a screwdriver, the little screwdriver tool included in a Swiss Army knife would probably get the job done. But if you do have an actual screwdriver, you'd probably use that instead of a Swiss Army knife. And for some jobs, a Swiss Army knife screwdriver just wouldn't be up to the task at all -- you'd have to go get a real screwdriver to get the job done.

In the same way, if an individual template is not included in the current template package, the universal template can reproduce the basic functions of any of the default templates, and will be applied instead of any missing individual default templates. Every template package must contain the universal template, as a backup. A minimal template package might contain only the universal template, and the appearance of every store page would be controlled by the single universal template. A highly customized template package might contain a customized version of every individual template, in which case the universal template would not be used by any store pages, but would still be required to be present in the template package.

Altering the universal template will alter the appearance of all store pages that use the universal template. If the universal template is the only template in the template package, then applying a new look to the entire store is as simple as editing the single universal.tpl file. However, some customizations are not possible when working solely with the universal template.

For instance, if a template package does not contain vendor.tpl, then the store will use universal.tpl to generate the appearance of vendor pages. The universal.tpl file may be edited to alter the general appearance of all pages that use that template (including the vendor pages in this example). But if the default vendor page layout displays the vendor image below the vendor name, this cannot be altered through the universal template, because the vendor image and vendor name are content that is not present on every page. If the file vendor.tpl is added to the template package, then that specific template may be edited to display the vendor image above the vendor name.

For more information about the universal template and adding specific template files to template packages, refer to:
Template Package
Universal Template
List of available Templates for use in Template Packages
Populate Templates

Shopping Pages

The store includes several pages with different options for browsing products and selecting items to purchase. Most of the shopping pages are referred to as list pages, because their primary content is a list of products. Some examples of list pages are category pages, vendor pages, and search result pages.

Store Home Page

The store's default landing page is the store home page, and is often used primarily to display the store's current featured products.

storefront vs store home

The term "storefront" refers to the entire public store website. (The secure backend is referred to as the "administration area" or "admin area".)

In prior versions of the shopping cart software, the store's home page was referred to as the "storefront page". This tended to result in confusion, since it was not clear if "storefront page" meant the store's home page, or was used more generally to refer to any page of the storefront. To prevent that confusion, the store's home page is now officially named the "store home page", NOT the "storefront page". Old documentation, such as release notes from prior versions, may still use the term "storefront page" to refer to the store home page.

The storefront template (storefront.template.php) is a holdover from the older versions of the shopping cart, in which the store's home page was referred to as the "storefront page". The store home page is backwards compatible with the storefront template. Older template packages will probably use storefront.template.php to control the design of the store home page, while newer template packages will probably use index.tpl.

Storefront URL: http://www.example.com/index.php
Template: index.tpl

Category Page

The category page is the default page when browsing any product category, and may display the category name, image, and public description, as well as the list of products associated with the category. It is possible to create multiple variants of the category template and edit individual categories to assign different templates to each category.

Storefront URL: http://www.example.com/cX.php
SEO-Friendly Storefront URL: http://www.example.com/category-name-cX.php
Default Template: category.tpl
X = the category SID number

Featured Products Page

The featured products page is dedicated specifically to displaying the list of all products that are currently active, not hidden, and have the Featured Product option set to YES. The store home (storefront) page also displays a list of featured products by default. The dedicated featured products page is provided so that stores may display other content on the store home page, if they so choose.

Storefront URL: http://www.example.com/featured_products.php
Default Template: featured_products.tpl

Vendor Page

By default, a vendor page will display the vendor's name, image, description, and all products associated with that vendor. The vendor's name, image, and description may all be specified in the Vendor Editor. The Vendor Editor also includes an option to select a specific template to apply to each vendor, if desired.

Storefront URL: http://www.example.com/vX.php
SEO-Friendly Storefront URL: http://www.example.com/vendor-name-vX.php
Default Template: vendor.tpl
X = the vendor SID number

Search Results Page

Displays the products that match the phrase entered in the store’s search field.

Storefront URL: http://www.example.com/search_results.php
Template: search_results.tpl

Product Page

The product page displays detailed information for the selected product. Each product may be edited to have a different template applied to it.

Storefront URL: http://www.example.com/pX.php
SEO-Friendly Storefront URL: http://www.example.com/product-name-pX.php
Default Template: product.tpl
X = the product SID number

Basket Page (View Cart)

The basket page is typically accessed by clicking a "View Cart" link from one of the other storefront page. The basket page displays the contents of the customer's cart for review during the shopping process, and also includes an option to estimate shipping fees. Although the basket page appears very similar to the checkout pages, it is not actually part of the checkout process, and the default basket template does not include options to enter billing or payment information.

