Hosted UI Overview

Hosted UI – also sometimes called "JS-API" – is a method of implementation by which the Bazaarvoice UI components are hosted on a Bazaarvoice sever. To integrate Bazaarvoice content into a site using this method, clients embed Bazaarvoice-supplied JavaScript code snippets into their site that retrieve and display user interface and social content hosted by the Bazaarvoice content distribution network (CDN).

The diagram below outlines the process for displaying Hosted UI content on a website.

Browser requests a page on the client's website. The client's web content is served and displayed from their web server
Bazaarvoice fetches the appropriate social content from Bazaarvoice CDN
Bazaarvoice HTML <div> element displays social content and user interface controlled by Bazaarvoice

This method of integration has the following advantages:

All complexities of the user interface design and development are handled by Bazaarvoice
This method generally requires the least amount of IT investment and the shortest time to go-live
New Bazaarvoice product features can be enabled as they are released with no additional IT investment

Bazaarvoice supports the customization of font, colors, icons, and layout of the user interface to match the design of a website. However, if there are requirements to use a custom presentation interface or tightly integrate social content with other website data, this method may not be sufficient on its own. To support these custom implementation requirements, Bazaarvoice provides the Conversations API for retrieving content from the Bazaarvoice CDN so this content can be displayed within user interfaces designed and developed by a client's IT team. It is important to note that use of the Conversations API is not mutually exclusive with the Hosted UI method of integration — the Conversations API may be used in conjunction with the hosted user interface to integrate social content with other website data while minimizing IT investment.