product categories/types/option help?

[mzimmers]

Hi -

I'm getting ready to start organizing product definitions within ZC. I've read a few of the threads and tutorials, but have some questions:

Everything on my site will fall into one of two categories (glass and jewelry). Within each category, there will be a further breakdown (in glass, it might be vase, plate, glassware, etc. and in jewelry, it might be brooch, necklace, ring, etc.) Is this the correct use of subcategories?

From my understanding of types, I believe that everything we offer will be of the same type. Any disagreement on this?

Now, for the tricky part. We would like to be able to offer additional information for the products, such as color, designer, and the like. What would be ideal is if customers could search based on this criteria. Would this be a good application of readonly options, or is there a better way to implement this?

Thanks.

[stevesh]

That's exactly the way to organize your categories, subcategories and products. Remember that a category (or subcategory) can contain products or subcategories, but not both.

Most sites use just one product type. Unless you have special circumstances that require using a different product type, the default one will be fine.

You could enter the extra information into the product description, which will show in search results.

[mzimmers]

Thanks, Steve. Somehow, it "feels" better to add attributes to the products for color, etc. Does this entail a lot more work? I'm thinking ahead to an advanced search that might be able to search based on these criteria. Plus, I think this would add a bit of structure to the site.

What, if any, is the preferred mechanism for doing this?

[mzimmers]

OK, so was this a really bad idea on my part? Am I inviting trouble, or making things too complicated?

It seems like every product we're going to list will have a few attributes:

- color
- designer
- condition
- place of origin

plus a description and a weight, which I understand are already covered. Isn't there some way to add fields to the product record for these details, or am I barking up the wrong tree?

Thanks for any clarification.

mz

[stevesh]

I think you might be overthinking this. Those things you listed may or may not be configured as attributes. Attributes are options the customer uses to buy exactly what he wants. If I can buy the product in one of three different colors, that's an attribute. If I can buy the same item in 'new' or 'used' condition, that's an attribute.

I assume the designer would be the same for a particular item across the board, so that wouldn't be an attribute, nor would place of origin, unless you have the same widget made in two different places.

Information about a product (designer, place of origin) would most likely be part of the product description. No extra field required.

You might install Zencart to a test site with the demo products to see how attributes are handled. At first glance, the Attributes Controller is bewildering, but once you get into it, it isn't bad, and there's a pretty good tutorial.

[mzimmers]

I think you might be overthinking this.

Quite possibly; that is a specialty of mine.

Those things you listed may or may not be configured as attributes. Attributes are options the customer uses to buy exactly what he wants. If I can buy the product in one of three different colors, that's an attribute. If I can buy the same item in 'new' or 'used' condition, that's an attribute.

OK, then, attributes are definitely not what I want here.

Information about a product (designer, place of origin) would most likely be part of the product description. No extra field required.

Here's an example of what I was hoping for (I have no idea if this was implemented in ZC):

http://www.jrcigars.com/index.cfm?pa...earch_advanced

See how the user can specify product characteristics in the search? That's what I was hoping for. It's a bit more "focused" than a keyword search. Is this not readily done within ZC?

Thanks.

[mzimmers]

Any suggestions, anyone? Is this really that bad an idea?

[stevesh]

It's a great idea, but one that will require no small amout of custom coding, I'm afraid.

[mzimmers]

OK, then, I'll shelve that idea. It looks like I could use the manufacturer ID for the designer. I think it's just one change in product_info.php.

Can you foresee any problem with doing this?

Thanks.

[schoolboy]

Using "manufacturers" as a mechanism to inter-relate products that are specific to a key group (such as a designer) is a good idea, and usually requires a change of the LABEL (define statement in language files) from "manufacturer" to "designer".

Such a LABEL change is necessary only in the "catalog" side of the installation (that part of the site seen by your shoppers).

I use it in a number of instances:

1. A website selling art prints by various artists, where I have changed the label to "Artists"

2. A website selling football shirts where I have changed the label to "Football Teams"

To find instances of "Manufacturer" in the Define Statements, use the following tool:

admin >>> tools >>> Developer Tool Kit

... where your search will be in the Language Files, for the text string Manufacturers

The statements that will need editing will be things like:

define('TABLE_HEADING_MANUFACTURER', 'Manufacturer'); 

Which you will edit to read:

define('TABLE_HEADING_MANUFACTURER', 'Designer'); 

You will NOT change:
TABLE_HEADING_MANUFACTURER

That is an UPPERCASE CONSTANT that refers the content of the define to other php files and to the database (where necessary).