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How to Generate an XML Feed for Recommend

25/03/2023
Are you looking to streamline your eCommerce strategy and boost your sales? Look no further than Recommend's powerful platform. In this comprehensive guide, we'll walk you through the process of generating an XML feed for Recommend, enabling you to take advantage of all the platform's powerful personalization features. Whether you're new to eCommerce or a seasoned pro, our step-by-step instructions and tips will help you simplify your marketing efforts and start seeing results. Get started today and take your business to the next level with Recommend.

Table of Contents

Introduction

If you're looking to list your website's products on recommend.co, you'll need to create an XML feed that contains all the necessary elements outlined in this XML specification. Even if you don't have a dedicated programming team, these instructions can help you or your website platform provider create the XML feed. Once we confirm your XML feed, we'll automatically import your products and regularly update pricing, product availability, and other information as needed. It's important to optimize your XML feed as it's the first contact between your company and our platform. Starting with accurate data is crucial to seeing good results for your online presence.

General information

In order to ensure that your products display correctly on Recommend, it's important to submit your data in the correct format. As the XML feed is automatically generated from your website, you should consult your webmaster for assistance.

Here are the key definitions to be aware of:

  • Product: the item that potential customers will search for on Recommend
  • Element: a field in XML that consists of a start tag, data, and end tag
  • Attributes: characteristics of a product

These are the essential XML elements you need to include:

Screenshot 2023-03-26 at 15.58.42.png

Make sure to include all of these elements in your XML feed in order for your products to be displayed on Recommend. If you have any questions or need further assistance, please don't hesitate to contact us at support@recommend.co.

Element specifications

To use the platform, businesses must provide a feed of their product information in a specific format. This format includes several elements that must be included for each product, such as the product ID, name, description, URL, image URL, and price. Each element has specific requirements for syntax, length, and formatting, which must be followed to ensure that the feed is processed correctly by recommend.co. By adhering to these element specifications, businesses can ensure that their products are accurately represented on the platform and maximize their advertising potential.

Screenshot 2023-03-26 at 15.59.08.png

Product categories

Categories help us understand what you're selling so we can sort your products into Recommend categories better, and display them to potential customers. For each product in the feed, insert the data found in column CategoryId.

Please reach out to support@recommend.co to get the CategoryId for your desired categories.

Example file

Follow the above specification to create an XML file. An XML file with a product example is also available for download here. To see the comments, open the document in Notepad ++.

Please send us the URL of the XML file you have created on your server. Using that URL, we will update the data on Recommend.

All of the data is updated on each file import on the Recommend expect element.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<RIOProducts>
<product>
<id><![CDATA[1768]]></id>
<name><![CDATA[Iphone 13 Pro]]></name>
<description><![CDATA[This is an example of listed product description.]]></description>
<url><![CDATA[https://www.example.com/product-6]]></url>
      <image_url><![CDATA[https://www.example.com/image.png]></image_url>
<price>155,55</price>
<regular_price>195,55</regular_price>
<category_path><![CDATA[Informatička & IT oprema > IT periferija > Miševi & podloge]]></category_path>
<RIO_category_id>8521</RIO_category_id>
<attributes>
<attribute>
           <name>
               <![CDATA[Boja]]>
           </name>
           <values>
        <value>
               <![CDATA[Crna]>
           </value>
           <value>
               <![CDATA[Bijela]>
           </value>
            </values>
       </attribute>
      <attribute>
           <name>
               <![CDATA[Dijagonala]]>
           </name>
           <values>
                <value>
                    <![CDATA[139 cm]>
            </value>
         </values>
       </attribute>
</attributes>
</product>
</RIOProducts>

Most common mistakes and challanges

Here are the guidelines to follow for an effective XML feed:

  1. Use CDATA within text elements (*name>, *description>...) to ensure the XML file is valid and well-formed.
  2. Set the first line in XML correctly with <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>.
  3. Remember that each tag is case-sensitive.
  4. Maintain the product ID () even if you make changes to your web store. If you plan to make changes, please contact us first for any necessary information or support to ease the transition to new IDs.
  5. Be meticulous when forming the <category_path> tag, as it determines how your products are sorted into Recommend categories.

If you have any questions about these XML feed specifications, don't hesitate to reach out to our support team at support@recommend.co.