Storefront URL: http://www.example.com/basket.php
Template: basket.tpl

Checkout Pages

The checkout process begins with checkout page 1 and ends with the checkout receipt page. The checkout process may also include special pages, such as a page to provide details for any gift certificates in the order, or upsell pages if the 1-Click Upsell module is active.

The first page in the checkout process uses the checkout_1.tpl template. When the current checkout page is submitted, if the page does not include payment information, then the next checkout page will be loaded. If the current page does include payment information, then the transaction will be sent to the payment gateway, and if the transaction is successful, the checkout receipt page will be loaded. If the transaction is declined, the current checkout page will reload with the relevant transaction failure message.

There is no separate transaction failure page, and no editable error message page. It might be possible to create a custom webpage to display transaction failures, but custom programming would be required to insert that page into the checkout process, and that is beyond the scope of this article.

Storefront URL: http://www.example.com/checkout.php
Template: checkout_X.tpl
X = the checkout step number
Prior to MMv4, the checkout templates were named checkoutX.tpl. (Note the underscore that has been added between "checkout" and "X.template" as of MMv4.)

gift certificates

Gift Certificate Customization Page
If an order includes a gift certificate, when the customer proceeds to checkout, the gift certificate customization page will be displayed. The gift certificate customization default template includes a form to enter the gift certificate sender's name, recipient's name, recipient's email address, and a personal message. When the gift certificate options are submitted, checkout page 1 will load and the normal checkout process will begin. If the order does not include any gift certificate, then the gift certificate customization page will be skipped.
Storefront URL: http://www.example.com/gc.php
Template: gift_certificate_customize.tpl

Gift Certificate Print Page
If an order includes a gift certificate, when the order is completed and the checkout receipt page is displayed, the checkout receipt will include a link to the gift certificate print page. The default gift certificate print page displays a generic printable gift certificate that includes the details provided by the customer on the gift certificate customization page, as well as a brief message explaining how to redeem the gift certificate.
Storefront URL: http://www.example.com/gc_print.php
Template: gift_certificate_print.tpl

one-page checkout

The MMv4 template packages focus on a default one-page checkout process.

Checkout Page 1
The options for customers to log in, enter billing information, enter shipping information, enter payment information, and complete the order are all on the same page.
Storefront URL: http://www.example.com/checkout.php
Template: checkout_1.tpl

three-page checkout

Older version 3 template packages may provide a three-page checkout process by default.

Checkout Page 1
The first page typically provides the option for an existing customer to log in to their account, so that existing customer information may be used to speed up checkout.
Storefront URL: http://www.example.com/checkout.php
Template: checkout_1.tpl
Prior to MMv4, the checkout templates were named checkoutX.tpl. (Note the underscore that has been added between "checkout" and "X.template" as of MMv4.)

Checkout Page 2
The second page typically includes the options for customers to input shipping information.
Storefront URL: http://www.example.com/checkout.php
Template: checkout_2.tpl
Prior to MMv4, the checkout templates were named checkoutX.tpl. (Note the underscore that has been added between "checkout" and "X.template" as of MMv4.)

Checkout Page 3
The third page typically includes the options for customer to input billing information and complete the order.
Storefront URL: http://www.example.com/checkout.php
Template: checkout_3.tpl
Prior to MMv4, the checkout templates were named checkoutX.tpl. (Note the underscore that has been added between "checkout" and "X.template" as of MMv4.)

upsell and downsell pages

Using the 1-Click Upsell Module, it is possible to create a sales chain that will be triggered when a customer purchases specific products. When payment is successfully processed for an order that contains any products that trigger upsell rules, the sales chain will be displayed after the checkout submit payment page, and before the checkout receipt page.

The sales chain may contain any number of upsell rules and downsell rules. An upsell rule is used to specify which product to display after a customer purchases the previous product in the chain. A downsell rule is used to specify which product to display after a customer opts not to purchase the previous product in the chain. Once the sale chain has completed, the checkout receipt page will load.

