Your Online Store is initially setup with vendor supplied products made available through your Online Store. You can, however, add your own custom products to your Store.
Ready to Ship (RTS) products will not use the Online Designer, but they will either be products your customers cannot customize (ie: Literature Racks, Safety Signs, etc), or you can also give your customers the ability to upload artwork during the ordering process as well. You can create a new product RTS product in your Store by following these steps:
Create an RTS Product
- Click on Store.
- Hover over Products and click Create a Product.
- You must determine the type of product you wish to create. In this article we will cover "Ready to Ship" products. To do so, you'll need to complete the Basic Setup fields on the form:
- Product Type:
All created products can be RTS or Design Your Own (DYO). In this article we will cover the RTS product creation. If you're looking to create a product that has the Online Designer enabled, please view our article on How to Create Your Own DYO Product. - Product Options:
Choose whether or not your product will include variations (size, color, model, etc.). For a product with no variations, choose the "Standard Product" option. If you'd like to have different variations for this, choose "Product with Variations". This option cannot be changed after the product has been created. - Click Continue.
- You will need to at least fill out the required fields, however we suggest filling out any and all applicable fields. You'll then click the Save button to create your product.
- Once you click Save, you'll notice more tabs appear on the left hand side. Not all of these fields are required, however, you will want to go through them all and input any applicable information for your custom product. View the drop down categories below for more information on these fields.
Note: The product is now created but we're not done quite yet, we'll need to tell the store which department this new product belongs to, edit description and prices, add thumbnail images, etc. To do so, we'll want to continue to edit this product. Once you make a change you'd like to keep, simply click the Save button at the top.
Edit Your Product Furthermore
This section is separated into several tabs. To learn more about the elements of each tab, click to expand from the list below:
This tab contains general information associated with your product. Fields include:
General
- Title - This is the product name assigned to this product or product variation.
- SKU - This code should be used as a unique identifier for this product or variation.
- Weight - The product weight in pounds is used for shipping calculations.
- Minimum Order Qty - Enter a value here if you require a minimum quantity to be ordered.
- Selling Price - This is the price your customer pays for the product.
- Handling Fee - If you choose to charge a handling fee, enter that value here.
- Handling Fee Per Qty - Check this box if you would like the handling fee to apply to each item ordered. Leaving the box unchecked will apply the fee only once per order.
- MSRP - This is the manufacturer's recommended selling price. If your selling price is below the MSRP that discount will automatically be displayed on the product page.
- Dealer Cost - This is your cost you pay for the product. This value is only for your own reporting and will not be available to the customer.
- Price Label - The label entered here will precede the price on the product page. If left blank, the label will default to "Our Price:".
- Requires Shipping - Checking this box will make shipping mandatory.Leaving this box unchecked creates a store-pickup option for this product.
- Minimum Price - The minimum price sets a floor beneath which your selling price cannot be set. This value will not be displayed to your customers.
Metadata / SEO
- Meta Title - This field is associated with the department title for SEO (search engine optimization) purposes.
- Meta Keywords - Enter any keywords you want to be associated with this department for SEO purposes, with each keyword separated by comma.
- Meta Description - A longer description of your department that can be helpful for search engines to index department pages of your site.
- URL Title - URL Title tags can be helpful for search engines to index your site and can potentially increase the odds of your website being found in search result.
This tab contains fields that allow you to describe your product to customers, either through text or video content.
- Description - The product description appears to the right of the product image on the product page. There is no character limit but note that the product page layout may be affected by large amounts of text extending the page vertically.
- Long Description - The long description appears below the product image on the product page. If you have a large amount of text it's beneficial to add it here rather than in the description in order to avoid formatting issues. If the content in the description field is sufficient for your product, this area can be left blank.
- Embed Video - If you have web hosted videos on websites such as youtube, paste the embed code they provide here to feature the product video on the product page. Remember to enter a video title below or your video will not display.
- Video Title - Enter a title to be associated with your embedded video.
- Return Content - Any return policy information you want to convey to your customers specific to this product should be entered here. It will be displayed on the product page.
To add a new pricing tier, click the "Add Level" button and enter values for the following fields:
- Qty - Enter the minimum quantity for which this price value will apply. For VCG vendor supplied products, these values are determined by the vendor and cannot be changed.
- Price - This is the selling price when quantities equal to or greater than the value entered in the Qty column are ordered.
If your product has variations with variable pricing, all pricing should be set at the variant level. If your product has variations with consistent pricing, tiered pricing can be set at the parent product level and updated for each variation by checking the variation box below the Tiered Pricing list.
