is it ok to take out &osCsid...

[natasha21]

i just realized that the osCsid wasn't supposed to be included in links so people don't use the same session. so when i link, i take everything after the product id number (the &osCsid and everything after it) out of the url

but i just want to make sure, if two people go to the same url without the session id, will their sessions still combine, because they're still going through the same url?

thanks!

 

-natasha

[Guest]

The session IDs are created for a reason. In basic terms, it's so your website can remember what that shopper is doing, in the event they put items in their cart and try to checkout. The session ID is unique to only them and the site 'remembers' what Joe Blow is doing and doesn't confuse the cart with Plain Jane and John Doe who are also browsing your site at the same time. Am I making sense?

 

If your website is set up properly...and I type in www.yoursite.com...I should see no session ID.

 

When I click on ANYTHING after that point of entry....I SHOULD see a session ID on the URL. An info page, a product listing, whatever.

 

But, when I click again on another link...the session ID should disappear.

 

Any customer that enters your website via a link on the Internet ( a product link, an info page, etc.) should see a session ID as soon as they hit the site. After that? Every click they make...the session ID should disappear from the URL.

 

Is that not happening in your website?

[Guest]

The best way to remove the session id from your urls is to enable Force Cookie Usage in the admin section. This will ensure the session id stored in a cookie and not appended to the store urls.

 

Note : This will only work if you are NOT using a shared SSL certificate as the shared SSL cookie domain will be different from your domain name and will not be persistant between them.

[Jack_mcs]

Using Force Cookies will also cost you customers since not everyone has cookies enabled so it isn't a setting that should be taken lightly.

 

Jack

[Guest]

Do you have statistics on the percentage of people who do not have cookies enabled? I am unable to find any reliable statistics. True some people will disable them to increase their security but I don't think this will be a large percent of people (perhaps the more technically savy).

 

Saying you WILL lose customers is a bit strong, are you suggesting that companies like Amazon and Ebuyer WILL lose customers aswell? Both of these site force cookie usage during their checkout procedures and I believe they are doing extremely well.

[♥toyicebear]

Saying you WILL lose customers is a bit strong, are you suggesting that companies like Amazon and Ebuyer WILL lose customers aswell? Both of these site force cookie usage during their checkout procedures and I believe they are doing extremely well.

 

Forcing cookies will probably not loose you many customers at all...but it might loose you an odd one or two among the more privacy concerned crowd...

 

NOTE about the quoted statement: A Potential customer who is willing to hop through hops to buy at Amazon , might not necessary be willing to do the same at any POP-AND-MOM osCommerce store....

[Jack_mcs]

Do you have statistics on the percentage of people who do not have cookies enabled? I am unable to find any reliable statistics. True some people will disable them to increase their security but I don't think this will be a large percent of people (perhaps the more technically savy).

 

Saying you WILL lose customers is a bit strong, are you suggesting that companies like Amazon and Ebuyer WILL lose customers aswell? Both of these site force cookie usage during their checkout procedures and I believe they are doing extremely well.

No, no hard facts, just anecdotal. I for one run without them and have left many sites that have a popup telling me I must change my settings to allow me to spend my money with them. I have also installed Recover Cart Sales into many shops and have reveived feedback from my own, as well as some of those shop owners, from customers responding to the email it sends out saying, in essence, they didn't complete the purchase due to the cookie requirement. It is possible that however many this totals to, they are the only ones that ever refuse to buy but you would be crazy to beleive that. I'm always surprised that a shop owner, who is in business to make money, would risk losing even one customer or such a trivial matter. If you didn't have an alternative option that would be one thing. But you do and there is simply no reason to have cookies enabled, unless it is just because one doesn't understand how to set the shop up to work without that option, but that is not really a valid reason. So take the advice for what it is worth. You won't know the difference if you use Force Cookies and do lose customers since they will never buy from you. But if you don't want to risk losing any customers, turn that option off and set up the shop correctly to run without them.

 

Jack

[natasha21]

thanks for all your replies

the oscid isn't showing up on the homepage, but it is when i click on other pages it still shows, but it's the same one.

when i exit and go back to the site and check out a product, i get a new session id.

 

i'm a little concerned about enforcing cookie usage, because it seems very inconvenient for customers without cookies.

[Jack_mcs]

thanks for all your replies

the oscid isn't showing up on the homepage, but it is when i click on other pages it still shows, but it's the same one.

when i exit and go back to the site and check out a product, i get a new session id.

 

i'm a little concerned about enforcing cookie usage, because it seems very inconvenient for customers without cookies.

That's the way it should work. If you want to prevent the SID's from showing, install Ultoimate SEO.

 

Jack

[rabbitseffort]

this is the way I think it should work and does for me, like andrea already said above:

click on ANYTHING after that point of entry....I SHOULD see a session ID on the URL. An info page, a product listing, whatever.

But, when I click again on another link...the session ID should disappear.

Any customer that enters your website via a link on the Internet ( a product link, an info page, etc.) should see a session ID as soon as they hit the site. After that? Every click they make...the session ID should disappear from the URL.

 

this means your session ID has been properly stored and only needs to show the one or two times you see it, it should not show on every page you visit in the site unless your config files aren't set right

 

at least this is how it works as I know it, and I never use force cookies, have not needed too, and as Jack said there is a great chance of losing custies

[♥toyicebear]

One small note.... If you have set your browser privacy settings to high (ie. cookies disabled in your browser settings) , then you will see the oscsid on every page.....

 

In such a case they should show on every page.....

 

Other than that they should diseapear after the first 1 to 2 clicks around your site...

(If they do not and your browser is set to enable cookies , then your cookie path settings in includes/configure.php is set incorrectly)

[mvlf]

One small note.... If you have set your browser privacy settings to high (ie. cookies disabled in your browser settings) , then you will see the oscsid on every page.....

 

In such a case they should show on every page.....

 

Other than that they should diseapear after the first 1 to 2 clicks around your site...

(If they do not and your browser is set to enable cookies , then your cookie path settings in includes/configure.php is set incorrectly)

 

 

In my store, osCsid is appearing in all pages.

 

Already set enable cookies, and checked the cookie path is correct.

 

I do not know how I can solve.

 

Marvin