[jira] [Comment Edited] (OFBIZ-5312) Proposal: URL-Generation Changes (mostly for SEO reasons but not only)

[Nicolas Malin (Jira)]

    [ https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/OFBIZ-5312?page=com.atlassian.jira.plugin.system.issuetabpanels:comment-tabpanel&focusedCommentId=13940403#comment-13940403 ]

Paul Piper edited comment on OFBIZ-5312 at 3/19/14 7:38 PM:
------------------------------------------------------------

Hi Sebastian,

you can ignore the part about the META-Data and such. Though it is correct, all options here rely on HTML-Templates for that  - since it is a different topic altogether and you probably already have your own, we left it out of this picture.

As described above the task itself focuses only on a subpart of onpage optimziation efforts, namely:

* Removal of /control out of all the urls
* SEO-friendly URLS
* Configurable product/category and other URLs
* Frontpage mapping from /main to /

There are other things you can do to optimize your pages, but they are out of scope here, because the most-prominent ones rely on you actively changing your content. To fix the above you have to work with the OFBiz Request-Flow and predominantly the Controlservlet. From a technical perspective there is no easy way to get around the overall OFBiz structure, so the Controlservlet (/control) cannot be removed easily.

There are three ways, that I can think of, to achieve our goal

1) Implement Transforms, Sample Configuration, Servlets & Filters to generate and handle new URLS as defined (handled by this ticket)
2) Make use of the CMS functionality to generate custom URLs and map to each product/category/page accordingly (described by Anil)
3) Rework the Servlet-Structure entirely and rely on Filters & Transforms to remove the current dependency (more effort - not in focus). Store URLs in new Entity, Implement Filters to validate URLs and redirect on partial matches

I created the following map of pros and cons for you to visualize it a bit further:

|| || Transforms, Filters & Servlets || Use of CMS  || Controlservlet replacement ||
| Method | * Implementation of Transforms to generate new URLs.
* Implementation of Filters to Validate Request URls and forward internally
* Configuration-File Implementation to allow custom "logic" to set automatic URL generation | * Reuse Database Structure.
* Add new Page to each Product & Category
* Ignore /control until checkout  | * Rework Servlet Structure & Remove Controlservlet or rely on Filters where the controlservlet is never called directly
* Store all URLs in a database
* Match every request to Database, forward accordingly|
| Pros | * No Changes on Controlservlet necessary
* Very versatile and configurable by User
* Works automatically for Categories
* Works automatically for Products
* Very lightweight
* Replaces /control/main |* Works OOTB (no changes necessary) | * Fixes duplicate content
* May simplify OFBiz Request-Architecture
* Fixes /control/ problem for good|
| Cons | * Potentially duplicate content
* Doesn't "fix" partial matches
* No historisation of former URLs | * Potentially duplicate content
* Doesn't "fix" partial matches
* No historisation of former URLs
* No automatic generation of URLs for Products
* No automatic generation of URLs for Categories
* Increases DB (Database entries)
* Requires additional manual work for all entries --> potentially risky when used by non-tech people | * Very difficult to implement
* May not be compatible with setup at all
* Hard-Changes to code necessary
* Currently not available |



was (Author: madppiper):
Hi Sebastian,

you can ignore the part about the META-Data and such. Though it is correct, all options here rely on HTML-Templates for that  - since it is a different topic altogether and you probably already have your own, we left it out of this picture.

As described above the task itself focus only on a subpart of onpage optimziation efforts, namely:

* Removal of /control out of all the urls
* SEO-friendly URLS
* Configurable product/category and other URLs
* Frontpage mapping from /main to /

There are other things you can do to optimize your pages, but they are out of scope here, because the most-prominent ones rely on you actively changing your content. To fix the above you have to work with the OFBiz Request-Flow and predominantly the Controlservlet. From a technical perspective there is no easy way to get around the overall OFBiz structure, so the Controlservlet (/control) cannot be removed easily.

There are four way, that I can think of, to achieve our goal

1) Implement Transforms, Sample Configuration, Servlets & Filters to generate and handle new URLS as defined (handled by this ticket)
2) Make use of the CMS functionality to generate custom URLs and map to each product/category/page accordingly (described by Anil)
3) Rework the Servlet-Structure entirely and rely on Filters & Transforms to remove the current dependency (more effort - not in focus). Store URLs in new Entity, Implement Filters to validate URLs and redirect on partial matches

