This comprehensive guide provides start-to-finish instructions for users who are attempting to install and configure the connector for the first time. It focuses on the most important things you need to know and do in order to get going.
This guide doesn't cover advanced features. Full and comprehensive guidance can be found in the Magento 1 section of our Help Centre.
Pre-installation health check
Compatibility
The Dotdigital for Magento connector is compatible with both Community and Enterprise platforms of Magento.
For Community we're compatible with 1.6.1 +
For Enterprise we're compatible with 1.11.1 +
Conflicts
While every site is different, the connector could potentially come into conflict with other extensions. For example, abandon cart extensions and other SMTP tools could also possibly come into conflict with the connector, and this makes it important to state these during the installation process.
File Permissions
Requires full access (0777) to the var/export directory or full access to the CRON user running on the server.
Cron Tasks
The connector has several cron tasks attached with the install to ensure the connector functions correctly.
Here's a list of current tasks and their timings:
ddg_automation_abandonedcarts - 5 minute intervals
ddg_automation_campaign - 5 minute intervals
ddg_automation_catalog_sync -15 minute intervals
ddg_automation_cleaner – 1st of every month
ddg_automation_customer_subscriber_guest_sync - 15 minute intervals
ddg_automation_importer – 5 minute intervals
ddg_automation_order_and_quote_sync - 15 minute intervals
ddg_automation_reviews_and_wishlist - 15 minute intervals
ddg_automation_status -15 minute intervals
The cron heartbeat should be running every 5 minutes to action the required tasks.
Have multiple websites?
The connector supports multiple websites. If there are multiple sites within the same Magento instance then we recommend you link one site to one Dotdigital account. If you're configuring multiple sites to multiple Dotdigital accounts, you must follow the entire process for each separate Dotdigital account you have.
Installation
The installation of the Magento 1 connector can only be completed through FTP.
It's recommended to install the connector on a staging or development site prior to production.
Download the files to the connector from GitHub.
Download it as a ZIP and unzip the file.
Drop/move all of the source folder content inside the unzipped file into the corresponding destination folders.
Destination folders can be found in GitHub.Clear or disable the cache before installing the extension.
Log out for the ACL to update and log in again.
Credentials
Create an API User
To enable the connector to communicate with your Dotdigital account and allow data synchronisation, you must enter valid Dotdigital API credentials. API user credentials are made up of a username and password, and are required to authenticate each operation/method call that's made and to make sure you're connected to the correct account.
Learn how in Create an API user.
Create a transactional email user
You can make use of Dotdigital's transactional email service to send, manage and track all of your transactional emails. The transactional service acts as a delivery mechanism for all the transactional emails such as order and shipping confirmations.
If you want to use Dotdigital's EasyEditor to create and manage transactional emails for Magento, learn more in Transactional email templates - Magento 1.
To use the transactional service a transactional user must be created.
Learn how in Add a transactional email user for SMTP.
Enter API credentials in Magento
Return to your Magento admin panel and select the Api Credentials option from the Marketing Automation menu item.
Set Enabled to Yes and then enter the credentials (username and password) of the API user you just created.
Select Save Config.
A confirmation is message is displayed notifying you the credentials are valid.
Enter transactional credentials in Magento
In Magento, go to System > Configuration, and select Transactional Emails from the DOTMAILER menu.
Select Yes to enable the feature. then enter the hostname, username and password.
r1-smtp.dotdigital.com if you have an account belonging to region 1 (Europe)
r2-smtp.dotdigital.com if you have an account belonging to region 2 (North America)
r3-smtp.dotdigital.com if you have an account belonging to region 3 (Asia)
Select an open port. Your options are 25,587 and 2525.
Select Save.
Custom from address
Remember to setup the account's default Custom from address.
To do this:
In Dotdigital, expand the User menu and select Settings.
Go to Transactional email > From addresses.
Select the Set default radio button for the from address you want to use.
Learn more about custom from addresses in Sending with a custom from address.
Map data fields
In addition to the basic contact information, the connector provides you the ability to map over 40 key retail information fields that you store on contacts from your Magento website to your Dotdigital account.
To do this:
In Magento, select Developer from the DOTMAILER menu.
Under Sync Settings, select Run Now next to Automap Data Fields. After a few moments, the page is reloaded with a success message.
Lists
The connector synchronises contacts to three different lists for three Magento contact types:
Customers - Registered customers of your Magento site that have a customer account.
Subscribers - Contacts who have opted into newsletter subscription on your site.
Guests - Email addresses from an order placed using guest checkout. These contacts are neither a customer or a subscriber.
Before synchronisation begins, you need to create these lists so they can be selected and mapped to from within the connector.
Create a list
Lists can be created directly within the connector or within your Dotdigital account. To create a list from within the connector:
Select Sync Settings from the DOTMAILER menu.
Select Create New Address Book.
Address book is the previous name for a list in Dotdigital.Enter a name for the list, then expand the Visibility drop-down menu and select either Private or Public.
Public means that contacts can see and unsubscribe from the list through a Dotdigital preference centre.Select Create New Address Book.
Repeat steps 2-4 for all the lists you need to create.
Map lists
Under Address Book Mapping, select the appropriate lists from the drop-down menu to map your customers, subscribers and guests to.
Select Save Config in the top right to confirm your mappings.
Tracking
Site tracking enriches your data and your understanding of your contacts' engagement with your site, whilst ROI tracking gives you a greater appreciation of your campaigns' ROI conversion rates.
To manage site tracking:
In Magento, go to Configuration from the DOTMAILER menu.
Under Tracking, select Yes for ROI Tracking Enabled and/or Page Tracking Enabled.
Select Save Config.
Easy email capture
Easy email capture allows you to capture your sites users' email addresses when they haven't fully completed your checkout or newsletter sign up process.
