Managing Products
You can manage the products in your shop using the "Products" page, in the "Catalog" menu. The table on this page displays the existing products and some of their details.
In this chapter, we will explore the product creation page's tabs one by one. We begin with the first tab in the page, which enables you to fill out the general information about your products.
Sections in this chapter:
| Table of Contents | ||
|---|---|---|
|
The Product List
Clicking on the "Products" menu options takes you to the list of products, displayed with their main details: ID, photo, name, reference, category, etc.
Beside the product list, this page presents you with four statistics from your store:
- Percentage of in-stock items,
- Percentage of average gross margin,
- Percentage of sales during the last 30 days,
- Number of disabled products.
The "Filter by category" option enables you to only display products pertaining to you current search, as well as reorganizing the position of products within a category.
| Info | ||
|---|---|---|
| ||
You cannot reorganize the whole list of products. The products are displayed as is in your store (by increasing ID number), and the customer can choose the product's order using the available sorting algorithms: lowest price first, highest price first, product name A to Z, product name Z to A, in-stock first, lowest reference first, highest reference first. You can organize products on a per-category basis by clicking on the "Filter by category" checkbox. This opens a small interface listing all your categories and sub-categories. Selecting one category automatically filters the list of products to only display products from the selected category. It also adds a "Position" column to the table, with which you can order the product on the category page. This is done either by moving the rows up and down, or by clicking the arrows. Your product order can then be overridden by the user's sorting choice. Note that when you change the display order in the product list in the back-office (by clicking on column name's arrow in order to sort products according to that column), the "Position" column does not display arrows nor can you use it to move rows around anymore. Instead, it displays the position number of the product. In order to be able to position products again, click on the "Reset" button. |
Finally, the top of the product list presents three buttons:
- Add New: creates a new product.
- Export: downloads a CSV file of all the products in your catalog.
- Refresh List: reloads the list of products to display the latest changes.
The Product Creation Page Global Buttons
You can add new products by clicking on "Add new". A form appears, with several tabs in the left column .
In the following sections, we will explore these tabs one by one. We begin with the first tab in the form, which enables you to fill out the general information about your products.
The Product Page Global Buttons
When you open the product creation page, there are only and two buttons at the top: "Back to list" and "Help".
...
- Delete this product. Removes all the data for the current product, including its images, combinations, features, etc.
Duplicate. Creates an exact copy of the current product. This is very useful when you'd rather use the current product's data as a template for another new product, and not have to create every data of the new product by hand. For instance, two products might be very different, but could share the same associations, carriers or supplier settings.
Note If you need to create different versions of the same product, because of its variety of colors, capacity, size, etc., then you should create product combination for the current product rather than duplicating it X times. See the "Combinations" tab on the left, which is explained in the "Adding Product Combinations" section of this chapter.
- Preview. Displays the front-page page of your product. This is very handy, as it works even if the product is disabled ("Information" tab).
- Product sales. Redirects you to the "Product detail" page of the statistics dashboard ("Stats" menu), which gives you a graphic of both the visits to this product's page, and also its sales.
Filling out the Product Global Information
The first tab contains the basic information about the product.
...
- Status. If you do not want this product to be immediately available or visible to your customers, check the radio button that says switch the option to "Disabled".
- Visibility. You can further choose to have the product available through different channels:
- Everywhere. Customers can get to the product by browsing the catalog, search for the product's name, or directly using its URL.
- Catalog. Customers can get to the product by browsing the catalog or directly using its URL.
- Search. Customers can get to the product by searching for its name or directly using its URL.
- Nowhere. Customers can only get to the product using its URL. They won't find it by browsing through the catalog or by searching for its name. This is great for creating private products, that only a few trusted visitors can access, even temporarily (you can change this setting at any time).
- Options. A couple of specific options.
- available Available for order. If you uncheck this box, customers will not be able to add this product to their cart. This makes it more like a single-product Catalog mode (in comparison with the "Catalog mode" preference).
- show Show price. If the "available for order" option above is unchecked, you can either choose to display the product's price nevertheless (even though visitors won't be able to buy it), or choose to not display it.
- online Online only (not sold in store). If your business does have brick-and-mortar stores, this option will prove invaluable when a product is only sold online, not in store – this prevents customers from checking a product price online, then come to your store hoping to buy it directly, and thus avoid shipping cost.
