Nowadays, i got interested with theme that could assist me for selling Amazon product (as affiliate business). Too few wordpress theme that developed specially to supporting affiliate business with sell amazon product. I still found NO THEME at all!. If i could not found it, then i will try to modify what that i had.

There are two Wordpress Theme that i had already modify to be more Amazon Friendly. Those theme were implementing in my site that SPECIALLY built to sell Amazon Product. Two theme that i mentioned above were Revolution LifeStyle theme, and FashionPeal theme. In this time, i want to discuss about how to modify Revolution Lifestyle theme into good looking Amazon Shop.

First of all, lets see the result of the modified theme here : Outdoor Unit

Feature of Revolution LifeStyle Modified Theme :

1. Using Post-Thumb Plugin to maintain the thumbnail. It means that all thumbnail that shown at the main page were shows automatically (as long as there is an image inside those post.
2. More Category listed at the main page (i add more category)
3. I Change Featured Content Gallery with Amazon Slideshow
4. Giving 468×60 google ads inside main page
5. Using Amazon Search Widget inside single post

Lets try to modify it!

First, all we need is Post Thumb plugins and Post-Plugin Libary. You can find it at http://www.wordpress.org, or you could read my previous review and download it here. Then you should upload it and activate it.

Second, lets start to modify the “home.php” file. Just login into your wordpress blog, and edit this home.php file. Home.php were file to maintain your main page on Revolution Lifestyle. This is differ than other theme, usual theme were using index.php to maintaining main page of blog, but Revolution Lifestyle didn’ do this. Index.php file inside Revolution lifestyle used to maintain our single page, just like single.php at other theme.

Let’s see what i have done to this theme (home.php). See this script below :

<div id=”homepageleft”>
<!–This section is currently pulling category ID #1, and can be switched by changing the cat=1 to show whatever category ID you would like in this area.–><div>
<h3>Outdoor Chair</h3>

<!–This is where the thumbnails are found for the homepage bottom section – note the custom field name for this image is “thumbnail”. Recommended image size is 70×70, as the stylesheet is written for this size.–>

<?php $recent = new WP_Query(“cat=4&showposts=4“); while($recent->have_posts()) : $recent->the_post();?>
<?php if( get_post_meta($post->ID, “thumbnail”, true) ): ?>
<a href=”<?php the_permalink() ?>” rel=”bookmark”><img style=”float:left;margin:0px 10px 0px 0px;” src=”<?php echo get_post_meta($post->ID, “thumbnail”, true); ?>” alt=”<?php the_title(); ?>” /></a>
<?php else: ?>
<a href=”<?php the_permalink() ?>” rel=”bookmark”><div style=”float:left;margin:0px 10px 0px 0px;”><?php the_thumb(‘SHOWPOST=1′); ?></div></a>
<?php endif; ?>
<b><a href=”<?php the_permalink() ?>” rel=”bookmark”><?php the_title(); ?></a></b>
<?php the_content_limit(80, “”); ?>
<div style=”border-bottom:1px dotted #94B1DF; margin-bottom:10px; padding:0px 0px 10px 0px; clear:both;”></div>
<?php endwhile; ?>
<!–This is where you can specify the archive link for each section. Replace the # with the appropriate URL–>
<b><a href=”http://www.outdoorunit.com/category/chair” rel=”bookmark”>Read More Posts for Outdoor Chair Product</a></b>
</div></div>

Let me explain what those script means. First, as written above, this script were using <div id=”homepageleft”>, then those script will showing something on your top left mainpage area (this theme call it as Featured category 1). What you change inside this script will affect only to Featured category 1 (top left post area inside your main page). At the right of this area, there is Featured category 1, you can edit it inside script below <div id=”homepageright”>.

In the script above, it tells that this area will show post only from category ID=4 and only showing 4 post (cat=4&showposts=4). You can specify your own blog by change the ID of category, and the amount of the post.

