best practices for product catalog...

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BestPracticesforProductCatalogManagementFollowthesetipstoensurethat:

• Yourproductcatalogremainseasytomanageandmanipulateovertime• Youcanpullaccuratereportsfromthesystem• Yourcustomers(andGoogle!)canfindwhattheyarelookingforinyouronlinestore

Inthisdocumentwewilldiscuss:1. ProductStatusvs.ProductVisibility2. 301redirectsofdiscontinueditems3. Makingnewproductsinsteadofre-usingoldones4. The“HideInactive”Booleanoption5. The“ProductStatusSort”Booleanoption6. The“ShowEmptyCategories”BooleanOption7. Archivingorders8. Markingordersasshipped(andpickedup)–it’simportanttodothis!9. ProperuseofaWYSIWYGeditor10. BestImageFileNamingProtocols11. Don’tshowmorethan20itemsonanOMSlistpage12. TheFourGoldenRules

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1.ProductStatusvsProductVisibilityProductStatusisaboutwhetheraproductisavailableforsale,regardlessofwhocanseeitonline,whocanbuyit,andwhatpricetheyget.

ProductswithanystatusotherthanDiscontinued,showupinyouronlinestore.TheDiscontinuedstatusremovesaproductfromtheonlinestoreandyourinternalorderingsystem.

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ProductVisibilityisaboutwhocanseetheproductonline,andwhetheritcanevenbeseenbyyouintheOMSwhereyoumightbeplacingphoneorders.ProductVisibilityworksasyousetit,regardlessofproductstatus,exceptifproductstatusisDiscontinued,whichtrumpsstatus.

KnowingwhentomodifyProductStatusvsProductVisibilitycanmakeallthedifferenceintheworldbetweenanorderlyproductcatalogthatiseasytouse,andwadingthroughamesseverytimeyouwanttofindsomethingormakeachange.Thisisimportantstuff!RemovingProductsfromtheOnlineStore(s)–thisiscritical:ThereisonlyonecircumstanceinwhichyouwoulduseProductVISIBILITYtoremovesomethingfromyouronlinestore–ifyouwanttoremoveitfromtheonlinestorebutyoustillwantittobeavailableinyourOMSinternalorderingsystemsothatyoucanplaceordersforit(eventhoughyourcustomerscan’tseeorbuyitonline)–inthiscaseyouwouldleavetheproductSTATUSas“Normal”,andsetVISIBILITYto“Internal”.Inallothercases,toremoveaproductfromyouronlinestore,youwouldsettheProductStatustoDiscontinuedandnotchangevisibilitybecauseitbecomesirrelevant.So,ifyourunoutofaproduct,orchoosenottosellwhateverremains,andyouneitherwantyourcustomerstobeabletoorderitintheonlinestore,ANDyouwillnotbeplacinganyordersforitinyourOMS,thensettheProductStatustoDiscontinuedanddon’tmakeanychangestotheproduct’svisibilitysetting.Ifyoudonotfollowthisrule,andyouusevisibilityinsteadofstatustoremoveproductsfromyouronlinestore,yourinternalorderingsystemwillquicklybecomeunmanageable.

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2.RedirectsofDiscontinuedProductsandCategories(301redirects)IfyourelyatallonSEOandorganicsearchresultstodrivetraffictoyourstore,orevenifyouarenotreliantonSEO,butwantyourcustomerstoeasilyfindwhattheyarelookingfor,thenyoushouldsetup301redirectsonyourproductsastheyarediscontinuedtotakethecustomerwhereyou’dlikethemtogointheeventtheyarelookingforthediscontinuedproduct–forexampletothenewandimprovedmodeloftheitemthat’sbeendiscontinued,orthenextvintageofawine.RememberthatGoogleknowsthatpageaddress,andyourcustomersmayhaveitbookmarked.Whenyouremoveapagefromtheweb,searchenginesneedtofigureoutwhethertokeeptheoldpage,orreplaceitwiththeonefoundatthenewlocation.It’sabetterexperienceallaroundif,whenyouremovethatpagefromtheweb,youredirectGoogleandyourcustomerstowhatevertheyshouldbelookingatinthatpage’sstead,insteadofallowingthemtosimplylandonadeadpageandthinkthatyouleftthewebentirely.A301redirectmeansthatthepagehaspermanentlymovedtoanewlocation.A302redirectmeansthatthemoveisonlytemporary,andthisisalsopossibleinthisareaoftheOMS,shouldtheneedarise.IntheNexternalOMS,it’ssupersimpletocreatea301redirectonanyproductorcategory–onthesecondpageofeachproduct(andontheproductimport),aswellasonthefirstpageofeachCategory(andthecategoryimport),youhavetheabilitytocreatea301redirectforthatpageatanytime.Simplyselect301redirectasshownbelow,andentertheURLofthepageonwhichyouwantfolkstolandwhentheysearchforthediscontinuedpage.