- Condition. Not all shop sell new product. This option enables you to indicate the condition of the product:
- New. The product is brand new, sealed in its original packaging.
- Used. The product has been sold at least once before, and probably used by someone else (second hand). It should come in its original packaging, which might be closed with tape.
- Refurbished. The product has been returned for various reasons ("scratches, dents or other forms of cosmetic damage which do not affect the performance of the unit"). Read more on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Refurbishment_%28electronics%29.
...
The two description fields each serve different purposes:
...
Once you have filled out all this information, save your work, after which you will be sent to your list of products. If you save by clicking on "Save and Stay", you will be able to continue working on your product's presentation.
Setting the Price of a Product
The pricing section can be quite intimidating, with fields influencing each other and taxes to take into account. This is all done in the "Prices" tab on the left.
Set the price that will appear in your store by following the instructions below:
- Pre-tax VAT wholesale price. Enables you to instantly know your wholesale, factory price, and thus compare it to your selling price in order to easily calculate your profit.
- Pre-tax VAT retail price. The price of your product before taxes.
- Tax VAT rule. The tax applicable to the product. Choose between the different rates that you have registered.
If you need to create new tax rates, click the "Create New Tax" button. Tax creation is done in the "Localization" menu, "Taxes" page; it is fully explained in the "Understanding Local Settings" chapter of this guide. - Eco-tax (tax incl.). The value of the ecotax for this product. This value is already included in your retail price. You are supposed to declare that tax to your country's tax agency.
Note that this field is not displayed by default. If you have to include an ecotax, you must first enable it: go to the "Localization" menu, "Taxes" page, "Tax options" section (bottom of the page), and choose "Yes" for the "Use ecotax" option. - Retail Price with taxVAT. Displays the price of the product with taxes included. You can edit the value, and it will automatically update the "Pre-tax retail price" field according to the tax rule that you chose.
- Unit price. Enables you to conform to local legislations that require products to be displayed with their unit price.
For instance, if you are selling a pack of 6 cans of soda, then you should fill this field with the price per can, and indicate "can" in the text field. The description on the same line will update accordingly. - Display "on sale" icon on product page and text on product listing. Check that box to show that your product is on sale, both on the product page and in the text on the product listing. An "On sale" icon will appear under the product. You can modify this logo by changing the following file:
themes/default/img/onsale_en.gif - Final retail price. This price, including the discount taken, will update as you type.
...
At this point, you are done with the essential information for a basic product page. You can save it and have it immediately available for sale on your shop!
But keep reading, as there are many more details you can add to your product to make it more attractive to customers.
Specific prices: Managing Quantity Discounts
You can changes the total price of the product depending on the quantity of products your customer buys, the user group, the country, etc. This is done using the "Specific prices" option of the "Prices" tab.
...
- For. This enables you to be very specific about the various groups to which this price applies, including currencies, countries and even your customer groups (which we'll discuss in a later chapter).
- Customer. You can choose to be even more specific and directly set at who the discount you are creating is targeted. Start typing the first letters of the clients' first name or last name, and select the ones you want.
- Available from/to. Here you can define a range of dates between which the discount price is active. Clicking each selector will open a calendar, simplifying the process.
- Starting at [] unit. Contains the value from which the discount should be applied. Default is "1", which means any quantity.
- Product price (tax VAT excl.). This is where you can set an arbitrary price, independent of calculations and regular prices. Keep this field at "0" to use the default price.
Leave the default price. Check this box to reset the "Product price" field and prevent yourself from editing it. - Apply a discount of. The discount that will be applied once the client has chosen a quantity of product. Use the selector to set the type of discount (either a specific amount in the default currency, or a percentage of the default price).
...
If you want to build more complex discounts, go read about the "Price rules" menu in the "Creating Price Rules And Vouchers" chapter of this guide.
Managing Price Priority
A customer might fit into multiple prices or discount rules, even when you have set detailed prices and quantity discounts, with custom groups and shops (if in a multistore context). PrestaShop therefore uses a set of priorities in order to apply a single price rule to such customers.
...
A checkbox at the bottom enables you to update the settings for all products. If the checkbox remains unchecked, then your changes only apply to the current product.