Upsell Page
If an order includes any products that trigger upsell rules established in the 1-Click Upsell Editor, then before the checkout receipt page loads, the "checkout_receipt_special.php" page will load with the first product in the upsell sales chain, using the upsell template. As the sales chain continues, the "checkout_special.php" page will reload with the upsell template for each upsell rule in the chain.
Storefront URL: http://www.example.com/checkout_receipt_special.php
Template: upsell.tpl

Downsell Page
If the customer opts not to purchase the displayed upsell product, and the sales chain includes any downsell rules, then the "checkout_receipt_special.php" page will be reloaded with the downsell product, using the downsell template.
Storefront URL: http://www.example.com/checkout_receipt_special.php
Template: downsell.tpl

receipt pages

Checkout Receipt Page
When a customer successfully submits their payment information, the checkout receipt page will be loaded. The default checkout receipt template includes a link to the printable receipt page.
Storefront URL: http://www.example.com/checkout_receipt.php
Template: checkout_receipt.tpl

Printable Receipt Page
In the default template packages, the checkout receipt page template includes the link "Print a Receipt" which leads to a print-friendly version of the checkout receipt page. The printable receipt page may also be accessed through the store's admin area, through the "Print an invoice" link in the Related Pages section of the Order Editor.
Storefront URL: http://www.example.com/checkout_receipt_print.php
Template: checkout_receipt_print.tpl

Customer Account Area Pages

Only logged in customers have access to the pages within the Customer Account Area. Customer Account Area pages typically display content specific to the logged in customer, such as that customer's order history and contact information.

As of MMv4, affiliate accounts have been merged into the customer account database, and content that was previously posted in the Affiliate Account Area is now part of the Customer Account Area.

Each page of the Customer Account Area may have a different template applied to it. The Customer Account Area may contain any number of pages, and therefore, templates. Change "X" in the template name with the number of the customer Account Area page.

Storefront URL: http://www.example.com/customer.php
Template: customer_account_X.tpl
X = the Customer Account Area page number

list of default customer account area pages

Customer Account Area Page 1 - Customer Purchase History
Displays the customer's active subscriptions, with current pricing, next bill date, and the option to cancel subscriptions. Also displays the customer's order history, which includes the digital download passwords to retrieve downloads for prior orders.
Storefront URL: http://www.example.com/customer.php?customer_page=1
Template: customer_account_1.tpl

Customer Account Area Page 2 - Customer Contact Info
Displays the customer's contact information, including billing address, any shipping addresses, phone number, and email address. Also provides the option to update contact information.
Storefront URL: http://www.example.com/customer.php?customer_page=2
Template: customer_account_2.tpl

Customer Account Area Page 3 - Customer Payment Info
Displays the customer's list of stored credit cards (last four digits only), and provides options to add or delete credit cards from the list, as well choose which credit card will be used for subscriptions, and to choose if the credit card quick selection menu will be displayed at checkout.
Storefront URL: http://www.example.com/customer.php?customer_page=3
Template: customer_account_3.tpl

Customer Account Area Page 4 - Customer News
May display various levels of news items (general news, customer-specific-news, subscriber news). More information about the Customer News section of the Customer Account Area is available in the Knowledge Base article Display "Customer News" in the storefront .
Storefront URL: http://www.example.com/customer.php?customer_page=4
Template: customer_account_4.tpl

Customer Account Area Page 11 - Affiliate Sales Stats
Displays general Affiliate Account Stats, such as Start Date, Total Hits, Total Orders, and Total Earned. Also displays Affiliate Sales Stats by date range.
Storefront URL: http://www.example.com/customer.php?customer_page=11
Template: customer_account_11.tpl

Customer Account Area Page 12 - Affiliate Tracking IDs
Displays the current list of Affiliate Tracking ID numbers, including information such as landing page, hits, sales, etc. Also provides the option to create new Tracking ID numbers.
Storefront URL: http://www.example.com/customer.php?customer_page=12
Template: customer_account_12.tpl

Affiliate Tracking ID Statistics Page
The affiliate Tracking ID statistics page displays analytical information for a selected affiliate Tracking ID number, such as number of hits, sales, conversion ratio and other statistics. The affiliate Tracking ID statistics page is accessible by logged in affiliates, through links on the Affiliate Tracking IDs page (Customer Account Area Page 12).
Storefront URL: http://www.example.com/aff_tid_stats.php?tid=X
Template: affiliate_tid_stats.tpl
X = the affiliate Tracking ID number

Customer Account Area Page 13 - Afilliate Marketing Materials
This page may be updated to provide affiliates with relevant marking materials.
Storefront URL: http://www.example.com/customer.php?customer_page=13
Template: customer_account_13.tpl

Utility Pages

The storefront includes a number of pages that provide specific functionality. By default, links to utility pages may only provided in a few specific locations. It is possible to include links to the utility pages from the store main page to make those features more readily accessible.

