Manage Products
- Welcome to the Product Manager, this is where you will be adding all of your products to the categories/collections you just created. In the main product manager page you will see this heading:
- Product Manager Overview | Add a Product | Add Manufacturer Products There are two methods of adding products in the product manager, I will start with the easier one. First we will upload images to a collection that is on our preloaded database. To do this you click on Add Manufacturer Products. This will open up a menu with two drop-down boxes. The first drop-down box has the list of collections that are available. You can only use this method of adding products for the collections that are listed here. Next you will select the Collection name from the second drop down bar where it says: To My Collection: You must always complete this step before adding products or the program will warn you that you have not selected a collection to add the products to. Note that there is sometimes important information about the upload; be sure to carefully read what is there VERY CAREFULLY. For example, it may indicate that the prices that are listed are MSRP and not cost prices. This is important to note as it will determine what needs to be done to convert the price top your retail if you plane to show a retail price on your website.
- Now click on the Submit. This will bring up a list of thumbnail images for the collection that line in a new window.
Note: If you have a pop-up blocker active on your browser this may keep the window from opening, if this is the case, please turn your pop-up blocker off before you begin any work on eFashionCentral.
- In the new window you will see the pictures of each item in the line with a check box above each item. Place a check above each of the items you wish to add, if you wish to add every item in the line click the link on the far left side that says “Check all” Note: You should always review ALL the thumbnails before you click Check all to be sure that you want to upload everything. Also read the details so you can be sure of what you are uploading. If you are adding most of the items you can also click “Check all” and then click the check box above the picture to uncheck the items you don’t want. There is also a button to indicate if you want to upload Cost prices. As indicated above, it is possible that the manufacturer provided MSRP rather then cost prices. If the upload indicated that they were MSRP then designating that you want to upload “cost prices” will actually upload the MSRP. You will still be able to adjust the MSRP to whatever you desire, but the images will initially upload with the MSRP price. If there are no dollar amounts under the thumbnail, then that manufacturer has not provided us with any cost or MSRP information.
- Once you are finished checking all of the items you wish to add (or have clicked Check all) click the Add Styles button. Important: If you are uploading multiple seasons to the same Collection name you will want to upload the newest season’s image last and make sure that the Collection is set for “Newest First” (see Manager Collections/Categories #8 above). This way when you add new seasons to this collection in the future they will always appear first on your website.
- AT THIS POINT A NEW SCREEN APPEARS THAT ALERTS YOU THAT YOU HAVE (or may have) UPLOADED COST PRICES. AT SOME POINT YOU SHOULD REFER TO THE SEPARATE, “APPLY SCREEN INSTRUCTIONS”. When you are ready you can Click Here' to access very detailed Apply screen Instructions. We strongly recommend that you read these instructions very carefully. For now just continue with the tutorial so you can get through the basics.'
- Besides converting the cost price to your retail price, you can also go to this screen to make other changes on the products you have uploaded. If you plan to upload more images to this particular collection then you should close this window. When you have everything uploaded then click “Go There Now” on this window so you can apply the changes to everything you have uploaded to this collection.
- If you plan to continue to add images to this particular Collection name by selecting another collection from the database (for example images from different seasons for the same Collection name) then you should close the window and continue to add all the collections first before going to the Apply Settings Function. So for example, if you want to upload three seasons of a collection all to the same collection name then you can select each collection in succession. Once you have uploaded everything to this particular Collection Name, THEN click “Go There Now” on the Apply Function Screen.NOTE: You can access the Apply Screen anytime by going to Manage Products, selecting a Collection or Category Name from the drop down, click submit and then click the Apply Settings to All Items in this Col/Cat that appears at the top. NOTE that the Apply screen is ALWAYS blank, it does not ‘know’ what is already uploaded for the Col/Cat you have selected. It is waiting for you to tell it what to do with what is already uploaded.
- Now take a look at one of the products you just added. To do this you need to click Product Manager again on the top menu bar and select the Collection name that you added the images to and click Submit. You will see the thumbnails of all the images that you just uploaded. Note: the images will always appear in Style# sequence. You can search for a particular style by using the style search feature. Next to each thumbnail you will see, the item’s Product ID (This is the same product ID you will need to use in the Featured Products Module), the Style Number, The Product Price, and the Product Headline. Once again, to place an item in your featured products module in the Manage Home Page section copy the product id number and paste it into one of the text boxes marked left or right.
