Introduction

This tutorial will explain the purpose of the attribute feature, why you may want to use it, and take you step by step through the process of setting up and assigning attributes to your product records. It is important to note that use of the attribute feature is completely optional. You are not required to setup or use attributes. You should also note that the attribute feature is available only for merchants with the full cart (Toolkit) account.  

Do I Need Attributes?
Only you can determine whether or not this feature is one that will be useful for your particular products or services. If you offer products that come in different sizes, colors, or flavors, or, if you sell products with extra options, then you may want to consider using the Attribute feature. The image below illustrates the purpose and use of attributes, and how they are displayed for your customers when they select an item with assigned attributes.

Attribute Display Online
Intro 1 - Fig. 1

Why Use Attributes?
In order to setup the display in the image above, three attribute groups were created, each with four options. One product record was created and entered into the database. That's it. However, in order to offer all of the various options of the product without using the attribute feature, over 380 individual product records would need to be entered into the database. Over 380 Add to Cart links would need to be added to the web page, one for each product record. Worst of all, the customer would need to browse through over 380 items on your web page to find the exact product with the exact combination of options that they want to order.

In short, attributes can be a convenience for both you and your customers. Again, whether this convenience applies to your products or not is something only you can determine.

|  Introduction  |
|  Setup Attributes  |   Edit Attribute Mode  |
|  Add Attribute to New Product Record   |   Edit/Delete Attribute  |
|  Add/Edit Attribute on Existing Product Record   |