Extended sites hub

To manage relationships with the stores, the extended sites store includes a hub. This hub is accessed through the WebSphere Commerce Accelerator and allows the site administrator to create and manage the extended sites.

If the Site Administrator publishes the ExtendedSitesHub.sar store archive, the extended sites hub can also have a storefront. This hub storefront is intended for hosting support and provides self-provisioning tools that allow the merchant to create and administer a store, as well as tools that allow the extended site provider to manage the stores. The seller can:

• Self-register from the extended site hub. Once approved, sellers can create a store using the Store Creation Wizard.
• Manage the store. Capabilities include changing the appearance of the store, marketing, product management, and others.
• Perform organization and user management tasks such as creating additional store administrators.

Extended site providers in the hosting business may also include a site in which merchants can locate all the stores on the site. This is called a store directory. When a store is open for business, merchants can access the store via the site store directory or by entering the store directly.