Optimizing your product's search engine position (SEO)
To improve your product listing as well as increase your store's visibility we suggest that you carefully fill out the various SEO fields: meta titles, meta descriptions, and keywords and friendly URLs.
...
| Warning |
|---|
Friendly URLs will only work if URL rewriting is enabled. You can do this in "SEO & URLs" preference page, in its "Set up URLs" section. You will find more information on the "SEO & URLs" preference page in the "Understanding the Preferences" chapter of this guide. |
Managing the Product's Associations
Creating associations for your product means pairing it with other content in your database:
- Product categories.
- Other products (accessories).
- Manufacturer.
Product categories
The "Associated categories" section enables you to select in which category the product should appear. You can select more than one, but keep in mind that it is better for the customer if the category only contains equivalent and comparable products. Therefore, you should prevent from selecting root categories, and prefer child categories.
For instance, the "telephone" category can feature sub-categories of "brands" (Apple, Samsung, Nokia, etc.) and as well as "characteristics" (smart-phone, flip-phone, etc.). It is up to you to indicate the category most useful to your customers.
If you feel you need to add a category, save the current state of your product before clicking the "Create new category" button. Category creation is explained at the start in another section of this chapterguide.
| Tip | ||
|---|---|---|
| ||
Checking the "Home" box enables you to highlight the product on your shop's homepage, provided your theme supports it. To remove a product from the Featured list, simply uncheck the "Home" box. |
The "Default category" section selector is useful when an article is filed under several categories. It serves mainly to clarify which category to use in case your customer arrives at your site from a search engine, since the name of the category will appear in the product's URL.
| Tip | ||
|---|---|---|
| ||
Checking the "Home" box enables you to highlight the product on your shop's homepage, provided your theme supports it. To remove a product from the Featured list, simply uncheck the "Home" box. |
Accessories
The "Accessories" field gives you the option of choosing relevant products to associate with this product, to suggest them to your customers when the visit the product's page (if the theme supports it). Type in the first letters of product and select it. The product is then added at the bottom of the field.
...
| Tip |
|---|
Accessories addition/removal is not automatically saved! Do not forget to click on the "Save" button. |
Manufacturer
A product can only be associated with one manufacturer. Choose one in the dropdown menu, or create a new manufacturer if it is needed (but do save your current product before clicking the "Create a new manufacturer" button).
Manufacturer creation is explained in the next chapter, "A Look Inside the Catalog".
Configuring the Product Image
The "Images" tab on the left is for including photos on your product page. You should upload all the images for this product, including all the existing combinations of this product (color, size, shape, etc.).
To add one or more images to your product:
- Click the "Upload an image" button and then select at least one image file from your computer to upload. You can select as many images as necessary by keeping the Ctrl-key pressed while selecting files. Validate your selection, and the upload starts automatically.
The default maximal size for an image file is set by PrestaShop according to your server's PHP settings. This size can be lowered in the "Images" preference page, "Product images" section. - The uploaded images appear in a table below the button. If you have more than one image, you can choose which image is to be used as the default/cover image by clicking on the red "no entry" button and turn it into a green checkmark. That cover image will also appear automatically on the product page of your shop.
Once you have uploaded all your product images, you can modify the image order by drag-and-dropping each table row when the mouse cursor changes to a "movable" cursor.
Evaluating Shipping Cost: Size, Weight, Carrier
Shipping costs are not be neglected: they can easily double the final cost of an order, and you should be very upfront about them – customers hate bad surprises.
...
| Note |
|---|
These values use the default weight, volume, distance and dimension units, as set in the "Localization" page of the "Localization" menu. These values do not have to be integers. If your products weight less than 1 kg/lbs, you can simply use a period (.) to indicate the fractions:
|
Adding Product Combinations
You will often sell the same product under different versions: they share the same overall name, but they might differ by their color, their capacity, their screen size, and other attributes. Most of the timestime, these attributes come together: you could have the red version of the product available with either 1 Gb capacity or 2 Gb, or with 12'' screen or a 15'' screen. This is why PrestaShop calls these versions "combinations": your stock of product can be made of several variations of one product, which in effect are simply its attributes combined in specific ways.