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3.CreateNewProducts–Don’tRe-useOldProductsIt’stemptingwhenyourunthesameSummerSpecialeachyear,forexample,tore-activatetheproductinyourOMSthatyouusedforthesamepromo,andtweakitjustabit.Butwhilethisseemsliketheeasiestpath,itcouldhaveanegativeeffectonyourreporting.Werecommendthateachtimeyouneedaproduct,youcreateanewone,andnotre-useanoldone.Rememberthatyoucanalwaysmakeacopyofanexistingproductbypressingthegreencopyiconnexttotheeditpencil,andyoucantweakfromthere.4.The“HideInactive”BooleanOption(Settings/BooleanOptions)Turningonthe“HideInactive”Booleanoptionishighlyrecommended.ItmakesCanceled/Discontinued/InactiveOrders,Categories,Products,Vendors,Customers,Coupons,GiftCertificates,Affiliates,andUsersdisappearfromyourOMSscreens,andonmostlistsonOMSdetailscreens(e.g.ProductSales,ProductsinCategory).Whenhidden,thedataisn’tdeletedfromthesystem,sosearchresultswillstillincludetheseitems,andyoucanalwaysturnoffthisBooleanoptiontemporarilyifyouwanttoseeallofthedata.Butkeepingitonmakesyourproductcatalogmucheasiertouseonaday-to-daybasis,especiallyastimegoesonandyouhavemoreandmoredatainyourdatabase.5.The“ProductStatusSort”Booleanoption(Settings/BooleanOptions)TheProductStatusSortBooleanOptioncontrolswhetherornotin-stockproductsarealwaysdisplayedonthestorepageaboveout-of-stockproductswhendefaultsortingisusedintheOnlineStore.Usingthisoptionensuresthattheproductsthatareavailableforimmediatepurchasearealwaystheonesthatyourcustomersseefirst.Iftheoptionison,ProductStatustakesprecedenceinadefaultsort(i.e.whenyoudon’tselectanyspecificsortorder).ProductswithNormalstatusaredisplayedfirst,followedbyPreordered,Backordered,andfinallySoldOut.OnlyaftersortingbyProductStatusdoestheordersetonthecategorylevel,theProductName,and/ortheKeywordMatchscore(inthecaseofaKeywordSearch)becomerelevant.Iftheoptionisoff,ProductStatusisnotconsideredduringsorting.Note:ThisoptiondoesnotapplywhenyouselectaspecificsortorderasmadeavailableviatheSortByOptions(Settings/SiteOptions/SortByOptionsintheOMS).6.The“ShowEmptyCategories”BooleanOption–pro’sandcon’sTheShowEmptyCategoriesBooleanOptioncontrolswhetheracategoryisvisibleinyourOnlineStorewhenitcontainsnovisibleproducts.Ifthisoptionison,allcategoriesappear,providedthattheyhaveanappropriateVisibilityvalue;ifthisoptionisoff,emptycategoriesdonotappear.

