shopping cart software

The Volusion API is a powerful feature of Volusion Winter '09 and V5 that allows web developers to connect Volusion to 3rd party applications to share information on orders, products and more. Advanced users even have the ability to create their own custom integrations using web development languages and technology that can manage data in XML format. Users can even import data into Volusion using 3rd party systems.

For more information on how web developers can connect to Volusion, as well as basic examples of how to import and export information using API, look no forward then the API help documentation provided in the Volusion Admin Page.

Getting Started:

Note that in order to access the Volusion API, users must have access to Volusion Winter '09 or V5. Additionally, API access is only provided to Volusion Gold store subscriptions and above.

Accessing API Help:

Merchants can gain access to documentation on the Volusion API, including code examples and explanations from the Volusion store by doing the following:

• Log into the Volusion Admin Page and click on the Inventory tab.
• Click on the Import / Export link in themenu bar. (Version 5 )
• Click the Volusion API link near the bottom of the page.   (Version 5 )
• Click the Help with this page button near the bottom, right hand portion of the page , and click the +Expand link , then Integration Help link near the bottom of the Instant Help area. (Version 5 )

Export Information:

From here, Volusion users will be able to find information on both importing to and exporting from the Volusion store using the API. There are several, specialized exports users will have access to here. Each type of export can be selected from the export drop-down menu. Additionally, for each special export, instructions on how to use the export as well as connection string information will be displayed.

The Volusion API provides specialized exports for the following 3rd party services:

• Endicia Dazzle
• Pitney Bowes
• Shopping.com
• Stone Edge Order Manager

Additionally, generic exports are also provided for exporting product, customer and order data from the Volusion store.

Import Information:

Information on importing data into the Volusion database using the Volusion API can be found by selecting the Import radio button from the menu on this page. Users can view connection string information to connect to the Volusion API, as well as examples for importing to Volusion using various web scripting languages by choosing one of the 13 different tables that the API can import to from the drop-down menu near the top of the page.

Obtaining Connection Information:

Developers wishing to create their own custom imports or exports using the Volusion API will require both an administrator user name and encrypted password string to create a connection to the API. This can be obtained from either the Integration Help page's imports or exports sections.

Within either the import or export section, choose the user name (email address) of an administrator account from the drop-down menu. This will be the user name developers can use to connect to the Volusion store via the API.

The encrypted password string can then be obtained from the general query string information field. The encrypted password will be displayed between the text, &EncryptedPassword= and &.

API Password Notification

Please note that due to PCI security guidelines, you will be automatically prompted to update your store's administrator account password every 90 days. Anytime your administrator account password is updated, any URL string used to access your store through the Volusion API must be updated. You can obtain an updated URL for a specific export from the API section of the Volusion Admin Page.

Summary:

The Volusion API is a powerful feature within Volusion Winter '09 and V5 that can allow advanced users and web developers extend their Volusion store beyond a simple shopping cart solution. For more information, check out Volusion's online developer community at devwiki.volusion.com.