| Tip |
|---|
You cannot create combinations if you do not already have product attributes properly set in PrestaShop. Attributes creation is done in "Attributes and Values" page from the "Catalog" menu, and is explained in details in the next chapter , "A Look Inside the Catalog"of the same name of this guide. |
| Info | ||
|---|---|---|
| ||
Combination quantities are managed from the "Quantities" tab on the left, which is a feature that was introduced with PrestaShop 1.5. When creating a virtual product (see further below), you can now upload a different file for each combination. In PrestaShop 1.4, you had to pack all combinations into a single Zip file, and have the customers download all combinations. |
How they are combined is up to you, and PrestaShop gives you two ways to achieve this.
Manual method
This method helps you create combinations one after the other. Therefore, it is to be reserved to either products with few combinations, or products with very specific combinations that can't be created reliably using the automatic method (see next section).
...
- Attribute-value pair.
- From the drop-down menu choose a group of attributes, such as "Color" for example
- Choose the attribute value that you would like to include, for example "Blue".
- Click on the "Add" button and it will appear in the selector.
You can add as many attribute-value pairs as necessary to one combination.
You can only add one pair per attribute to one combination: it is impossible to have both "Color: Blue" and "Color: Red" in your pairs; if this is necessary, you will have to create new attributes, for instance "Primary color" and "Secondary color".
You can delete an attribute-value pair by selecting it and clicking on the "Delete" button.
- Reference, EAN13 & UPC.
- If necessary, indicate the combination's reference, EAN13 and/or UPC numbers into each field, as if you were creating a brand new product in PrestaShop. These numbers may be used by your warehouse or your carrier, so make sure to fill these fields, they are often essential to your business.
- Wholesale price. This field is useful if the original price of the product changes simply because this is a combination.
- Impact on original productprice/weight/unit price. If the combination is supposed to have an impact on the product's original price/weight/unit price, choose the appropriate dropdown menu, select "Increase" or "Reduction" depending on the context, and fill the field that appears with the value of that impact.
- Ecotax. The specific ecotax for this combination (if ecotax is enabled).
- Minimum quantity. You might prefer this combination to only be sold in bulk. Use this field to set the number of items to be sold in bulk.
- Available date. If this is a temporary or promotional product combination, you can indicate the date at which this product should not be available for sale anymore.
- Image. The images that are linked to the original product (as uploaded using the form in the "Images" tab on the left) are displayed. Check the box for the images that best represent this combination.
- Default. Check this box if you want the current combination to actually be the main product.
...
| Info | ||
|---|---|---|
| ||
In PrestaShop 1.4, there used to be a "Color picker" form at the bottom of the list of combinations, where you could choose to display a color picker or not on the product page. Since PrestaShop 1.5, this option has been moved and improved. When creating a new attribute (in the "Catalog" menu, "Attributes & Values" page), you can use the "Attribute type" drop-down list to choose whether the front-page should display it as a drop-down list, a radio button list, or a color picker. |
Automatic method
If you have too many different products or varieties you can use the "Product Combinations Generator." This tool allows you to automatically generate all of the combinations and possibilities.
...
| Info |
|---|
A warning window might appear, saying "You will lose all unsaved modifications, do you want are you sure you'd like to proceed?" This means your product already had some combinations created. If you agree to this, this will delete the combinations that have not yet been saved. Be careful, and always save your work before using the generator! |
...
Once the varieties have been selected, insert the quantity of each product in the "Quantity" field at the top. Be careful, it needs to be the same for every combination. For instance, 200 products in each combination = 2 colors * 1 disk size * 200 = 400 products in all.
You may add a default reference if it serves your administrative needs.
Click the "Generate the combinations" button, and tables will appear below for each combination, enabling you to edit their possible specific prices.
As you can see, the combination generator helps you save a lot of time when you have numerous attributes to assemble, such as sizes and materials. It automatically creates all of the possible combinations, which will then appear under the product's "Combinations" tab (if the theme supports it).
If you do not want to keep all generated combinations or if they are in fact not all exactly the same (different references, prices, available dates...), you can delete (trashcan icon) or modify them (file icon). The yellow star icon turns the selected combination into the default one.