- Under all this information is a link that says edit. Click on the edit link.
- This will bring you to the Edit Product page. Each Item has an edit product page associated with it. This is where you will put in all the information regarding the particular item you are working on.
- The first thing you will notice at the top of the page is the Main Image. The Main Image is the image that will be shown on your actual eFashionCentral.com site. It will be shown as a link and it will be the main image your potential customers will see when they click the link for that product. When dealing with a product uploaded from a Manufacturer’s Preloaded Database it is important that you do not change the Main Image, this is because the main image is what allows the product to directly link from the manufacturer’s website. If you are dealing with a product that is not from a manufacturer’s preloaded database you must put an image there, but we will get into that more in-depth when we discuss entering products that are not from a manufacturer’s preloaded database.
- Under the main image are 3 other image boxes. These boxes are purely optional and are utilized depending on how you personally wish your site to look and feel. The first of these boxes is the Zoom of Main Image box. This box is used if you have a larger picture of the item than the picture that is in the main image. The picture in the main image is usually 457 height, however some preloaded images are larger. When you are uploading images using Add a Product, all images should be no higher then 700 height, the program will reduce the main image to 457 height. The main image should be no wider then 300 once it is reduced to 457 height. You may have to play around with this a little to get the maximum image displayed on your website. If you would like to upload a larger image in the zoom image you should use an image that is 700 height, it can be any width. When this image is uploaded the option to ‘enlarge above image’ will appear below the image on your style page. If this is clicked a pop-up window will open with a larger view of the image. You do not have to upload an image to the Zoom image section so just ignore that browse button. The program will automatically add the Zoom image for you if the image you uploaded to the Main Image is larger then 457 pixels tall..
- The third and fourth boxes are the Detail Images 1&2. These images are meant to show a detail shot (ie. If there is some embroidery you wish to show close-up) or a shot of the back of the item. To enter an image into either of these two boxes the process is the same as the Zoom of Main Image box, just save the file you wish to use to your hard drive and click the Browse button. A Choose file box will appear, select the file you wish to use and click the Open button. These files that you upload will then be displayed under the main image on your eFashionCentral.com website. The detail images should be no more then 700 height, they can be any width.
- Under the image boxes is the option to allow this item for ecommerce. Now we will take a step back and make some fairly big decisions regarding ecommerce. There are many ways to utilize your eFashionCentral.com site, not all of them involve ecommerce. We will now go over the ways an eFashionCentral.com site owner can use their site in order from no ecommerce to heavy ecommerce.
- No ecommerce at all: This option allows you to use the site purely as a tool to advertise your store. This option does not allow for any kind of ecommerce at all, but encourages your potential customers to come to the store to purchase your wares. This option increases the face to face customer/salesperson relationship, but decreases the likelihood of a sale from anywhere but a reasonable proximity to your store. To turn of ecommerce universally for the whole site click on the General Settings link at the very top of the admin page and click the box that says Ecommerce Off under the Ecommerce settings part of the page.
- Ecommerce on some items, not all: This option allows you to sell low-ticket items online, especially items that do not need to be tried on such as accessories or gift certificates. This is the perfect segway into more ecommerce heavy options. This option allows you to be comfortable with ecommerce and still maintain a low degree of headaches as far as shipping and customer needs are concerned. To turn on ecommerce for only certain items first make sure that under your ecommerce settings in General Settings, Ecommerce on is checked, then when editing products check the box for Ecommerce On the Edit Product screen for the items which you wish to sell online.
- Ecommerce on all items: This option allows potential customers to order any or all of the items listed on your site. To set this option on go to your General Settings and make sure that the Ecommerce On box is checked, then leave the Ecommerce On box checked for every item on your site. There are two ways for you to receive orders which can be set up in the General Settings page. One is to allow customers to enter their credit card information, the other is to not ask for credit card information to be entered. First and foremost, eFashionCentral.com does not bill any credit cards. It is up to you once you receive the credit card information to then verify the credit card and then bill the card. If you choose not to ask the customer to enter their credit card information, it is up to you to contact the customer and get the credit card information over the phone. I will go over Ecommerce again once we get to the General Settings portion of the tutorial.
