In this example we will look at how to create a basic niche site such as Tasty Toasters or Caffiene Nation, two sites I knocked up with the module in about 20 minutes each.

Follow the instructions in the previous "Installing Shopwindow" document, then select your category id to base the website in - for example, Coffee Makers category ID is 390.

You can see all the coffee makers by going to http://www.yoursite.com/browse/390

In our example we changed Drupal's default homepage from 'node' to 'browse/390', so when you access http://www.coffeemakers.org.uk you are presented with the products in the Coffee Makers category.

If the category you choose has subcategories - for example if you wanted to target all Home Appliances - you may wish to to enable the 'Category Tree' block, which will link to the subcategories automatically, (Freezers, Washing Machines, etc) based on the category you pass it on the shopwindow settings page.

In some circumstances you may wish to list two sets of subcategories, for example 'Mens Clothing' and 'Womens Clothing' - in this case you can enter the two (or more) category ids seperated by a comma.

You may want to focus the category you have chosen more closely than Affiliate Window already do. On the Caffiene Nation site I have done this by creating a custom block, where I have manually linked to searches within the category, for example:

If you wish to add content to these pages you can do it by creating custom blocks for each url that contain the content you wish to display.

You may also wish to enable the 'Hot Picks' or 'Featured Merchants' blocks which will display the relevant information based on the category you are currently viewing.

However if you really want to make powerful niche affiliate sites where you can focus on products rather than broad categories, and allow you to create articles and reviews on a subject quickly and easily, please read the next article explaining how to create a 'content type' that will display prices from shopwindow automatically.