How to Remove Language and Store Name from SEO URLs in WebSphere Commerce 7

In the realm of e-commerce, having clean and user-friendly URLs is crucial for both user experience and search engine optimization (SEO). If you’re working with WebSphere Commerce 7 and need to remove language and store identifiers from your SEO URLs, this guide will walk you through the necessary steps to achieve that.

Understanding the Challenge

When using WebSphere Commerce, the default SEO-friendly URLs often include language tokens and store names, such as /en/clientstorename. For example, when users navigate to www.clientwebsite.com, they may be redirected to www.clientwebsite.com/en/clientstorename. This can be undesirable for many businesses aiming for cleaner URLs.

Proposed Solution

To remove the /en/clientstorename from all URLs, you can adjust the SEO URL patterns in the SEOURLPatterns.xml files. Here’s a step-by-step approach based on community insights and best practices.

Step-by-Step Guide

1. Modify SEOURLPatterns.xml

You will need to edit the SEOURLPatterns.xml files located in your workspace. The goal is to remove references to the language and store tokens from the URL patterns.Example Modification:

xml

<seourl:seoUrlPatternDef name="PersonalizedProductURLPIPPage">

<seourl:seoUrlPattern viewName="ThirdPartyVendorProductsDisplayView">/ProductToken/PCPToken/BeginIndexToken/ioZoneToken</seourl:seoUrlPattern>

<seourl:urlToParamMapping>

<seourl:mapping name="langId" value="?LanguageToken?"/>

<seourl:mapping name="storeId" value="?StoreToken?"/>

<seourl:mapping name="catalogId" value="?CatalogToken?"/>

<seourl:mapping name="productId" value="?ProductToken?"/>

<seourl:mapping name="plchldr" value="?PCPToken?"/>

<seourl:mapping name="mfname" value="?BeginIndexToken?" />

<seourl:mapping name="styleId" value="?ioZoneToken?" />

<seourl:mapping name="errorViewName" value="ProductDisplayErrorView"/>

</seourl:urlToParamMapping>

<seourl:paramToUrlMapping>

<seourl:mapping name="LanguageToken" value="?langId?" defaultValue="-1"/>

<seourl:mapping name="StoreToken" value="?storeId?"/>

<seourl:mapping name="CatalogToken" value="?catalogId?"/>

<seourl:mapping name="ProductToken" value="?productId?"/>

<seourl:mapping name="PCPToken" value="?plchldr?"/>

<seourl:mapping name="BeginIndexToken" value="?mfname?"/>

<seourl:mapping name="ioZoneToken" value="?styleId?"/>

</seourl:paramToUrlMapping>

<seourl:usageDef>

<seourl:usage device="browser">

<seourl:target>CatalogEntry</seourl:target>

</seourl:usage>

</seourl:usageDef>

</seourl:seoUrlPatternDef>

In this modification, you will notice that the language and store tokens have been removed from the URL pattern. However, simply removing these tokens may lead to errors if not handled correctly.

2. Update Default Values

Ensure that default values are set appropriately in your <seourl:paramToUrlMapping> section. For instance:

xml

<seourl:paramToUrlMapping>

<seourl:mapping name="LanguageToken" value="?langId?" defaultValue="en"/>

<seourl:mapping name="StoreToken" value="?storeId?" defaultValue="clientstorename"/>

<seourl:mapping name="CatalogToken" value="?catalogId?" defaultValue="defaultCatalogId"/>

</seourl:paramToUrlMapping>

This ensures that even without explicit tokens in the URL, your application can still retrieve necessary parameters.

3. Implement Custom URL Mapping

If issues persist after modifying XML files, consider extending or overriding the SEOURLMapper class. This allows you to customize how URLs are processed:

java

public class CustomSEOURLMapper extends SEOURLMapper {

@Override

public void mapRequest(HttpServletRequest request, HttpServletResponse response) throws Exception {

String requestURL = request.getRequestURI();

if (requestURL.contains("/en/clientstorename")) {

String newURL = requestURL.replace("/en/clientstorename", "");

response.sendRedirect(newURL);

} else {

super.mapRequest(request, response);

}

}

}

This Java code snippet intercepts requests containing /en/clientstorename and redirects them to a cleaner version of the URL.

4. Configure Struts or Servlet Filters

If direct XML changes do not resolve the issue, consider configuring Struts actions or servlet filters to manage incoming requests without the unwanted segments.

5. Enable Detailed Logging

To troubleshoot any errors during this process, enable detailed logging in WebSphere Commerce. Update your logging.properties file or enable verbose trace logging via the admin console to capture any issues that arise during URL processing.

Conclusion

By following these steps, you should be able to successfully remove language and store identifiers from your SEO URLs in WebSphere Commerce 7 without compromising site functionality. This not only enhances user experience but also contributes positively to your site’s SEO performance.For further details on managing SEO-friendly URLs in WebSphere Commerce, refer to the official IBM documentation here. This article consolidates community insights and best practices for modifying SEO URLs in WebSphere Commerce 7, ensuring a cleaner and more efficient URL structure for your e-commerce platform.

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