We last discussed a few issues around being prepared to embark on an eCommerce project. Today We will look at a basic checklist for organising your product inventory.

Being organised before you begin not only simplifies the entire project, but can ultimately save you time and money – and your ecommerce website developer will love you for it!

Right.. Let’s get organised..

Product Categories

Determine how many product categories you are going to need and which categories your products will appear in.

You will need to name your product categories, prepare a description of 160 – 200 words to introduce the products in for each category and create an image to visually describe the category. Finally, choose 10 to 50 keyword phrases which relate to your product category.

Checklist for each Product Category:

• Category Name
• Category Description
• Category Image
• Keywords associated with Product Category

Product Details

Product Attributes & Variations

Product Attributes are the configurable characteristics of your product or its components. For example, you sell a product in three colors. As part of creating this product, you would define an attribute called ‘Color’ and assign it the three colors. Other common products attributes or variations include ‘size’, ‘colour’, ‘gem type’, ‘materials’, ‘weight’ and so on..

What attributes, variations or options are relevant to your products?

Product Descriptions

For each product, you will need a Short description (one sentence) and a Long description (paragraph or more).

You want to attract and intrigue potential shoppers so be sure to use interesting copy that is full of adjectives and possibly a bullet list of features in the long description.

Product Images

You will need product images to sell you products. Ideally we recommend a professional photographer. It is essential that your photos be of high quality. In some cases you may be able to get them from the manufacturer. Poor quality photos can look unprofessional and may create a barrier to selling your products.

(Ideally product images should be no less than 640 pixels at the longest edge).

Checklist for Product Details:

• Product Name
• Short Description
• Long Description
• SKU or product #
• Shipping Weight
• Price
• Product Image(s)
• Keywords associated with product
• Attributes / Options: (colour / size etc.)
• Category(s)
• (optional) Related Products