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Datafeed Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is a datafeed?
2. What is a CSV file?
3. What is a live datafeed?
4. What is a static datafeed?
5. Is a datafeed the same as a CSV file?
6. Where can I find your datafeed specification?
7. How to I create a datafeed?
8. Can I upload my product datafeed?
9. What are the required fields for a CSV datafeed file?
1. What is a datafeed?
A datafeed is a CSV file stored on your server that lists all your product information such as product description, price, stock levels etc in a format that our server can interpret and understand.
Our server then routinely reads this file, and updates your product information in our database. This ensures your current stock levels and pricing are accurately represented to Shibby shoppers.
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2. What is a CSV file?
CSV file is a generic term for a text file that contains data, normally separated into fields (columns) by the use of a comma. So each field is separated with a comma to indicate the end of that field information. For example, "Product Name, Description, Price".
CSV actually stands for 'Comma separated values'. However, from a practical point of view its better to separate your data with other less common characters, such as TAB or Tilde (the ~ character). We still continue to call it a CSV regardless of what separator you are using.
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3. What is a live datafeed?
A live datafeed is a dynamic CSV page generated by your server on demand. This is the best way to provide a datafeed to Shibby, because it means your products are always kept up to date. Whenever our Shibby-Bot looks for this file (every 12-24 hours) it will always get fresh results.
Note that a live datafeed is actually a URL that generates CSV content. A live datafeed is not actually a CSV file, in that a file is not placed on your web server. Only when you provide a static datafeed will a CSV file exist on your server.
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4. What is a static datafeed?
A static datafeed is a CSV file generated by your server, stored on your server. It differs from a dynamic datafeed, in that it does not change until it is recreated. Of course, your products are changing all the time. So static datafeeds are only useful if your server is programmed to regenerate them periodically.
For example, your web programmer may create a script that creates a static datafeed every day at midnight. The Shibby-Bot will then read this static file daily and update your products.
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5. Is a datafeed the same as a CSV file?
What makes a regular CSV file a 'datafeed' is that it's stored on your server, so that we can retrieve the contents of it periodically. Your datafeed can be either static or live, but it should be placed on your server. The only exception is where you are unable to access your server, in which case you can send us your datafeed as a plain CSV file on a periodic basis.
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6. Where can I find your datafeed specification?
Our complete datafeed specification can be found at http://www.shibby.com.au/pop_datafeed_specs.php.
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7. How to I create a datafeed?
This depends on whether you have available an in-house programmer or web designer, or the degree to which your existing shopping cart can export a list of products in CSV format.
In some cases, if you already list your products with other Australian price comparison sites, we will be able to read these straight away.
Choose your situation:
"I already have all my products listed on another Australian 'price comparison' shopping site"
We can read your existing datafeed for most popular Australian price comparison sites. This means you don't need to employ the services of a programmer to create a feed just for Shibby.
Email us with the URL of your existing datafeeds, and which sites they are designed for. We will then setup the appropriate filters for your existing feeds. You won't need to do any further programming.
"We have a web developer/programmer who can prepare a CSV file from our database."
Great, just give them the datafeed specification and they should be able to create the datafeed from your database.
Make sure they have read this Data Feed FAQ and understand they are ideally creating a Live Data Feed, not just a CSV output of your products.
After the datafeed is created, they should be able to login to your merchant console and add the URL
"I am a programmer, how do I create a datafeed?"
You need to loop through all your products in the database one by one, using the appropriate script e.g. ASP, PHP etc and output the results in order of our field specification to a CSV file, using an appropriate field separator (TAB is recommended). This file should then be stored on the server in a public location that can be trawled by our bots.
"I don't have access to any programmers or developers, and I am not sure if our shopping cart/ecommerce system can actually create a CSV file"
Contact your ecommerce provider or shopping cart merchant and tell them you need to create a CSV datafeed of your products for Shibby. Your existing shopping cart may have an export feature that allows you to save your products into a plain text file list.
This should allow you to produce a simple list of your products and import them into Microsoft Excel. You can then copy and paste the data and columns into an Excel product template designed just for Shibby. For full instructions see can't I just send an Excel file of my products?
At this stage, you will have a CSV file of your products that meets our datafeed specs. You then need to upload the file to a location on your server so our spider can come along and read the products.
You will also need to update this file at least every month.
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8. Can I upload my product datafeed?
Shibby strives to keep Australia's largest searchable index of products, with a focus on relevant, up-to-date product data. For this reason all CSV datafeed files must be stored and updated regularly on your own server. We recommend updating your CSV file with your latest products and prices at least every 1-3 Weeks.
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9. What are the required fields for a CSV datafeed file?
To get started quickly, simply create your CSV file in the following format:
| Required Fields: |
| upc, product_code, product_url, product_name, product_description, image_url, category,price |
| Sample Datafeed Product Row: |
| nv7800gtx, 7800gtx, http://www.mywebsite.com.au/7800gtx.html, nVidia GeForce 7800GTX 512Mb, ""Amazing graphics with not one, but two DVI connectors!", http://www.mywebsite.com.au/7800gtx.jpg, Video Card, 799.95 |
Please note that you do not have to use a Comma (,) as your Field Delimiter. Other supported Field Delimiters include the Pipe (|) character or a Tab Space. Our complete datafeed specification can be found at http://www.shibby.com.au/pop_datafeed_specs.php.
Tip: To avoid creating an invalid datafeed (which can delay your products being index in Shibby), be sure to enclose any fields in Double-Quotes (") which may contain your Field Delimiter character.
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