- Under the Available for Ecommerce check box the style number is listed. If you are using a Manufacturer’s Preloaded Database the style number will already be entered. If you are editing a product not from a manufacturers preloaded database, you will have to enter the style number yourself.
- Next up is the Short Description. The short description is just that, two or three words describing the item that will appear at the top of the item description page on your website.
- Now we have the Price. Enter the price that you wish to sell the item for. If you do not wish to list a price, leave the price box at 0.00 and no price will appear on your website.
- Colors. To enter the colors type in the color or color combination in one of the boxes. The colors will be shown on your website in a drop down box.
- Sizes. Check the Sizes you wish to list on your website. We realize that in some cases larger sizes also come with an increase in price. If this is the case, do not check the check box for that size and instead enter it in one of the eight boxes with the additional amount. (ie. 32 +$50.00) Another way to do this is to create a unique style # for the style in the sizes that are a higher price, ie., 12345PL. Then create a new Collection designating the special size, ie., Montage 20 – 36; you can also create a new Category ie., MOB Plus Sizes. This way your larger customer can shop for styles that she can purchase without being reminded that she has to pay more. You can also activate a link from the Missy Main image to the Plus size Main image by putting a link in the Main image of the Missy style to the Main image of the Plus style.
- Under the size listings is a drop down box where you can select a size chart. We have a sizable amount of size charts but do not have all of the size charts you may need. If there is a size chart you need please just fax it or email it to us and we will have it up as soon as possible.
- Next up is the Full Description, a full description of the item. Things to remember to put in the full description: Explain any detail not visible in the picture and if the picture does not show the back of the dress please remember to describe the back of the dress to potential customers.
- Under the Full Description there is a list of every collection and category you have created thus far. Click on the check boxes next to the category or collection you wish to add this item to. You can add it to as many collection and categories as you wish. (ie. If you have a Jovani Prom dress you might wish to add that dress to Jovani, Jovani Prom, and Prom)
- Under the list of Collections/Categories there are four boxes, Link 1 Title, Link1 URL, Link 2 Title, and Link 2 URL. If for any reason you wish to add a link to your product details page on your website enter the website address (ie. www.eFashionCentral.com) in either the Link 1 URL, or the Link 2 URL. Then enter what you wish the link to read (ie. The Best Page in The Universe) in either Link 1 Title or Link 2 Title.
- When you are done edit the product, check over your information then click the Submit button.
- Now that we’ve covered adding products from a manufacturer’s preloaded database, we’ll go over how to add a product that is not from a manufacturer’s preloaded database. First choose a category/collection to manage its products. Then click the blue arrow next to Add a Product.
- This will open the Add a Product part of the Product manager. You will no doubt notice the similarities of this screen and the edit product screen. Most of the information you are going to enter on this screen is the same information you would have entered on the edit products page. The main difference is you will have to find a picture of the item on the Internet or take your own picture of the item and scan it into your computer. Then you will click the browse button next to Main Image find that image on your computer and click open, which will save that picture as your main image.
- Decide if you wish to add a Zoom of the Main Image, and if you wish to use the detail images 1 and 2.
- Check the box if you wish to make that item available for ecommerce. Enter the style number of the product, the short description, the price, the colors, and the sizes.
- Choose a size chart for that item. If the size chart for a particular manufacturer is not listed, please inform us and we will get it up as soon as possible. Enter a full description and select the categories or collections you wish to add this item to.
- The links in the style edit screen are for advanced applications. One somple way to use these is to redirect a customer to another page on your website where they can shop for a different size category, ie. The Plus size info on the same style. You can also direct a customer to the image of a complementary accessory.
- Finally, click the Submit button. This will add this product to the categories or collections you have selected.
- Practice adding items using both methods. It is imperative that you are familiar with both methods of adding products because this is where you will spend most of your time managing your site, especially when a new line comes out.