Affiliate Registration Page

The affiliate registration page allows non-affiliates to sign up for a store's Affiliate Program. The default affiliate registration template contains an HTML form to submit data required for affiliate account creation.

Storefront URL: http://www.example.com/aff_register.php
Template: affiliate_registration.tpl

Affiliate Login Page

The affiliate login page allows affiliates to log in to their Affiliate/Customer Account Area. The default affiliate login template contains an HTML form to submit data required for an affiliate to log in to their account area.

Storefront URL: http://www.example.com/aff_login.php
Template: affiliate_account_login.tpl

Affiliate Tracking ID Statistics Page

The affiliate Tracking ID statistics page displays analytical information for a selected affiliate Tracking ID number, such as number of hits, sales, conversion ratio and other statistics. The affiliate Tracking ID statistics page is accessible by logged in affiliates.

Storefront URL: http://www.example.com/aff_tid_stats.php?tid=X
Template: affiliate_tid_stats.tpl
X = the affiliate Tracking ID number

Contact Form Page

The contact form page contains the company contact information and address from the Company Information section of the System Settings, including the company website, primary company phone number, and company address. This page also contains a form that visitors may use to send an email to the email address specified for the store in the System Settings.

Storefront URL: http://www.example.com/contact_form.php
Template: contact_form.tpl

Contact Info / Company Information Page

In the default template packages, the contact info page contains the company information from the System Settings, including the company website, primary company phone number, and company address. A "company info" link might be added to the storefront template, pointing to the contact info page, to allow customers to access this page.

Storefront URL: http://www.example.com/contact_info.php
Template: contact_info.tpl

Customer Registration Page

Displays a form that non-customers can use to create a Customer Account.

Storefront URL: http://www.example.com/customer_register.php
Template: customer_register.tpl

Customer Login Page

The Customer Login page allows customers to log in to their Customer/Affiliate Account Area.

Storefront URL: http://www.example.com/customer_login.php
Template: customer_account_login.tpl

Customer Login Retrieval Page

Page on which customers can submit a form to have their login information sent to the email address associated with their Customer Account.

Storefront URL: http://www.example.com/customer_fetch_login.php
Template: customer_fetch_login.tpl

Download Login Page

The Download Login page is used to log the customer in to the store’s Digital Delivery area. After the customer successfully logs in, they will automatically be redirected to the digdel_delivery.php page, where they can access the Digital Objects that they have purchased.

Storefront URL: http://www.example.com/digdel_login.php
Template: download_login.tpl

Download Page

After a customer successfully logs in to the store's Digital Delivery area, they will automatically be forwarded to this page. Use this page to list all of the Digital Objects the customer has purchased.

Storefront URL: http://www.example.com/digdel_delivery.php
Template: download_delivery.tpl

Email Unsubscribe Page

This page is loaded when a customer clicks an unsubscribe link in an email message that was sent using the Modular Mailer bulk email module.

Storefront URL: http://www.example.com/email_unsubscribe.php
Template: email_unsubscribe.tpl

Events Page

The events page displays all events which are currently active and have the Public option set to YES.

Storefront URL: http://www.example.com/events.php
Template: events.tpl

Off-site Payment Gateway Subscription Renewal Page

If the store's Subscription Product Module Settings are set to allow customers to pay for subscriptions through an off-site payment gateway such as PayPal Website Payments Standard, then store-generated email message SID 204 will contain a link for customers to log in to PayPal to submit payment for their due subscription(s). The link actually leads to the ospg_subscription_processor.php page, but if the subscription is due, then the page automatically redirects to PayPal. If the subscription is not yet due, then the ospg_subscription_processor.php page does not redirect, and is displayed with the ospg_subscription_processor.tpl template applied.

Storefront URL: http://www.example.com/ospg_subscription_processor.php?id=#####
Template: ospg_subscription_processor.tpl

Packing Slip / Shipping Manifest

The Packing Slip page displays an order summary suitable for printing and enclosing with a customer's order when it is shipped. The default Packing Slip template is very similar to the default Checkout Receipt template, and the default Printable Receipt template. The Packing Slip page is only accessible from within the store's administration area, either through the Related Pages link when viewing an individual order in the Order Editor, or through the action menu at the bottom of the Search Orders page.

