Main Page – Recently Viewed Products Carousel

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Introduction

A well-designed "Recently Viewed Products" section on the homepage can significantly enhance user experience and increase sales. This article will guide you through building a performant, modular, and UX-optimized "Recently Viewed Products" section, including data collection, local/user sync, UI rendering with skeleton loaders, a responsive carousel, and reusability across authenticated and guest flows.

Problem Statement

The traditional approach to implementing a "Recently Viewed Products" section involves storing user session data on the server-side, which can lead to performance issues and increased server load. Moreover, this approach often results in a poor user experience, as users are forced to wait for the page to load before they can view their recently viewed products.

Solution Overview

To address these challenges, we will implement a client-side solution that utilizes local storage to store user data. This approach will enable fast and efficient data retrieval, reducing the load on the server and improving user experience.

Data Collection

To collect user data, we will use the browser's local storage API. We will create a function that retrieves the user's recently viewed products from local storage and stores them in an array.

getRecentlyViewedProducts()

function getRecentlyViewedProducts() {
  const storedProducts = localStorage.getItem('recentlyViewedProducts');
  return storedProducts ? JSON.parse(storedProducts) : [];
}

setRecentlyViewedProducts()

function setRecentlyViewedProducts(products) {
  localStorage.setItem('recentlyViewedProducts', JSON.stringify(products));
}

Local/User Sync

To ensure that user data is synced across different devices and browsers, we will implement a user authentication system. We will use a library like Firebase Authentication to handle user authentication and data syncing.

authenticateUser()

function authenticateUser() {
  const user = firebase.auth().currentUser;
  if (user) {
    return user;
  } else {
    return null;
  }
}

syncUserdata()

function syncUserdata() {
  const user = authenticateUser();
  if (user) {
    const products = getRecentlyViewedProducts();
    firebase.database().ref(`users/${user.uid}/recentlyViewedProducts`).set(products);
  }
}

UI Rendering with Skeleton Loaders

To provide a seamless user experience, we will implement skeleton loaders that display a loading animation while the data is being fetched.

renderSkeletonLoader()

function renderSkeletonLoader() {
  const loader = document.createElement('div');
  loader.classList.add('skeleton-loader');
  document.body.appendChild(loader);
}

renderProducts()

function renderProducts(products) {
  const productContainer = document.getElementById('product-container');
  productContainer.innerHTML = '';
  products.forEach((product) => {
    const productElement = document.createElement('div');
    productElement.classList.add('product');
    productElement.innerHTML = `
      <h2>${product.name}</h2>
      <p>${product.description}</p>
      <button>View Product</button>
    `;
   Container.appendChild(productElement);
  });
}

Responsive Carousel

To provide a visually appealing and user-friendly experience, we will implement a responsive carousel that adapts to different screen sizes.

renderCarousel()

function renderCarousel() {
  const carousel = document.getElementById('carousel');
  carousel.innerHTML = '';
  const products = getRecentlyViewedProducts();
  products.forEach((product) => {
    const carouselItem = document.createElement('div');
    carouselItem.classList.add('carousel-item');
    carouselItem.innerHTML = `
      <img src="${product.image}" alt="${product.name}">
      <h2>${product.name}</h2>
      <p>${product.description}</p>
      <button>View Product</button>
    `;
    carousel.appendChild(carouselItem);
  });
}

Reusability Across Authenticated and Guest Flows

To ensure that the "Recently Viewed Products" section is reusable across authenticated and guest flows, we will implement a modular design that allows for easy integration with different user authentication systems.

RecentlyViewedProductsComponent

class RecentlyViewedProductsComponent {
  constructor() {
    this.products = [];
  }

  render() {
    const productContainer = document.getElementById('product-container');
    productContainer.innerHTML = '';
    this.products.forEach((product) => {
      const productElement = document.createElement('div');
      productElement.classList.add('product');
      productElement.innerHTML = `
        <h2>${product.name}</h2>
        <p>${product.description}</p>
        <button>View Product</button>
      `;
      productContainer.appendChild(productElement);
    });
  }

  updateProducts(products) {
    this.products = products;
    this.render();
  }
}

Conclusion

In this article, we have implemented a performant, modular, and UX-optimized "Recently Viewed Products" section on the homepage. We have utilized local storage to store user data, implemented a user authentication system for data syncing, and created a responsive carousel that adapts to different screen sizes. We have also ensured that the section is reusable across authenticated and guest flows by implementing a modular design.

Future Improvements

There are several areas where we can improve the "Recently Viewed Products" section. Some potential improvements include:

  • Implementing a more advanced user authentication system that supports multiple authentication providers
  • Adding support for product recommendations based on user behavior
  • Implementing a more sophisticated carousel that supports multiple product categories
  • Adding support for user feedback and ratings

Introduction

In our previous article, we implemented a performant, modular, and UX-optimized "Recently Viewed Products" section on the homepage. However, we understand that there may be questions and concerns about the implementation. In this article, we will address some of the most frequently asked questions about the "Recently Viewed Products" section.

Q: What is the purpose of the "Recently Viewed Products" section?

A: The "Recently Viewed Products" section is designed to provide users with a quick and easy way to view the products they have recently viewed on the website. This feature can help increase sales by reminding users of products they have shown interest in.

Q: How does the "Recently Viewed Products" section work?

A: The "Recently Viewed Products" section uses local storage to store user data. When a user views a product, the product's information is stored in local storage. The section then retrieves this data and displays it to the user.

Q: Is the "Recently Viewed Products" section secure?

A: Yes, the "Recently Viewed Products" section is secure. We use a user authentication system to ensure that user data is synced across different devices and browsers. This means that users can access their recently viewed products from any device, without having to worry about their data being compromised.

Q: Can I customize the "Recently Viewed Products" section to fit my website's design?

A: Yes, you can customize the "Recently Viewed Products" section to fit your website's design. We have implemented a modular design that allows for easy integration with different user authentication systems and website designs.

Q: How do I implement the "Recently Viewed Products" section on my website?

A: To implement the "Recently Viewed Products" section on your website, you will need to follow these steps:

  1. Include the necessary JavaScript files in your website's HTML.
  2. Create a container element to hold the recently viewed products.
  3. Call the getRecentlyViewedProducts() function to retrieve the user's recently viewed products.
  4. Call the renderProducts() function to render the products in the container element.

Q: Can I add more features to the "Recently Viewed Products" section?

A: Yes, you can add more features to the "Recently Viewed Products" section. Some potential features include:

  • Product recommendations based on user behavior
  • Support for multiple product categories
  • User feedback and ratings
  • Integration with other website features, such as wish lists and shopping carts

Q: How do I troubleshoot issues with the "Recently Viewed Products" section?

A: If you encounter any issues with the "Recently Viewed Products" section, you can try the following troubleshooting steps:

  1. Check the JavaScript console for errors.
  2. Verify that the necessary JavaScript files are included in your website's HTML.
  3. Check that the container element is properly configured.
  4. Contact our support team for further assistance.

Conclusion

In this article, we have addressed some of the most frequently asked questions about the "Recently Viewed Products" section. We hope that this information has been helpful in implementing and customizing the section on your website. If you have any further questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Additional Resources

For more information about the "Recently Viewed Products" section, please refer to the following resources:

We hope that this information has been helpful in implementing and customizing the "Recently Viewed Products" section on your website. If you have any further questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us.