Make sure to save your changes after pricing has been updated.
If your product was initially setup to include variations, you can create and manage those variations here on this page. Variations can consist of any combination of features or attributes, such as size, color, style, etc.
This tab will only appear if you selected to create a product with variation upon initial setup. Unfortunately, variations cannot be added later if that option was not select upon creation.
To create a product with variations, you must first create your variations, including all selectable options, and then create combinations from those options. This allows you to treat each combination of options as a semi-unique product, with pricing, details, images and more specific to the options selected. Regardless of the number of variations or options you create, you must create combinations for any product set up to include variations before it will function properly in your Store.
Variations
To create a new variation, click the Create Variation button. The new window that opens will give you the following tabs and fields to complete:
Variation Details
Of these fields, only variation "Type" is required to continue.
- Name/Label - This is the variation label as it will appear on the product page (e.g. color, size, etc.).
- Internal Name - This will automatically populate with the name/label you entered above, but you are able to alter how the variation is referenced internally here.
- Not part of combination - If this option is selected this variation will not be included when you create variation combinations later on.
- Type - Choose from a number different presentation and data entry types for this variation. Your options will vary based on what type of variation you select.
- Description -
- Required - Checking this box will make completion of this field mandatory before proceeding.
- Error Message - Enter the message you would like to be displayed to your customers when they attempt to advance without making a selection, e.g. "Please select a color.".
Variant Modifiers
These options will only appear when input box, text area, or hidden variation types are selected.
- Price - The price value entered here will be added to whatever price value has been set for the base product when this option is selected.
- Weight - The weight value entered here will be added to whatever weight value has been set for the base product when this option is selected.
Variation Items
Use this form to create the selectable variant options for your product. To add a new variant option, click the Add Item Row button.
- SKU - If you entered a SKU for the parent product, you have the option of appending this SKU to the parent SKU when creating variant combinations.
- Name/Title - This is the name associated with this variant option, as it will appear on the product page.
- Price Mod - The dollar amount entered here will be automatically added to the parent product's price when this option is selected. The value will included in the price of the variant combinations created, which can be changed at any time.
- Weight Mod - If there is an additional weight associated with this variant, enter that here to have it automatically added to the parent product's weight in associated variant combinations.
- Status - Inactive variation items will not appear on the product page in your Store.
- Del - Click the delete icon to remove the variation item.
Combinations
Once you've created your product variation options, those variant options are then used to create combinations. Combinations are created by mixing and matching all possible variant options that your customers are able to select, allowing you to manage pricing, images, descriptions, etc. unique to any options that a customer might choose.
To create new combinations, click the Create Combinations button.
A chart will display with a row for each possible combination that can be created. Please note the two check boxes above. If you have title's and SKUs in place on the parent product and created SKUs and titles when creating your variation options, check these boxes to automatically merge the two fields together. Regardless, this can be edited further after the combinations have been created.
Check the box associated with each combination you wish to create. To easily select all possible combinations at once, check the box in the upper-left corner of the chart in the header row.
Once your selections have been made, click Save.
Your combinations have now been created. The new window that appears allows you to quickly edit the title and SKU values for each combination. If you choose to edit these values at this time, click the Save button once complete.
Your existing combinations will then appear in the chart below. To edit the product details specific to any of your variant combinations, click the product title.
Product images are used for a variety of purposes in your Store and on your product pages. Every product has a thumbnail image, a small preview image, a larger image that appears on the product page, and an expanded image view when that image is clicked on.
Image types
An image set for each product contains four image types, which are usually just size variations of the same image but can include up to four unique images depending upon your preference. A product can have multiple image sets.
Each set of image you upload can include up to four images:
- Tiny - The tiny image is used on the product page for navigation purposes. These tiny images appear below the default product page image and are used by the customer to easily preview and select images to view.
- Thumbnail - Thumbnail images are used on departments pages prior to the customer arriving on the product page. This is also the image that will be used if this product is assigned as a related product on another product's page. These image will not be used for additional image sets, only for the default set.
- Default - This is the image that is used on the product page next to the description. Clicking on the default image on the product page will open the large image.
- Large - This is the largest available image. It loads on the product page when a customer clicks on the default image for a larger view.
To upload an image or a set of images, you must first choose from two options:
- Upload Image Set - This button allows you to upload a single image which will be automatically be copied and resized to create images to fit the default sizes in the product set.
- Upload Image - This button allows you to upload a single image for a single image type. Images will not be forced to resize unless that option is selected.
Upload Image Set
To upload an image set, browse to find the image stored locally on your computer. Images created will automatically be re-sized to fit each image type.