I created the following map of pros and cons for you to visualize it a bit further:

|| || Transforms, Filters & Servlets || Use of CMS  || Controlservlet replacement ||
| Method | * Implementation of Transforms to generate new URLs.
* Implementation of Filters to Validate Request URls and forward internally
* Configuration-File Implementation to allow custom "logic" to set automatic URL generation | * Reuse Database Structure.
* Add new Page to each Product & Category
* Ignore /control until checkout  | * Rework Servlet Structure & Remove Controlservlet or rely on Filters where the controlservlet is never called directly
* Store all URLs in a database
* Match every request to Database, forward accordingly|
| Pros | * No Changes on Controlservlet necessary
* Very versatile and configurable by User
* Works automatically for Categories
* Works automatically for Products
* Very lightweight
* Replaces /control/main |* Works OOTB (no changes necessary) | * Fixes duplicate content
* May simplify OFBiz Request-Architecture
* Fixes /control/ problem for good|
| Cons | * Potentially duplicate content
* Doesn't "fix" partial matches
* No historisation of former URLs | * Potentially duplicate content
* Doesn't "fix" partial matches
* No historisation of former URLs
* No automatic generation of URLs for Products
* No automatic generation of URLs for Categories
* Increases DB (Database entries)
* Requires additional manual work for all entries --> potentially risky when used by non-tech people | * Very difficult to implement
* May not be compatible with setup at all
* Hard-Changes to code necessary
* Currently not available |

> Proposal: URL-Generation Changes (mostly for SEO reasons but not only)
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>                 Key: OFBIZ-5312
>                 URL: https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/OFBIZ-5312
>             Project: OFBiz
>          Issue Type: New Feature
>          Components: specialpurpose/ecommerce
>    Affects Versions: SVN trunk
>            Reporter: Jacques Le Roux
>            Assignee: Jacques Le Roux
>            Priority: Minor
>              Labels: changes, ecommerce, friendly, seo, url
>             Fix For: SVN trunk
>
>         Attachments: OFBIZ-5312 - ofbiz-ecommerce-seo.patch, OFBIZ-5312 - ofbiz-ecommerce-seo.patch, OFBIZ-5312 - ofbiz-ecommerce-seo.patch, OFBIZ-5312 - ofbiz-ecommerce-seo.patch, OFBIZ-5312 - ofbiz-ecommerce-seo.patch, OFBIZ-5312 - ofbiz-ecommerce-seo.patch, OFBIZ-5312 - ofbiz-ecommerce-seo.patch, OFBIZ-5312 - ofbiz-ecommerce-seo.patch, OFBIZ-5312 - ofbiz-ecommerce-seo.patch, OFBIZ-5312 - ofbiz-ecommerce-seo.patch, OFBIZ-5312 - ofbiz-ecommerce-seo.patch, OFBIZ-5312 - ofbiz-ecommerce-seo.patch, OFBiz-5312-product-ecommerce-seo-20131031.patch, OFBiz-5312-product-ecommerce-seo-for-seo-branch.patch, OFBiz-5312-product-ecommerce-seo.patch, SeoContextFilter.java.patch
>
>
> [This was proposed by Paul Piper in Nabble 7 months ago|http://ofbiz.135035.n4.nabble.com/Proposal-URL-Generation-Changes-td4639289.html]. Here is quoted Paul's proposal
> {quote}
> Hey Everyone,
> over at ilscipio (www.ilscipio.com) we developed a set of functional OFBiz changes that we believe the entire community could benefit from. The changes have been implemented in parts in Syracus (www.syracus.net) for a while now, but we figured that some of which are too crucial for ofbiz' success in the long run, so we are considering the contribution (as we did with the SOLR component).
> As you are probably aware, OFBiz has a pretty uncommon way of generating URLs. Most of this has to do with the fact that OFBiz uses a servlet (ControlServlet)  to handle all requests. The servlet is mounted at /control, so that it won't interfere with other servlets. Though functionally valid, this has the sideeffect that all urls are actually created on /control, which is neither pretty, nor good by any measures of SEO. It also means that a few 302 redirects are necessary to forward the user from / to /control/main. It also makes requests more complicated, since many forwards are necessary whenever somebody wants to move away from this implementation.
> Since this is hurtful to many of the implementers, I wanted to discuss whether or not you guys would be interested in the changes we have made. The functional changes contain:
> * Removal of /control out of all the urls
> * SEO-friendly URLS
> * Configurable product/category and other URLs
> * Frontpage mapping from /main to /
> It was tested on our end and contains all necessary improvements (Transforms, Sample Configuration, Servlets & Filters) for it to be applicable.
> If interested, I would create a new JIRA ticket for this and after a few minor internal discussions, we will gladly provide the rest of you with it.
> Regards,
> Paul
> {quote}
> There is even a patch, mostly done by Jinghai Shi, that I attach here. Even if it has been already used in [Syracus|http://syracus.net/] since early this year, some help would be needed to test it thoroughly in OFBiz.
> Then we should discuss if it's the way to go. I believe it is. Who needs a /control/ or /main by default in ecommerce urls? Would you not prefer http://localhost:8080/ecommerce/ over http://localhost:8080/ecommerce/control/main ?

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