Storefront URL: http://www.example.com/checkout_receipt_print.php?selected_template=packing_slip
Template: packing_slip.tpl

RSS Page

This storefront page lists several RSS feeds that are available: a list of newest products, most popular products, and featured products.

Storefront URL: http://www.example.com/rss.php
Template: rss.tpl

Sitemap Categories Page (Category Index)

Lists all of the store's active categories.

Storefront URL: http://www.example.com/sitemap_categories.php
Template: sitemap_categories.tpl

Sitemap Products Page (Product Index)

Lists all of the store's active, unhidden products.

Storefront URL: http://www.example.com/sitemap_products.php
Template: sitemap_products.tpl

Sitemap Vendors Page (Vendor Index)

Lists all of the store's active vendors.

Storefront URL: http://www.example.com/sitemap_vendors.php
Template: sitemap_vendors.tpl

Sitemap Webpages Page (Webpage Index)

Lists all of the store's active custom webpages.

Storefront URL: http://www.example.com/sitemap_webpages.php
Template: sitemap_webpages.tpl

Shipping Address Editor

The Shipping Address Editor page displays all of the customer's shipping addresses, with fields to edit each address or add a new one. The Shipping Address Editor is typically only accessible through an error message link that will be displayed if a customer attempts to checkout with an incomplete shipping address.

Storefront URL: http://www.example.com/ship_address_editor.php
Template: ship_address_editor.tpl

Track Shipment Page

If an order has a shipper and tracking number assigned in the Order Editor, then the customer will be able to use the Track Shipment page to retrieve the shipper's tracking status for the order, by entering the tracking number assigned to the order.

Storefront URL: http://www.example.com/track_shipment.php
Template: track_shipment.tpl

Wish List Page

Storefront page on which customers may view and edit their wish lists, or others may view any wish list that the customer has marked as "public".

If the Wish Lists module has been enabled in the store's administration area, then the default Customer Account Area templates will display a link to access the Wish List page. The link is wrapped in the {IF-USING-WISH-LISTS-BEGIN} and {IF-USING-WISH-LISTS-END} QuickCode Tags, so it will not be displayed if the Wish Lists module has not been enabled.

Although the Wish List page may be accessed through a link from the Customer Account Area, it is not technically part of the Customer Account Area. The default wish wish list template is designed to allow visitors who are not logged in customers to also use the Wish List page to view any public wish lists for which they have a public access key.

Storefront URL: http://www.example.com/wish_list.php
Template: wish_list.tpl

Special Pages

In addition to the shopping pages, checkout pages, Customer Account Area pages, and various utility pages, a few special pages are available.

Store Closed Page

When a store is closed, users trying to view any storefront page will instead be redirected to the "store closed" page. Users who are currently logged in to the store administration area on the same computer and using the same browser will be able to view the storefront pages, but a "store closed" attention message will be displayed on each page.

The store website might be closed temporarily if sales need to be suspended for any reason. The store's Modular Merchant account remains active even if the storefront is closed, and the store's administration area also remains fully functional.

The option to close a storefront is located in the store's administration area at [Admin > System Settings > Testing & Development].

Storefront URL: http://www.example.com/store_closed.php
Template: store_closed.tpl

Custom Webpages

The Custom Webpage Editor allows even more pages to be created. A custom webpage might be created to display information such as size charts, shipping terms, return policy, FAQ, or any other store-specific need. The look of a custom webpage might be incorporated into the webpage itself, or determined by a template assigned to the webpage. If template is assigned to a custom webpage, the template should either be universal.tpl or a custom template containing the {UNIVERSAL-CONTENT} QuickCode Tag.

The store's custom webpages may be viewed at [Design > Search Custom Webpages].

Due to popular demand, a few sample custom webpages have been created and are included in the installation of new accounts. These sample custom webpages include: "Privacy Policy", "Return/Refund Policy", "Payment Options", and "Conditions of Use".

Storefront URL: http://www.example.com/wX.php
SEO-Friendly Storefront URL: http://www.example.com/custom-webpage-name-wX.php
Template: univeral.tpl, custom template, or no template at all, depending on the Template setting of the Custom Webpage Editor
X = the custom webpage SID number

"Page Not Found" Page

Users trying to view any page that does not exist, will instead be redirected to the "Page Not Found" page.

Storefront URL: http://www.example.com/[path to a file that does not exist]
Template: page_not_found.tpl