Once your image set has been created it will be added to your Process File que below.
Upload Image
To upload a single image file size in an image set, click the Upload Image button.
The first step is to select whether this image will be the default product image set that is used for thumbnails and loads by default when your product page loads or an additional product image set.
Image Set Options
This table serves two purposes, it allows you to upload new image and it allows you to review and delete any images which have already been uploaded.
Image set columns include:
- Type - This is the label associated with each image size and refers to how it is used on your product page. The sizes listed in pixels are the default sizes for those image types and are the sizes that your images will be re-sized to meet if you select that option in the final column.
- Width x Height - Once your image has been uploaded, the actual size of the image will be displayed in this column.
- File - Click browse to upload a new image from your computer. If you have already uploaded an image for this image type, the file name that you have uploaded will display here.
- Title - Each image can be assigned a title for your own reference.
- Resize/Del - When uploading a new image, check this box to have the image resized to match the default image size listed in the Type column. After you image has been uploaded, you can remove the existing image by click the red X that appears in this column.
Once you've completed your image uploads, click Save to add the image set to the Process File.
Process Files
Before your image sets will publish to your site, you must first process the files you just uploaded. To do so, first assign a title to your image set, then select whether that set is the default set or an additional set, and finally click process to add them to your processed image set below.
After your image sets have been published they will be made visible on your Store. Using the icon in the far-right column to preview, edit, or delete your images.
To attach additional product data, including but not exclusive to PDF documents and product demonstration videos, click the "Upload Media File" button to upload the file from your computer. Most file types are accepted.
Once your media file or files have been uploaded, first assign titles for each media file, then select from the media type options, and finally click Process Files.
Once your files have been processed, they should appear on your product page. Media files can be further edited after they have been uploaded.
Your Uploaded Media files will be displayed with the following fields:
- File Name - This is the existing file name attached to the media file you uploaded. It cannot be changed after the upload has been completed.
- Title - The title is what displays on the product page next to the media icon.
- Type - The file type is automatically selected upon uploading a file to identify the type of file..
- Category - This is the general file category that was selected upon uploading the file. The media label on the product page will display according to the category selected.
- Tags - These are keywords that can be attached to the product and
- Hits - Each time a customer downloads or views your media, it is added here as a "hit".
When editing a media file you have a few additional fields, including:
- MIME Type - This a more advanced free-form entry of the media type. It should only be used if the type is not being correctly identified and the media file will not display on your product page.
- Description - This is an upcoming feature of the media upload. Descriptions will not appear on your product page at this time.
Important note: Your product must have an established connection to your Store at all times. If you are not yet ready to place your product in your Store's department hierarchy, DO NOT remove the existing floating connection. The floating connection maintains the relationship between your product and your Store until the product has been placed in a department. Removing the floating connection will disrupt that connection and may cause your product to be lost.
Catalog Hierarchy
This section allows you to place your product somewhere in your Store in relation to the existing department hierarchy.
Upon initial setup, your product will be related to the "Floating" department, which means that your product is active but will not appear anywhere on your Store. When you are ready to make your product accessible to your customers, you will need to place it in a department somewhere within your Store department hierarchy.
To place your product on an existing department page, click to expand arrow next to your company name. Click the expand arrow next to Hierarchy to view all the top-level departments in your Store.
Some of your departments may be labeled with a yellow icon while some may have a white icon. The departments with yellow icons are currently active and can be accessed by your customers through your Store. To view additional layers of departments, click on the expand arrow that appears next to departments that contain sub-departments.
Once you've located the department in which you want your custom product to live, double click the department name to add it to your Connections list below.
Connections
Once you've established the relationship to the Store department where your new product will live, you can manage that connection here.
The Active check box allows you to decide whether the product will appear on your site or not. To automatically make your product activate and/or deactivate on specified dates, click the fields under Start Date and End Date to open the calendar and determine your schedule.
If you would like to remove a connection completely, click the red X located in the Remove column.
Related products allows you to feature another product on the product page with a thumbnail image and a link to the product page.
To add a related product, search for the product by title and then click the Relate icon to add a product.
A list of your related products will appear in the table at the bottom of your screen. You change the order in which these products are displayed on the product page by clicking and holding your mouse over the product title, then dragging and dropping to a new position.
Now that you've created and saved your custom RTS Product, you can always navigate back to it to make more adjustments by hovering over Products and then click on the Your RTS Products option. If you do have any questions about this process, you can always email your questions to VCGSupport@VCGCorporate.com or give us a call at (800) 558-3054.
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