Managing Product Quantities
This is a new tab in PrestaShop 1.5. You previously had to manage quantities either in the "Information" tab or within the "Combinations" tab if you have any product varieties. This is all now Product quantities are managed in a single page. The way it works is quite easy: the page presents you with a table of all the combinations for the current product (if there are no combinations, the table simply has a single row). It is up to you to set the initial stock for all the combinations. PrestaShop will use this to determine when a product is soon out-of-stock or unavailable anymore.
Stock Management Options
The quantities page supports the stock management features, if activated. This means that if the current product's combinations are distributed among several storage locations, PrestaShop is able to handle the exact location of each combination, even with a given warehouse. To use advanced stock management for the current product, you must first enable the feature for the whole shop: go to the "Products" preference page (under the "Preferences" menu), and in the "Products stock" section, select "Yes" for the "Enable advanced stock management" option.
Once the feature is globally enabled, you can enable it for the current product by checking the checkbox for "I want to use the advanced stock management system for this product".
By default, you have to manage the current product's quantities by hand, for each combination, from this page. With the stock management feature activated, you can rely on PrestaShop's stock management feature to handle this. Once the checkbox has been clicked,
To use advanced stock management for the current product, checking the box for "I want to use the advanced stock management system for this product". Once this is done, an option becomes available: "Available quantities for current product and its combinations are based on stock in the warehouses". Click it, and you cannot edit the current product's quantities from the "Quantities" page anymore: it has new become dependent of your stock management.
Availability Settings
At the bottom of the page, you can set the exact behavior of PrestaShop depending on the availability of the current product.
- Displayed text when in-stock. Enables you to display a message to your visitors when your product is in stock, for example "Item available". It reassures them that your shop can immediately send them the product.
- On the contrary, if the item is not in stock, you can choose whether to allow orders or not using the "When out of stock" selector. If you do allow orders, then you can display a message to your visitors using the "Displayed text when allowed to be back-ordered" field.
You can also configure the general settings applied to all of your products. The : the default option is to deny orders, but this can be modified under the "Products" preference ("Allow ordering of out-of-stock products" option), which is fully explained in the "Understanding the Preferences" chapter of this guide.
Configuring the Product Image
The "Images" tab on the left is for including photos on your product page. You should upload all the images for this product, including all the existing combinations of this product (color, size, shape, etc.).
To add one or more images to your product:
- Click the "Add files" button and then select at least one image file from your computer to upload. You can select as many images as necessary by keeping the Ctrl-key pressed while selecting files. Validate your selection, and the upload starts automatically.
The default maximal size for an image file is set by PrestaShop according to your server's PHP settings. This size can be lowered in the "Images" preference page, "Product images" section. - The uploaded images appear in a table below the button. If you have more than one image, you can choose which image is to be used as the default/cover image by clicking on the red "no entry" button and turn it into a checkmark. That cover image will also appear automatically on the product page of your shop.
Once you have uploaded all your product images, you can modify the image order by drag-and-dropping each table row when the mouse cursor changes to a "movable" cursor.
Configuring Product Features
The tab named "Features" is where you specify your products' features (i.e. weight, material, country of origin, etc.).
...
Be aware that contrary to the combinations, these values do not change, and are valid for the general product.
Creating a feature
Before adding a feature to a product, you must create it for general use in your shop. You either go to the "Features" page of the "Catalog" menu, or directly click on the "Add a new feature" button. A warning will appear, "You will lose all unsaved modifications, do you want to proceed?" – make sure all your changes are saved before validating.
Feature and feature value creation are explained in details in the next chapter of this guide, "A Look Inside the Catalog".
Assigning a value and feature to a product
We will assume here that you have already set all your features and feature values.
...
Remember: If a feature does not have any value assigned to it, it will not be taken into account for this product, and will not be visible on your shop.
Managing Customization
PrestaShop makes it possible for your customers to customize the product that they will buy.
...
Let's look at how to configure this function. In the "Customization" tab on the left, you can indicate what type of context (file and/or text) can be personalized.
- File Fields. Puts one the indicated number of file upload button buttons on the order page. Each button accepts only one file, so put as many field as you allow your customers to upload.
- Text Fields. Puts one text field the indicated number of text fields on the order page. You can add as many text fields as necessary.
