README

The contao recommendation bundle adds recommendations to Contao 4.

Support

If you like this extension, we'd love your support in keeping the open-source spirit alive.

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Your contributions, whether through coding, testing, providing feedback, or even a donation, help ensure that we can continue offering free open source software. Join us in making a difference, and thank you for your support! - Oveleon.

Working with Contao 4.13 and Contao 5.3+ (PHP ^8.1)

Description

This plugin adds a new sub-menu Recommendations with recommendation archives and recommendations

• Features
• Installation
  • Composer
  • Contao Manager
• Initial setup
• Front end modules
  • Recommendation list
  • Recommendation reader
  • Recommendation form
• Sitemap
• Verified recommendations / GDPR
• Bugs and feature requests
• Styled Reviews

Features

• Compatible with Contao 4.13 and higher versions (PHP 8 Support)
• Possibility to create multiple recommendation archives
• Possibility to create recommendation items
• Frontend- and Backend permissions for archives and items
• Access protection for modules
• Recommendation list to display recommendation items
  • Choose multiple archives to display from
  • Filter by rating
  • Pagination
  • Featured recommendations (for sorting)
  • and more
• Recommendation reader for recommendations
• Recommendation form to let users submit their recommendations into a specific archive
  • Choose what users can submit
  • Get E-Mail notifications when people submit a recommendation
  • Moderation settings
  • Possibility to add a privacy checkbox
  • Possibility to activate an e-mail verification (opt-in) to verify recommendations
• No IP-logging
• Sitemap-Integration
  • Recommendations will be added to the sitemap.xml
• Automatic purge of non verified recommendations
• Cache invalidation

Installation

Via composer

composer require oveleon/contao-recommendation-bundle

Via contao-manager

Search for contao recommendation bundle and add it to your extensions.

After installing the contao-recommendation-bundle, you need to run a contao install.

Initial setup

The recommendation bundle is close to the core-bundles of contao cms. If you are familiar using the news- or events bundle, you should be able to set it up without further knowledge.

1. Create a new archive in Recommendations

   

2. Create a new recommendation in your archive and fill out

   • Author
   • Date and time are set automatically but can be changed
   • Recommendation text
   • Choose a Rating (1 to 5)
   • Publish the recommendation

   

3. To display your recommendations, you will need a recommendation-list.

   1. Create the front end module recommendation-list
   2. Choose your recommendation archive/s
   3. Choose the meta fields you want to show in your front end
   4. Embed the module in a page

   

4. Setting up colors for your recommendation rating

   • You can go to "settings" within Recommendations (Location of archives) and choose a color for active stars

   

5. Setting up the recommendation alias

   • Within the recommendation settings, you can update the default-prefix for aliases when no title has been given

   

6. Setting up a recommendation-reader for a redirect page

   1. Create the front end module recommendation-reader
   2. Choose your recommendation archive/s
   3. Choose the meta fields you want to show in your front end
   4. Embed the module in a page or set it up for your recommendation-list
   5. Set up the redirect page in your recommendation archive/s

   

Recommendation List on your website

Front end modules

Recommendation list

The recommendation list can display published (and verified) recommendations from selected archives.

Settings

Recommendation reader

The recommendation list can display published (and verified) recommendations from selected archives.

Settings

Recommendation form

The recommendation form can be used to let your visitors submit recommendations on your website. These recommendations will be saved in a preconfigured archive.

Settings

Sitemap

Recommendation archives that are not protected and have a jumpTo page will add their published recommendations to your sitemap.xml. It is recommended to have a title for your recommendations as they are being used to create an alias. If you do not want certain recommendations to be shown on your sitemap, you can unpublish them.

Verified recommendations / GDPR

When adding a privacy text to the recommendation form, it will create a mandatory checkbox that visitors have to accept to submit their forms.

Recommendations that are created in the backend are verified by default. You have the possibility to set up an activation mail in recommendation forms that will be sent to the visitor. The submitted recommendations will not be shown on any list and can not be verified by the administrator. A cronjob will purge the unverified recommendations after 24 hours.

The recommendation form does not save the IP of the user. However, it will save the e-mail-address of a user if they verified their recommendation with the opt-in token.

Bugs and feature requests

We appreciate your contributions when opening issues or requesting features. To help keep our issue list tidy, we may need to close issues if questions go unanswered.

Bugs

If you think you have found a bug please follow these guidelines

1. Search for existing issues and check if your problem has already been reported
2. Check if you are using the latest version and if the issue has been fixed already
3. Provide a step-by-step tutorial on how to reproduce the issue in an isolated environment using only this bundle and the contao managed edition

Feature requests

Feature requests are welcome. But take a moment to find out whether your idea fits with the scope and aims of the project. It's up to you to make a strong case to convince the project's developers of the merits of this feature. Please provide as much detail and context as possible.

Example

An example how to style your reviews on your website