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User Guide
The information contained in this section applies to WebSphere Commerce Version 8. The documentation also applies to all subsequent releases and modifications until otherwise indicated in a newer section.WebSphere Commerce is a single, unified e-commerce platform that offers the ability to do business directly with consumers (B2C), directly with businesses (B2B), and indirectly through channel partners (indirect business models). WebSphere Commerce is designed to be a customizable, scalable, and high availability solution that is built to leverage open standards. It provides easy-to-use tools for business users to centrally manage a cross-channel strategy. Business users can create and manage precision marketing campaigns, promotions, catalog, and merchandising across all sales channels.
Operating
IBM Management Center for WebSphere Commerce
The IBM Management Center for WebSphere Commerce, or Management Center, is a suite of tools to support store management, merchandising, and marketing tasks for business users (Sellers, Marketing Managers, Product Managers, Catalog Managers, and others).
Commerce Composer tool
Create pages and build layouts for your store directly in Management Center without involving IT by using the Commerce Composer tool. Take advantage of the tool's page design and management functions to improve your productivity and give you more control over the customer experience.
Tutorial: Creating a page and its layout by using the Commerce Composer tool
In this tutorial, you use Management Center to create a new content page. You then build a layout for the page by using a selection of widgets from the Commerce Composer widget library.

User Guide
The information contained in this section applies to WebSphere Commerce Version 8. The documentation also applies to all subsequent releases and modifications until otherwise indicated in a newer section.WebSphere Commerce is a single, unified e-commerce platform that offers the ability to do business directly with consumers (B2C), directly with businesses (B2B), and indirectly through channel partners (indirect business models). WebSphere Commerce is designed to be a customizable, scalable, and high availability solution that is built to leverage open standards. It provides easy-to-use tools for business users to centrally manage a cross-channel strategy. Business users can create and manage precision marketing campaigns, promotions, catalog, and merchandising across all sales channels.
- Planning
  Creating a custom implementation of a WebSphere Commerce store requires a significant amount of planning. From gathering client needs, to deploying the live solution, much work is needed to successfully deploy a custom client store. Use the resources in here to help you plan every phase of store creation.
- Installing
  Review the following sections for information about installing the WebSphere Commerce product, associated maintenance, and WebSphere Commerce enhancements.
- Migrating
  Before you migrate to WebSphere Commerce Version 8.0, review this information to help plan and execute your migration.
- Deploying
  The topics in this section describe how to publish stores to either a test or production environment, and how to deploy customized code.
- Operating
  - IBM Management Center for WebSphere Commerce
    The IBM Management Center for WebSphere Commerce, or Management Center, is a suite of tools to support store management, merchandising, and marketing tasks for business users (Sellers, Marketing Managers, Product Managers, Catalog Managers, and others).
    - Planning to use Management Center
      If you are using WebSphere Commerce Accelerator, consider using Management Center to manage your store.
    - management-center/refs/rtfgetstart.htm
    - Management Center keyboard shortcuts
      Use the Management Center keyboard shortcuts to access user interface functions or complete tasks, using a single key or combination of keys.
    - Working in extended site stores in Management Center
      If your company operates an extended site, you can perform certain tasks directly from your extended site store within Management Center.
    - Manage content externally for use in Management Center
      If content management capabilities other than the functionality that is provided by default with WebSphere Commerce is required, WebSphere Commerce can be integrated with IBM Web Content Manager. If WebSphere Commerce is integrated with IBM Web Content Manager, you can use content from IBM Web Content Manager content libraries with Management Center objects.
    - Manage marketing externally with IBM Marketing Center
      If your site is integrated with IBM Marketing Center, Management Center users can open IBM Marketing Center from Management Center to upload promotion codes and to create and manage marketing campaigns.
    - Management Center user interface
      The Management Center user interface provides a usable, intuitive, and efficient way to complete your business tasks.
    - Using the Management Center
      The starting point for all Management Center tasks is to open the tooling. Afterward, you can use several methods to complete a task: by selecting menu options, by clicking toolbar buttons, by right-clicking and selecting menus, or by keyboard shortcuts.
    - Catalogs tool
      Use the Catalogs tool in Management Center to manage catalogs, categories, catalog entries, merchandising associations, product attributes, and attachments in your store. The Catalogs tool lets business users create, and manage online catalogs. Catalogs provide a way of organizing the products that you want to sell. You define catalog data in groups of categories and products. Catalog data contains descriptions and pricing information for products and services.
    - Marketing tool
      Use the Marketing tool in Management Center to create and manage marketing campaigns and other store content, excluding catalog content. You can use the extensive precision marketing features in the tool to deliver targeted marketing messages to customers.
    - Promotions tool
      Use the Promotions tool in Management Center to create and manage promotions that support the marketing campaigns for your site.
    - Assets tool
      As a Product Manager, Marketing Manager, or Category Manager, you can use the Assets tool to upload and manage your store assets. The term assets refers to web content that you use on your storefront and in marketing campaigns, such as marketing image files, catalog image files, PDF documents, and multimedia files.
    - Catalog Filter and Pricing tool
      Use the Catalog Filter and Pricing tool in Management Center to create and manage catalog filters, price lists, and price rules. Sellers, Sales Managers, and Account Representatives can use the tool's flexible features to implement catalog filtering and pricing strategies that meet the site's business needs over time.
    - Installments tool
      Use the Installments tool in Management Center to create and manage installment rules that support the payment methods for your site.
    - Commerce Composer tool
      Create pages and build layouts for your store directly in Management Center without involving IT by using the Commerce Composer tool. Take advantage of the tool's page design and management functions to improve your productivity and give you more control over the customer experience.
      - Commerce Composer overview
        The Commerce Composer tool gives you the freedom to quickly create and assemble the contents of your store pages without involving IT. By using a library of prebuilt layout templates and widgets, you can manage store page layouts directly in Management Center. The Commerce Composer tool offers a streamlined workflow that improves your productivity and reduces time-to-market for your campaigns.
      - Managing pages
        By using the Commerce Composer tool, you can add URLs for new pages to your store whenever you need a new page. You can also manage the SEO data for content, category, and catalog entry pages to optimize your site for search.
      - Managing layouts
        The Commerce Composer tool provides templates and widgets for you to build layouts for your store pages without involving IT.
      - Widgets for Commerce Composer
        A widget is a frame that displays a specific type of store content, such as ads, product recommendations, or navigational links. To create a layout, you add widgets to slots in a layout template, and then set the properties and content for each widget.
      - Organizing content pages and layouts with folders
        By using folders to group and organize your content pages and layouts, you can work more efficiently in the Store Management tool.
      - Tutorial: Creating a page and its layout by using the Commerce Composer tool
        In this tutorial, you use Management Center to create a new content page. You then build a layout for the page by using a selection of widgets from the Commerce Composer widget library.
        Creating the page URL for the landing page
        In this lesson, you use the Commerce Composer tool to create a page. One of the key advantages of the Commerce Composer tool is that you can create a new page for your store whenever you want, without involving IT.
        Creating a layout and assigning it to the landing page
        In this lesson, you use the Commerce Composer tool to start a new layout for your landing page, which involves setting the name and schedule for the layout.
        Adding a Breadcrumb Trail widget to the landing page layout
        In this lesson, you begin building the layout by adding the first widget to a slot in the template.
        Adding Text Editor widgets to the landing page layout
        In this lesson, you add two Text Editor widgets to create banner ads across the top of your layout. In the Text Editor widget, you can add HTML code that displays as text in the banner ad.
        Adding a Content Recommendation widget to the landing page layout
        In this lesson, you add the hero ad to your layout by using a Content Recommendation widget.
        Adding another Content Recommendation widget to the landing page layout
        In this lesson, you add another Content Recommendation widget to display images that represent the designer brands.
        Adding a Catalog Entry Recommendation widget to the right sidebar
        In this lesson, you add a Catalog Entry Recommendation widget to display featured products on the page.
        Integrating your new page into your store
        In this final lesson, you add a link to your new page from the left sidebar of the Apparel department page by using a Links widget. The link gives shoppers a way to browse to your new page from a relevant department page. In the Links widget, you add links to two other existing content pages in the Aurora starter store.
    - Store Management tool
      As a Seller, Site Administrator, or Channel Manager, you can use the Store Management tool in Management Center to manage your stores. The Store Management tool in Management Center replaces all of the store management features in WebSphere Commerce Accelerator, except store creation and the ability to suspend and resume stores. Continue to use the Store Creation wizard in WebSphere Commerce Accelerator to create new stores; continue to use WebSphere Commerce Accelerator to suspend and resume stores.
    - Workspace Management tool
      You can use the Workspace Management tool in Management Center to manage and edit workspaces and its tasks and task groups that you are authorized to work with.
    - Previewing a store
      Preview your store to ensure that changes made in Management Center show up in your store as expected. You can use store preview in production, authoring, and staging environments.
    - Management Center frequently asked questions (FAQ)
      Find answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about the Management Center.
    - Management Center Troubleshooting
      If you encounter issues with the Management Center that are not related to any specific tool, review this troubleshooting topic to solve common problems.
  - WebSphere Commerce Accelerator
    Use the WebSphere Commerce Accelerator to maintain online stores.
- Integrating
  Topics in the Integrating category highlight the tasks that are commonly performed for using WebSphere Commerce in combination with other products.
- Administering
- Tutorials
  WebSphere Commerce provides many tutorials to help you customize and understand your WebSphere Commerce instance and stores.
- Samples
- Developing
  The topics in the Developing section describe tasks performed by an application developer.
- Compliance
  The following section describes how you can leverage WebSphere Commerce features and functionality to help your site be compliant with different privacy and security standards.
- Securing
  These topics describe the security features of WebSphere Commerce and how to configure these features.
- Performance
- Troubleshooting