The main idea that i want to tell you is this script : ($post->ID, “thumbnail”, true), those script that allow your blog to showing thumbnail at the main page. It tell us that YOU MUST add Meta Key inside Custom Fields area with Key as “thumbnail”, and value with URL of your image. If you not add this meta key, then your thumbnail will not shown. This part that make me bored. Because it forced me to add meta key on every single post if i want to show it’s thumbnail, so i will use Post-Thumb Revisited plugin to bypass this problems.

If you have already activate those plugin (i have mentioned above), let see the script that like this : <?php the_thumb(‘SHOWPOST=1′); ?> . That script’s job is calling Post Thumb plugin to capture any image inside my post (in this case is post inside category ID4), and show it as thumbnail for my post. As written above, this script will call Post Thumb plugin only if i am not add “thumbnail” meta key inside my post. If inside my post there is meta key called “thumbnail”, then those image that will be shown. The (‘SHOWPOST=1′) will make your thumbnail like a button, if those image got clicked, it will going to those recent post.

To set the Post-Thumb image size, you should define it inside Post-Thumb setting area (left sidebar tools inside your wordpress admin).

You can modify the other script for Featured Category 2 area and Bottom Featured category just like the script above. Do not affraid to try to modify your home.php (but please backup it first,.. LOL), just use “trial and error” method to modif it.

To add more Category inside my home page (just like my demo site), i add script inside <div id=”homepageleft”> and <div id=”homepageright”> below this script :

<div id=”homepagebottom”>
<div>
<h3>Outdoor Decoration</h3>
<!–This is where the thumbnails are found for the homepage bottom section – note the custom field name for this image is “hpbottom”. Recommended image size is 70×70, as the stylesheet is written for this size.–>
<?php $recent = new WP_Query(“cat=8&showposts=3″); while($recent->have_posts()) : $recent->the_post();?>
<?php if( get_post_meta($post->ID, “hpbottom”, true) ): ?>
<a href=”<?php the_permalink() ?>” rel=”bookmark”><img style=”float:left;margin:0px 10px 0px 0px;” src=”<?php echo get_post_meta($post->ID, “hpbottom”, true); ?>” alt=”<?php the_title(); ?>” /></a>
<?php else: ?>
<a href=”<?php the_permalink() ?>” rel=”bookmark”><div style=”float:left;margin:0px 10px 0px 0px;”><?php the_thumb(‘SHOWPOST=1′); ?></div></a>
<?php endif; ?>
<b><a href=”<?php the_permalink() ?>” rel=”bookmark”><?php the_title(); ?></a></b>
<?php the_content_limit(350, “[Read more of this review]“); ?>
<div style=”border-bottom:1px dotted #2255AA; margin-bottom:10px; padding:0px 0px 10px 0px; clear:both;”></div>
<?php endwhile; ?>
<!–This is where you can specify the archive link for each section. Replace the # with the appropriate URL–>
<b><a href=”http://www.outdoorunit.com/category/decoration” rel=”bookmark”>Read More Posts for Outdoor Decoration</a></b>
</div></div>

That script above jobs were showing Bottom Featured Category post. When i add any script below that script, it will shown below Bottom Featured category Area. In my demo site, i add Featured category 1 and Featured Category 2.

If you read those script above carefully, it shows that i have change some script to call post-thumb revisited plugin to showing thumbnail (just like what i explained before). This Automatic Showing Thumbnail method will help much if you were using AutoBlog method to post.

I put Featured Content gallery down

Why i put it down?, frankly i don’t want to do this. I admited that featured content gallery were cool stuffs, but i don’t know why,.. when i using Post-Thumb revisited plugin to showing thumbnail automatically, Featured Content Gallery were not work. I have try to fix this problems, but it still not succeed, so i put it down, and change it with AMAZON slider widget. And you could see that it fits nice also, especially when your web were built to sell Amazon product also (just like mine).

How to showing Amazon Search Easily

When i googling into other web, i found that those web (i forget the url) were using amazon search that could “match” with every post. When i see it script, it shown like this :

(i’m sory,.. it will continued soon,.. please wait for it)

(6 votes, average: 4.83 out of 5)