Manually adding a product to CommerceTools
- Log into CommerceTools and select your project from the dropdown menu at the top of the screen
2. Select the product menu from the options on the left menu of the screen
As each business often has some minor variations on how products are presented - its useful to open a second tab and repeat the above steps so that you can compare your work with a previously set up and working product.
3. On the top right of your product screen - click on the + Add product button
4. Select the Product Type from the available list that corresponds with the product you wish to create.
Click Next
5. Complete the General information relating to your new product.
Again, it is worthwhile reviewing the second tab with your previously created product
For Product categories, click on the +add categories button and choose the categories relating to the product
When satisfied, click on the Next button at the bottom of the screen
6. Click on the option to Add variant
7. Populate the attribute set relating to the product
Again review the product you have open in the other tab to ensure consistency
When complete, click on the save option on the bottom right of the screen
8. Add in the search information associated with the product
Click Save
9. When complete, you will see the product screen for that particular product. It does not have images or a channel associated with it yet.
It is also in an unpublished state ( you see this from the top right of the screen)
10. Click into the product and you will see tabs for:
General & Attributes - the general information in relation to that product and its associated attributes
Images - Where you can upload images for the product
Prices - Not relevant unless the project feeds an ecommerce store in Drupal
Inventory - the channel and stock level for the product
We need to add at least one image for the product under the Images tab
We need to add a channel and stock level under the inventory tab
11. On the add a new image screen, navigate to where you store the product images on your computer and select an image using the choose file button>
When you have selected the image click the Upload button
For images being used on the PLP the image must contain --card in the image name, and for images on the hero section of the PDP it must have --hero in the name.
Click on the <To variant List button on the top of the screen to navigate back to the product tab screen
12. Click on the Inventory tab, then Add an inventory
From the channel dropdown menu - choose the channel that you want to add the product to.
Channels are based on language/region or in some cases by brand.
If unsure which applies to your project please reach out to the digital team.
Under quantity - please add an number that you wish. This tells CommerceTools that the product is available and it will allow the product to show on the website.
If your channel is associated with an ecommerce site, this value may be fed by another system (eg System21)
When complete click Save.
To return to the previous screen click on the <To variant list link at the top of the screen
13. The final step is to publish the product.
To publish the product, click on the dropdown at the top right of the screen and select Publish
When you have done this step, the product should be available to view on the website within a few minutes
TROUBLESHOOTING
If you are not seeing your product on the website, the following are some steps you should go through to -
1. Check that the product is published. Unpublished products do not show up on the website.
If not published you can click into the product and publish it.
2. If you have had to click into a product in order to update it, check again check the publish status. A published product that has had some changes, will have the status of Modified. A modifed product must again be published in order to show your changes on the website.
3. If the product is published and not showing - check that the product has both a channel and a stock quantity associated with it. If the product is available through multiple channels ( such as two regions eg France and Germany) - it must have both channels assigned to it, and a stock value added for each channel.
4. Images not showing in your desired location - ensure that you have followed the image naming convention and that the file names do not have spaces, or are unreasonably long.
5. Attributes do not match other products of the same product type. In this instance it is important to compare the newly added product with an existing live product. There can be minor variations in how particular products or product types are created by individual businesses. The best option again is to open a second CommerceTools tab/window and compare the new product in CommerceTools to a product that is showing as desired on the website.