Tutorial: Creating a page and its layout by using the Commerce Composer tool

In this tutorial, you use Management Center to create a new content page. You then build a layout for the page by using a selection of widgets from the Commerce Composer widget library.

Over the 10 short lessons in this tutorial, you use many key features of the Commerce Composer tool to compose the following landing page to advertise designer summer fashions for women:
A layout example for this tutorial

A layout example for this tutorial

Learning objectives

After you complete this tutorial, you will know how to do the following things:

Create a page for your store by providing information about the page URL and SEO metadata.
Create a layout for the page by using five different types of widgets.
Use store preview features to refine your layout, including the Show Page and Layout Information and Show Widget Information windows, and the click-to-edit function.
Override an existing layout with a new layout by assigning a higher priority to the new layout.
Integrate your page into your storefront by adding a link to the page from a department page.

Time required

This tutorial takes approximately 60 minutes to finish. If you explore other concepts that are related to this tutorial, it might take longer to complete.

Skill level

Intermediate skills in Management Center

Audience

Management Center users who are interested in learning how to create pages and layouts in the Commerce Composer tool.

System requirements

WebSphere Commerce Version 8

Prerequisites

You require an environment in which the Aurora starter store is published. To prepare the environment, you or someone from your IT department must complete these steps:

Install WebSphere Commerce Version 8.
Publish the Aurora starter store. This tutorial uses the templates, widgets, layouts, pages, and content from that starter store.

In addition, to familiarize yourself with the features and benefits of the Commerce Composer tool, read Commerce Composer overview.