Creating a Banner Rotator
A banner rotator can be used to display a single banner, or multiple banners in a specific sequence or random order. The next banner in the sequence appears when the page is refreshed. As a widget, the banner rotator can be assigned to a specific page, product, or category, and placed most anywhere in your store. In addition, a banner rotator can be associated with a specific shopping cart or catalog rule.
As an alternative, you can also use a jQuery slider or carousel that changes images automatically, like the one on the home page of the Magento demo store. There is a wide assortment of jQuery sliders available online, and many are free. To add a slider to your store, first create a static block. Follow the slider instructions to add the jQuery code to the block. Then, use the Widget tool to place the static block where you want it to appear in your store.
Step 1: Create the Individual Banners
Create the individual banners that you want to include in the rotator.
Step 2: Create a Widget Instance
Follow the basic steps to create a widget.
- Choose "Banner Rotator" as the type of widget.
- Specify the page and location where it belongs. (See Banner Layout Update Options)
- Choose the template to be used.
Step 3: Configure the Banner Rotator
| 1. | If necessary, select CMS > Widgets, and click to open the banner rotator that you created in the previous step. |
| 2. | In the left panel, click Widget Options to configure the banner. Then, do the following: |
| a. | Set Banners to Display to “Specified Banners.” |
| b. | (Optional) To limit the banner to a certain section of the store, set Restrict by Banner Types to the section where you want it to appear. |
| c. | In the Rotation Mode list, select one of the following: |
- Do not rotate, display all at once
- One at a time, Random
- One at a time, Series
- One at a time, Shuffle
| 3. | To specify the banners you want to include, do the following: |
| a. | In the Specify Banners section, click the Reset Filter button to list all the available banners. You can also use the search filters to find the banners you want to include. |
| b. | Select the checkbox of each banner you want to include in the rotator. |
| c. | To set the sequence of each banner in relation to the others, enter a number in the Position column. If you wan the banner to appear in the first position, enter the number 1. |
| 4. | When complete, click the Save button. |
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Banner Widget Options Option
Description
Banners to Display
Options include:
Specified Banners
Shopping Cart Promotions Related
Catalog Promotions Related
Restrict by Banner Types
Limits the banner to a certain section. Options include:
Content Area
Footer
Header
Left Column
Right Column
Rotation Mode
Select the rotation mode for the banners. Options include:
Do not rotate
Display one banner after the other, in a stack where all are visible.
One at a time, Random
Displays the banners that you specify in a randomly generated order. Every time the page is refreshed, a different (and random) banner appears.
One at the time, Series
Displays the banners that you specify by the order of their position every time the page is refreshed.
One at the time, Shuffle
Displays one banner at a time in a shuffled position order. This option is similar to the One at a time, Random option, except that the same banner does not repeat back-to-back (unless you have only one banner).
Specify Banners
Select the banners to include from the list of available banners.
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