Connecting SAM to an online web store

Working together

Getting your store online requires a partnership between you, the SAM team and your web developer. All the new systems need to work together, hence the need to have checks and agreements in place. 

The Process - Getting your website up and running

Step 1: Sign API Services Agreement

• Contact your web developer/designer to help connect SAM to your website.
• Fill out and submit this form:  New SAM API Web Store Connection Request
• SAM will send API services agreement for both you and your developer to sign. 
• After signing, your developer gets access to set up the API and connect your web store to SAM. 
• If using the Desart SAM plugin, an order form will be sent to your art centre.

Step 2: Art centre on-boarded to SAM (if needed)

We will be in touch with details about how to do this, including login details for accessing your Art Centre instance in the SAM Live environment: https://new.sam.org.au

For art centres new to SAM, and for art centres migrating from the old SAM v1, on-boarding to SAM includes:

• All relevant art centre staff completing SAM training
• Art centre manger and/or senior staff completing SAM setup
• Entering your artists and inventory so that when you web store is ready to go live, so is your data in SAM

Step 3: Test in the Sandbox (UAT)

Get Sandbox Environment Access

The Sandbox environment is a completely separate instance of SAM used for testing purposes only. Any changes you make in the Sandbox, any sales that are recorded, and so on, will not be reflected in your Art Centre in the SAM live/production environment, and vice versa.

We will send you via email the two separate logins needed to access the following:

• SAM Sandbox dashboard login - https://uat.sam.org.au - where you can create example artists and inventory that will be populated into your web store for testing
  
• SAM Sandbox API login - https://apiv3.sam.org.au - used by your web developer to connect your web store to the SAM Sandbox
  

These emails contain login name and temporary password, and a link to set your own password.

Set up & Test

• Confirm you can log in to Sandbox dashboard and also manually log in to the Sandbox API
• Create some example artists and artworks in the Sandbox, setting them to be public and available in the store
• Have your web developer Install the web store plugin or complete building the custom connection to SAM, and use the Sandbox API login in name and password to connect it to the Sandbox API
• Sync artworks to a Sandbox test SAM

Check: 

• Artworks, artists, images, prices in the web store display correctly and as expected
• Data in the web store matches data in the Sandbox  

Do test sales and confirm: 

• Sales in the web store also appear in the Sandbox
• Customer address and item details are correct in the Sandbox
• Sandbox artist and art centre accounts and stock levels are updated correctly following a sale 

If you have any problems with any of this, please contact your web developer first, as they will be best placed to help you.

Step 4: Go Live

Get Live API Environment Access

By now, you already have access to the SAM Live dashboard, and should have added at least those artists and inventory that you want to appear for sale online in your web store.

The last step then is to get your SAM Live API login created. Before we can, we will ask you to confirm that you have completed all of the previous step, including the checks and test sales above.

Once we have been able to confirm that you have, we will get your SAM Live API login created and send an email containing login details need to access the Live API.

Once you have reset your Live API password:

1. Confirm that you can manually log in to the Live API
2. Confirm with your web developer that the web store is ready to go live
3. Update your web store's plugin or custom connection settings to use Live API login name and password
4. Sync your web store using the plugin or custom connection settings to bring live artworks, products, editions and artists across 

Test again: 

• Check artist and inventory display (images, prices, etc.) 
• Do a final test sale (that can be reversed)

If you have any problems with any of this, please contact your web developer first, as they will be best placed to help you.

One last thing: Don't forget to promote it!

You're almost done, the last step is to tell the world about your new web store!

• Send an email to existing customers with your new web store's web site address
• Post about it on social media with a link to the web store
• Print posters with a link or QR codes to the new web store and display them in your art centre, at art fairs and exhibitions

That’s it, you're done!