Example: If you allow your customer to use a 5-line text , with each line limited to 14 characters, you can add 5 fields , and indicate the number of allowed characters in the field's label. You cannot limit the number of characters in the string.
...
Once all the label fields have been filled, do not forget to save your changes.
On the customer's side
Once a product has customizable properties set, its front-end product page has a new tab, next to the "More info" tab: "Product customization".
...
The rest of the purchase process is the same as usual.
On the merchant's side
Once the order has been validated by the customer, the merchant gets a notification of the order in the back-office.
...
The rest of the order and delivery process is the same as usual.
Managing Attachments
PrestaShop enables you to make some files available to your customers before their purchase. This is done in the "Attachments" tab on the left.
...
- Fill out the name of your attachment.
- Give it a description. This will help you distinguish between your uploaded files with certainty.
- Click on "BrowseChoose a file" to select a file on your computer to upload.
- Click on "Add Upload attachment file". The attachment is uploaded, and the page reloads, with the attachment appearing in the "Attachments for this product" selector.
- Save your product , with either the "Save" button or the "Save and stay" one.
...
If you need to remove an attachment, select it in the "Attachments for this product" selector and click on the "<<< <- Remove" button. The file will be moved to the "Available attachments" selector if you need to set it back online later on.
You can view all of your store's attached files, add some more and remove some, by going to the "Attachments" page under the "Catalog" menu. This also makes it possible to use the attachments that you already uploaded for other files: if you need to apply the associated one file with many products, you will thus only have to upload it once.
Setting the Product's Supplier
Indicating the product's supplier is not really important to your customers (very much less so than its manufacturer in any case). Still, but it may turn out to be an essential part of your own internal management, not the least when managing your stock: you simply need to know who you bought the product from. The supplier of the current product is to be set from the "Suppliers" tab on the left.
| Info |
|---|
You cannot use this feature if you do not already have at least one supplier registered in your shop. Suppliers are created from the "Suppliers" page, under the "Catalog" menu. The complete supplier registration process in explained in details in the next current chapter of this guide, "A Look Inside the Catalog". |
Associating the current product with one or more suppliers is really easy: simply click the box corresponding to the supplier, and save your changes.
If the product is associated with more than one supplier, you can choose which one should be the default one use using the radio button on the right.
Note: the "Default" radio buttons are unavailable by default. In order to select them, you must first click the "Save and stay" button" in order to select another supplier as default.
Product reference(s)
The product's supplier page also features a table that enables you to set the precise reference and unit price/currency for each product combination. If the product has more than one supplier, the table only opens the combination tied to the first supplier, the others being closed by default. Click on a supplier's name in order to open its references table, and close the others.
Managing Warehouses (advanced)
Once you have enabled the advanced stock management option (in the "Products" preference page), this new tab gets available for all products, and enables you to indicate in which warehouse the current product is stored.
| Info |
|---|
You cannot use this feature if you do not already have at least one warehouse registered in your shop. Warehouses are created from the "Warehouses" page, under the "Stock" menu. The complete warehouse registration process in explained in details in another chapter of this guide, "Managing Stock". |
The "Warehouses" tab presents you with a table that enables you to set the precise location for each product combination (if any) in each warehouse. If you have registered more than one warehouse, the table only shows the first one by default, the others being closed by default. Click on a warehouse's name in order to open its sub-table, and close the others.
For each warehouse, you can set which combination of the current product is stored, and a text field enables you to indicate precisely where it is stored in that warehouse. You can write anything in that field: "Aisle 5", "Next to the Radiohead albums", "A07 E08 H14", or anything that helps you or your packaging team to find the product as precisely quickly as possible.
Creating a Pack of Products
You may wish to sell a pack of products made of several items. I.e.: a computer start-up pack composed of the computer itself, a monitor, and a printer. PrestaShop makes it easy for you to create a "pack" product and add other products from your catalog to this pack.
...
Once you are done with the "Pack" tab, you can edit the content of all the other available tabs as if you would for a regular product.
Creating a Virtual Product
Your shop may feature (partly or exclusively) virtual products – that is, products that are not shippingshipped, but rather downloaded: concert entertainment tickets, e-books/PDF files, real-life services...
PrestaShop makes it easy for you to create a virtual product
...