To enable this:
In Magento, go to Configuration from the DOTMAILER menu.
Under Abandoned Carts, select Yes for Easy Email Capture (Checkout) and/or Easy Email Capture (Newsletter).
Select Save Config.
Order sync settings
Import Status
You have the option to only import and synchronise orders of a certain status, rather than all orders. For example, you might only be interested in sending campaigns or running segments based on orders that have been fulfilled. In this case, you might only want to import orders with a Complete status.
To do this:
In Magento, go to Configuration from the DOTMAILER menu.
Under Transactional Data section, expand the Import With Status drop-down menu and select the order status types you want to import.
Select Save Config.
Custom Attributes
In addition to our standard default order data fields, you have the option to synchronise custom order attributes. This list comprises all of the order attributes that are available within the Magento system, allowing you to segment and send content based upon these too.
To do this:
Under Transactional Data, expand the Order Custom Attributes drop-down menu and select the attributes you want to include in the import.
Select Save Config.
Future adjustments
Changes made to custom order attributes are reflected in new imports run after the adjustment has been made. To include these in previous imports the order insight collection must be deleted and the data re-imported.
Catalog sync settings
The connector provides the facility to map and synchronise your product catalog to your Dotdigital account. With your product catalog synchronised, you can insert products into campaigns using the Products building block, or setup Product recommendations.
You can choose to sync products of a certain visibility or product type rather than all products. This allows you to keep your catalog organised by excluding products that are no longer relevant on your site.
To do this:
In Magento, go to Configuration from the DOTMAILER menu.
Under Catalog Sync Settings, select the Catalog Values, Product Visibility and Product Types you want to sync.
Select Save.
Broken product images?
Try setting the Store Value to Store. This uses the store URL for the image path instead of the admin URL.
Enable synchronisation
After lists have been mapped and your order settings configured, you can enable the sync.
Go to Sync Settings from the DOTMAILER menu.
Under Sync, select Yes for all sync types you would like to enable.
Most users enable Customer, Subscriber, Guest, Order and Catalog.
Within 15 minutes, contacts and Insight data should begin to be batched.
Delay
When you enable order synchronisation for the first time, there's an hour delay prior to importing the order information. This delay is in place to prevent order imports from failing due to missing contacts.
Status check
There are several ways to check that data syncing from Magento into Dotdigital is taking place.
Contact sync report
Contacts that are successfully batch to be imported should be marked as imported with a green tick. To view this, go to Marketing Automation > Reports > Contacts Sync
Importer status
Batched contacts or orders are shown here. Once the importer cron has run, an import should be marked with a status of Importing. Shortly after, data should appear in Dotdigital. To view this, go to Marketing Automation > Reports > Importer Status.
Troubleshooting data sync
Cron
Confirm Dotdigital (ddg) cron jobs are running. Cron is a vital part of making sure your data syncing happens correctly. We recommend installing the AOE Scheduler to give you a real-time view of the tasks running throughout your site, as well as giving you the ability to manage and configure your cron jobs.
API user
Confirm API credentials are active and valid. You can view the status of the API credentials on the dashboard. To do this, go to Marketing Automation > Dashboard > Connector Status.
Sync enabled
Confirm at least one contact sync is turned on.
Check permissions
Requires full access (0777) to the var/export directory or full access to the CRON user running on the server.
Abandoned cart: email series
Abandoned cart emails are an important tool and key sales recovery strategy for ecommerce businesses. Research by marketing industry experts has suggested that around 70% of online consumers abandon carts. That means that only about one in three carts gets checked out first time.
Abandoned carts are setup and configured directly within the interface of the connector and can be sent to customers and guests. Customers and guests can receive up to three different emails that are scheduled for different time intervals.
If your Magento instance has more then once website, you can configure different emails and settings per website.
Using external dynamic content (EDC), you can include the contents of a customer's cart in the body of the emails you send.
Creation
Abandoned carts uses a series of triggered email campaigns.
To create a triggered campaign:
In Dotdigital, go to Automation > Triggered email.
Select ADD NEW.
Enter your campaign details and then, in EasyEditor, drag an External dynamic content block into your campaign.
Return to Magento and go to Dynamic Content.
Under External Dynamic Content URLs, copy the Cart Content URL.
In your Dotdigital email campaign, paste the Cart Content URL into the Address field of the External dynamic content block, then select APPLY.
Design the rest of your campaign as you want it, then select SAVE.
Learn more in the Design a campaign with EasyEditor section of our Help Centre.
Configuration
Once you've created your abandoned cart campaigns:
In Magento, go to Abandoned Carts from the DOTMAILER menu.
The page is broken down into two sections, for Customers and Guests. For each section, enable the amount of abandoned cart emails you want to send.
Choose the time delay and campaign for each section.
Select Save Config.
Multiple websites
If you need to setup abandoned carts for separate websites, select the website name from the site drop-down and then navigate to the Abandoned Cart menu item.
Status Check
You can check the status of abandoned cart emails using the Campaign Sends report. To view this, in Magento, go to Marketing Automation > Reports > Campaign Sends.
The report shows you whether abandoned cart emails are being queued for sending, whether they are being sent to Dotdigital and whether there are any failures. You can sort and filter this report in a number of ways to find the information you're looking for.
Troubleshooting abandoned carts
External dynamic content
Confirm the external dynamic content link that you’re using in your campaign is correct . To check this, select Dynamic Content from the Dotdigital menu in Magento.
Cron
Confirm ddg_automation_abandonedcarts and ddg_automation_campaign cron jobs are running. Without both of these running abandoned cart emails aren't batched or sent.
Conflict
Disable any extensions you might have used previously to send abandoned cart emails.