Tagging Providers

This documentation explains how to implement Nosto tagging on headless frontends, PWA implementations, or custom themes that are neither Luma nor Hyva.

Table of Contents

• Introduction

• Architecture Overview

• Data Structure

• Integration Methods

  • Method 1: REST API

  • Method 2: GraphQL

  • Method 3: Direct JavaScript Implementation

• Implementing Tagging Providers

• Testing Your Implementation

• Troubleshooting

Introduction

Nosto's tagging providers are a flexible way to send data to Nosto without requiring the traditional DOM-based tagging approach. This method is particularly useful for headless implementations, PWAs, or any frontend that doesn't follow Magento's traditional rendering approach.

Architecture Overview

The tagging provider system consists of three main components:

1. Data Generation: Magento backend prepares structured data for Nosto

2. Data Delivery: Methods to deliver this data to the frontend

3. Provider Registration: JavaScript that registers the data with Nosto

Data Structure

For more details, refer to the Nosto API documentation: https://nosto.github.io/nosto-js/interfaces/client.TaggingData.html

The tagging provider data follows this basic structure:

{
  "pageType": "product", // product, category, frontpage, cart, search, notfound, order
  "products": [...],     // array of product objects when on product page
  "cart": {...},         // cart data
  "customer": {...},     // customer data
  "categories": [...],   // array of category paths
  "variation": "...",    // pricing variation or currency information
  "searchTerm": "..."    // on search pages
}

Integration Methods

Method 1: REST API

You can create a custom endpoint to retrieve the tagging data:

1. Create an API endpoint in your Magento module:

<?php
namespace Vendor\Module\Api;

interface NostoTaggingInterface
{
    /**
     * Get tagging data for current context
     *
     * @param string $pageType
     * @return array
     */
    public function getTaggingData($pageType);
}

1. Implement the service:

<?php
namespace Vendor\Module\Model;

use Nosto\Tagging\Block\TaggingProvider;
use Magento\Framework\App\RequestInterface;

class NostoTaggingService implements \Vendor\Module\Api\NostoTaggingInterface
{
    private $taggingProvider;
    private $request;
    
    public function __construct(
        TaggingProvider $taggingProvider,
        RequestInterface $request
    ) {
        $this->taggingProvider = $taggingProvider;
        $this->request = $request;
    }
    
    public function getTaggingData($pageType)
    {
        // Set page type from API parameter
        $this->taggingProvider->setData('page_type', $pageType);
        
        // Return the tagging configuration
        return $this->taggingProvider->getTaggingConfig();
    }
}

1. Register in di.xml:

<preference for="Vendor\Module\Api\NostoTaggingInterface" 
            type="Vendor\Module\Model\NostoTaggingService" />

1. Define in webapi.xml:

<route url="/V1/nosto/tagging/:pageType" method="GET">
    <service class="Vendor\Module\Api\NostoTaggingInterface" method="getTaggingData"/>
    <resources>
        <resource ref="anonymous"/>
    </resources>
</route>

Method 2: GraphQL

For PWA implementations, GraphQL is often preferred:

1. Create schema.graphqls:

type Query {
    nostoTaggingData(
        pageType: String!
    ): NostoTaggingData @resolver(class: "Vendor\\Module\\Model\\Resolver\\NostoTaggingResolver")
}

type NostoTaggingData {
    pageType: String
    products: [NostoProduct]
    cart: NostoCart
    customer: NostoCustomer
    categories: [String]
    variation: String
    searchTerm: String
}

# Define other required types (NostoProduct, NostoCart, etc.)

1. Create the resolver:

<?php
namespace Vendor\Module\Model\Resolver;

use Magento\Framework\GraphQl\Config\Element\Field;
use Magento\Framework\GraphQl\Query\ResolverInterface;
use Magento\Framework\GraphQl\Schema\Type\ResolveInfo;
use Nosto\Tagging\Block\TaggingProvider;

class NostoTaggingResolver implements ResolverInterface
{
    private $taggingProvider;
    
    public function __construct(TaggingProvider $taggingProvider)
    {
        $this->taggingProvider = $taggingProvider;
    }
    
    public function resolve(
        Field $field,
        $context,
        ResolveInfo $info,
        array $value = null,
        array $args = null
    ) {
        $pageType = $args['pageType'] ?? 'unknown';
        $this->taggingProvider->setData('page_type', $pageType);
        
        return $this->taggingProvider->getTaggingConfig();
    }
}

Method 3: Direct JavaScript Implementation

If you're building a non-Magento frontend but using Magento's backend, you can include the Nosto tagging-providers.js script directly:

<script src="/path/to/nostojs.js"></script>
<script src="/path/to/tagging-providers.js"></script>
<script>
  // Fetch data from your custom API/GraphQL
  fetch('/api/v1/nosto-data?pageType=product')
    .then(response => response.json())
    .then(data => {
      // Initialize tagging providers with the data
      window.initNostoTaggingProviders(data);
    });
</script>

Implementing Tagging Providers

In your frontend application, after retrieving the data, you need to register the tagging providers:

function initTagging(taggingConfig) {
  // Wait for nostojs to be available
  function waitForNostoJs(callback, maxAttempts = 50, interval = 100) {
    if (typeof nostojs === 'function') {
      callback();
      return;
    }

    let attempts = 0;
    const checkNostoJs = setInterval(function() {
      attempts++;

      if (typeof nostojs === 'function') {
        clearInterval(checkNostoJs);
        callback();
        return;
      }

      if (attempts >= maxAttempts) {
        clearInterval(checkNostoJs);
        console.log('Failed to load nostojs after ' + maxAttempts + ' attempts');
      }
    }, interval);
  }

  // Register the tagging providers
  function setupTaggingProviders() {
    nostojs(function (api) {
      // Register the page type
      api.internal.setTaggingProvider("pageType", function () {
        return taggingConfig.pageType;
      });

      // Register products if available
      if (taggingConfig.products) {
        api.internal.setTaggingProvider("products", function () {
          return taggingConfig.products;
        });
      }

      // Register cart if available
      if (taggingConfig.cart) {
        api.internal.setTaggingProvider("cart", function () {
          return taggingConfig.cart;
        });
      }

      // Register customer if available
      if (taggingConfig.customer) {
        api.internal.setTaggingProvider("customer", function () {
          return taggingConfig.customer;
        });
      }

      // Register categories if available
      if (taggingConfig.categories) {
        api.internal.setTaggingProvider("categories", function () {
          return taggingConfig.categories;
        });
      }

      // Register variation if available
      if (taggingConfig.variation) {
        api.internal.setTaggingProvider("variation", function () {
          return taggingConfig.variation;
        });
      }

      // Register search term if available
      if (taggingConfig.searchTerm) {
        api.internal.setTaggingProvider("searchTerm", function () {
          return taggingConfig.searchTerm;
        });
      }
    });
  }

  waitForNostoJs(setupTaggingProviders);
}

Testing Your Implementation

1. Verify data structure: Ensure your API returns properly formatted data

2. Check Nosto Debug Toolbar: Enable the Nosto Debug Toolbar to verify data is being sent

3. Validate with Nosto Dashboard: Check if data appears in the Nosto dashboard

4. Test recommendations: Ensure recommendations appear on your pages

Troubleshooting

Common issues and solutions:

Issue	Solution
Nosto script not loading	Make sure the Nosto script is included before tagging providers
Data not appearing	Check browser console for errors, verify data structure
Recommendations not personalizing	Ensure customer data is correctly formatted
Multiple currencies not working	Check variation ID is properly passed

For more detailed assistance, consult the Nosto Support team or refer to the official Nosto documentation.