FAQ

ASA1 (legacy)

This page documents ASA1, the predecessor of ASA2. ASA1 only receives security fixes and Amazon API updates. Looking for the current plugin? See the ASA2 documentation.

General questions

The status is "Connected", but the Amazon box on my page is empty

Clear the cache first (Clear Cache button in the options) so no faulty data is served from it. If the box stays empty:

• Check that your Creators API credentials are correct and that the credential version matches the credentials Amazon issued to you (see the Creators API guide).
• Make sure your Amazon account is an approved Amazon Associates account with qualifying sales. Amazon only grants API access to such accounts.
• Look at the Log tab (requires error handling) for the exact error message.

Why do the rating stars show up empty although the product page has ratings?

ASA1 reads the ratings from the Amazon product page every time a product is refreshed. With many products on one page, the ratings pages get accessed many times in a short time and Amazon will sooner or later answer with a captcha. ASA2 addresses this with its advanced ratings mode, which is only available in the premium version.

Do I have to embed an Amazon logo with every product?

No. You may use Amazon logos if you follow Amazon's trademark guidelines, but you do not have to.

You must, however, clearly state on your site that you take part in the Amazon Associates program, for example: "As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases." The exact wording depends on your marketplace, check the Operating Agreement of your Amazon Associates program ("Identifying Yourself as an Associate"). A common place is the imprint of your site.

Which placeholder shows the artist of a music CD?

{$Artist}. See Placeholders.

Is there a special template for MP3 downloads?

Yes, a built-in one:

[asa tpl="mp3"]ASIN[/asa]

Can I change the image files for the rating stars?

Yes. The images are in the plugin's img directory (stars-0.gif to stars-5.gif plus the half steps like stars-3.5.gif). Back up your customized files before updating the plugin, because updates overwrite them.

How can I use a custom field with the ASIN to include a product in a post?

Put the ASIN in a custom field, for example ASIN, and use asa_item() in your theme, for example in single.php:

<?php asa_item(get_post_meta($post->ID, 'ASIN', true)); ?>

asa_item() prints the product with the default template, just like the shortcode in the post text. Pass a template name as the second parameter to use another template:

<?php asa_item(get_post_meta($post->ID, 'ASIN', true), 'my_custom_template'); ?>

If you need the output as a string, use asa_get_item(). More on templates in the Step by Step Guide, more PHP functions on the Usage page.

Is there a PHP function for collections I can use in my theme templates?

Yes, asa_collection() (prints) and asa_get_collection() (returns), see Usage. This example shows one random product of a collection, for example for automatic advertising after the content:

<?php asa_collection('your_collection_name', array('type' => 'random', 'limit' => 1, 'tpl' => 'advertisement')); ?>

Here advertisement is the name of the template file and your_collection_name the name of the collection. You can combine this with a custom field to decide per page which collection is used:

<?php
$collection = get_post_meta($post->ID, 'ad_collection', true);
asa_collection($collection, array('type' => 'random', 'limit' => 1, 'tpl' => 'advertisement'));
?>

Will it work with my theme?

If you are using a sophisticated theme, it is very likely that ASA will work just fine with it.

Connection problems

"Connection to Amazon Webservice failed. Please check the mandatory data."

The setup form is incomplete. Check that all mandatory fields (marked with *) are filled in and that the values are still there after you reload the setup panel.

The Creators API cannot be used

• The Creators API needs PHP 8.1 or higher. On older PHP versions the setup panel tells you so.
• If ASA2 is active, it loads its own version of the GuzzleHttp library, which the Creators API in ASA1 cannot use. ASA2 already includes full Creators API support, so you do not need it in ASA1. To configure ASA1 separately, deactivate ASA2 first.

Errors about requests being sent too quickly (throttling)

Amazon limits how fast an account may send requests. ASA1 reduces requests by caching, but if your site is visited irregularly, the cache of all products on a page can expire at the same time and the products are then refreshed in one burst. The best approach is ASA2, which refreshes products on the server side via cronjobs, for example every five minutes, so requests never pile up.