I heard about the move away from options in light of variations... I need help on how to setup variations since the documentation is not clear and did not have step-by-step guides.
I've tried on my own and had no luck, even with demo data...
Does someone have a step-by-step guide on how to set variations? (Maybe for a t-shirt setup since that is similar in product options)
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I'm planning to sell a customizable mug in 2 sizes (small, Large)
- The mug must have inventory tracking on each size.
- Option/Variation: Print type: Gloss, Matte
- Option/Variation: Graphic Design (I have 200+ different graphic designs that can be printed on either size of the product for free that I want customers to select from)
- I would also like to have the graphic designs appear in SEO results for search engines and on the site, so if someone searched for "trees" it would show 1 instance of the graphic design with mug sizing and print type options.
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My other thought would it be better to create 200 separate products representing the graphic designs. (downside is no inventory control for the core mug product and no good integration with amazon or ebay)
Hello,
If you want each variation to be presented as separate product (and therefore have its own SEO name), you should set feature "Graphic design" in mode "Variations as separate products". This way, each product will have his own product card.
We do not have written guide, but I can assist you in setting up variations. If you would be interested, please PM me.
Best regards,
Robert
If you want to show on SERPs each graphic design, the solution to set feature "Graphic design" in mode "Variations as separate products" is correct. Pay attention to the SEO add-ons on the marketplace to make your website and the variations more SEO friendly.
Also, we have the HTML5 Product Designer add-on that is often useful with customizable products in the shop. The website clients can make their own mug design and save it as a picture you can use for printing. You can add extra cost if the customers use lots of colors in their design, or use some paid elements in the process of design creation. It works fast and has a good impact on users' behavior.
Thanks for the suggestions, I'm half way there. Not as simple as Amazon and others.
For variations as separate products...
Pros: My variations were SEO / user searchable and had more configuration like tags and such like I wanted.
Cons:
- Inventory could not be sync'd with the parent product (this is huge, manual updates means mistakes for custom items)
- had to create 2 categories for the different style of mug which created 400 catalog items.
- noticed that the catalog name plus the common feature needs to start with the same prefix to automatically find existing products.
Is there a way to automatically link/sync inventory to a parent product when using this method?
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For variations as one product...
Pros:
- Inventory sync'd to all child variations
- 2 parent products to maintain
- Change the price for different variations (graphic designs)
Cons:
- SEO /user search does not index the feature name of the variation or product code, only the parent product is searchable. Admin backend is completely different in the product listing.
- Have to load images and settings for each variation separately (would be nice to add the image in features as variant)
- No variation product tagging
Is there an easy way to enable front-end search indexing for product feature variations / sku with this method?
Possible to add product tagging to a variation?
If you want to show on SERPs each graphic design, the solution to set feature "Graphic design" in mode "Variations as separate products" is correct. Pay attention to the SEO add-ons on the marketplace to make your website and the variations more SEO friendly.
Also, we have the HTML5 Product Designer add-on that is often useful with customizable products in the shop. The website clients can make their own mug design and save it as a picture you can use for printing. You can add extra cost if the customers use lots of colors in their design, or use some paid elements in the process of design creation. It works fast and has a good impact on users' behavior.
I did look at your add-on and was experimenting with it a bit on your demo site. I saw a similar designer from cart power as well. Both fit the bill, but I do like your capability for customization. I simply can't justify the license at this point... I need to first see if my product will take off with minimal overhead first as I already sunk too much into my idea... haha For SEO, I was hoping variations woulda been a native / core feature by now. There are some awesome marketplace add-ons, but funds are a bit limited right now.
I heard about the move away from options in light of variations... I need help on how to setup variations since the documentation is not clear and did not have step-by-step guides.
I've tried on my own and had no luck, even with demo data...
Does someone have a step-by-step guide on how to set variations? (Maybe for a t-shirt setup since that is similar in product options)
---------------------------------------------------
I'm planning to sell a customizable mug in 2 sizes (small, Large)
- The mug must have inventory tracking on each size.
- Option/Variation: Print type: Gloss, Matte
- Option/Variation: Graphic Design (I have 200+ different graphic designs that can be printed on either size of the product for free that I want customers to select from)
- I would also like to have the graphic designs appear in SEO results for search engines and on the site, so if someone searched for "trees" it would show 1 instance of the graphic design with mug sizing and print type options.
--------------------------------------------------
My other thought would it be better to create 200 separate products representing the graphic designs. (downside is no inventory control for the core mug product and no good integration with amazon or ebay)
Did you finally get it working? Curious as I have been experiencing issues. No idea where to begin and how to even plan for getting my product list and SKUS started. Any solutions you came across would be very helpful.
Thanks
I have to say, I can usually work 99% of stuff out in cs-cart. Variations is a nightmare, the instructions just do not make sense, and I have wasted 6 hours trying today.
The old system was a nightmare, this is worse. All I want is to a colour variation on a single product, surely it cannot be all that hard ?
I have to say, I can usually work 99% of stuff out in cs-cart. Variations is a nightmare, the instructions just do not make sense, and I have wasted 6 hours trying today.
The old system was a nightmare, this is worse. All I want is to a colour variation on a single product, surely it cannot be all that hard ?
Can you describe what kind of problem do you experience? Maybe we can help. :)
I simply cannot figure out how to actually set it up.
the documentation goes from features to creating a variation group, but is jumps around so much I am totally lost.
I have a product (a kit) that is available in 3 different colours say black, red and blue all I want my customers to be able to do is select the kit colour they would like.
Everything else remains the same.
I have tried setting up a feature, which appears under the feature tab, but not where I need it
when I go the variations tab I get a message you have no groups (I don't want a group, because it will only relate to one product)
This is the message I get on the variations tab within the product
This product doesn't have features that allow grouping products. Please make sure that:
- You have created at least one feature with Purpose: Variations as separate products or Variations as one product.
- You have specified the value of that feature for the product.
I know I have been in lock down for weeks, and probably extremely cranky anyway, but please please help
I simply cannot figure out how to actually set it up.
the documentation goes from features to creating a variation group, but is jumps around so much I am totally lost.
I have a product (a kit) that is available in 3 different colours say black, red and blue all I want my customers to be able to do is select the kit colour they would like.
Everything else remains the same.
I have tried setting up a feature, which appears under the feature tab, but not where I need it
when I go the variations tab I get a message you have no groups (I don't want a group, because it will only relate to one product)
This is the message I get on the variations tab within the product
This product doesn't have features that allow grouping products. Please make sure that:
- You have created at least one feature with Purpose: Variations as separate products or Variations as one product.
- You have specified the value of that feature for the product.
I know I have been in lock down for weeks, and probably extremely cranky anyway, but please please help
If it's only about one feature, you should go through the following procedure:
1. Create feature "Colour". Set its type to "Variations as one product", and add feature variants. (red, black, blue)
2. Go to product, for which you'd like to create variations.
3. In product configuration, assign this feature to product (doesn't matter which variant you'll choose)
4. Go to Variations tab, and click button "Add variations". In tab Create new products you should see variations.
5. Mark all checkboxes in this tab, and click "Create" - your variations should be created correctly.
Best regards,
Robert
Hi Robert,
Thank you, got it 3/4 fixed this is the link
https://sewingbuddies.com.au/cappuccino-a-party-for-4-placemats-and-table-runner-kit.html
But cannot figure out how to change the images, they all should be different
You are a life saver by the way
Yay figured it out,
wow, this one is not for late Sunday night lol.
Thank you for all your help