I have been looking for tutorials to help me add expedia affiliate widget to joomla but I have not been able to find any. So I have decided to add my own tutorial based on the website that I am working on with another developer. The site is Mama Mia Travel, this website has come a long way since the beginning. This tutorial is based on the pdf file that you can download from their site. Click on the following link EAN-Affiliates-Integration-Guide to download the pdf file.
Steps to be carried out:
Install the latest version of joomla 1.5, not 1.6 as it is still in the early stages of the release. I always feel that before you install a new version of joomla, you should allow for a few version updates to be released making sure that it is more stable.
I used one of the default templates but you can use any joomla template you like.
Sign up with expedia and become an affiliate which is part of this tutorial. You will have access to all their tools, widgets and other goodies.
Log into expedia website and copy and paste the affiliate widget code into the joomla template. Create a php file and name it for example expediaSearchForm.php using a php editor and inset the code in your joomla teamplate, I use pspad editor. You can use css to position the widget on your site by putting the code inside a div container.
The following code is added to the joomla template.
<!– start exp-form –>
<?php include(‘expediaSearchForm.php’); ?>
<!– end exp-form–>
Now create a header and footer, following the expedia pdf tutorial you downloaded from above. I use the CleanSite template that I downloaded from the expedia website to guide me with the design.
You now have a working expedia website with a header similar to your website header and a footer. If you have any questions or requests, I will be glad to help you. Good luck!!