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Tip:NexternalrecommendsthatmostclientskeepthisturnedOFF,andturningthisoptionononlyifyouofferalargenumberofcategories(i.e.500+)and/oradeepcategoryhierarchy(i.e.4+levels).Keepingitoffallowssignificantlyfastercategorynavigationinyouronlinestore.7.ArchivingOrdersAstimegoesonandyouhavemoreandmoreordersinyourdatabase,considerarchivingolderorderstotakethemoutofview.Archivingdoesnotdeletetheordersandyoucanalwaysunarchivethemifyouneedtolookbackintime.Simplyclickthearchivebuttonintheorderssection:

Thenselectthearchivestrategyyou’dliketofollowandhitexecute:

ArchivingordersremovesthemfromtheOrderListscreenintheOrderManagementSystem.ArchivedorderswillnotbefoundviaanOrderorLineItemSearch,andcannotbeedited.Archivingisbestusedonoldordersthatnolongerneedtobereferenced,thusreducingclutter,improvingperformance,andpreventingaccidentaledits.Archivingordersdoesnotremovethemfromreports,exports,anddashboards,andarchivingalsodoesnotremovethemfromdetailscreensthatlistorders,suchastheCustomerDetailscreen.Youmayalsochoosetoschedulearchivingforordersthatagepastascheduledcriteria.Ifinuse,thescheduledarchivingtakesplaceat1:30AMPacificTime,daily.Notes:OnlyorderswithastatusofShipped,PickedUp,Sent,orCanceledmaybearchived.Outstandingordersmaynotbearchived.ArchivedordersaretakenintoaccountwhenperforminganOrderHistorySearch.

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8.Markingordersasshipped(andpickedup)–it’simportanttodothis!RegardlessofwhetheryouareshippingyourordersfromwithinNexternalorfromanothersystem,itisimportanttoupdatethembymarkingthemasshippedwhentheyareinfactshipped.Notonlyisthisimportantfromahousekeepingstandpointsothatyourorderrecordsmatchyourbookkeepingrecords,itisalsoimperativebecausewhenyourcustomerslogintotheironlineaccountstheycanseetheseordersalongwiththeunshippedorshippedstatus.Leavingshippedordersinunshippedstatusnotonlymayconfuseyourcustomers,butitalsomayreflectpoorlyonyouforappearingnottobeontopofyourbusiness.IfyouareshippingfromwithinNexternal,orderstatusupdates(fromunshippedtoshipped)happenautomaticallywhenyoucreatetheshippinglabel.IfyouareusingaPointofSalesystemthatisintegratedwithNexternal,markingordersasshippedmightbeautomated(forexamplewiththeMicroworksPOSintegration),butwithothersitmaynotbe(forexampletheViNOWPOSintegration),andyouwillneedtodoitmanually,eitherorderbyorderorwithaspreadsheetupload.IfyouareusingoneoftheTrueCommerceConnectEDIintegrationswithoneofseveralERPsystems,orifyouareusingadirectintegrationwiththeHighJumpWMSsystem,thentheupdateswillbeautomated.9.UsetheWYSIWYGeditorsproperly,oryou’lllikelyencounteroddities.AnotherhandyBooleanoptioniscalled“WYSYWYGEditor”.WYSIWYG(What You See Is What You Get) editorsenableyoutocreatewebpageswithoutknowinganythingabouthtml.Theyturnplaintextintohtml,soyoudon’thaveto.HoweverWYSIWYGeditorsknowhowtodoonlyonething,andonethingonly–theyturnplaintextintohtmlcode.IfyouputanythingbutplaintextintoaWYSIWYGeditor,itwillprettymuchthrowup–anditwillmakeyourcontenthardertomodify,andcouldmakeanunsightlymessofyourwebsiteforsomeofyourcustomersdependinguponthebrowsers,operatingsystemsandrespectiveversionsofeachthattheyareusing.WhenyoucopytextfromaWorddocument,orawebpage,oranemail,oranyotherdigitalsource–youarenotonlycopyingthetextthatyoucansee,youarealsocopyingalloftheinvisibleformattingbehindit.YouCANNOTpastethisdirectlyintoaWYSIWYGeditor,becauseitisnotplaintext.(remember,WYSIWYGeditorsdoonlyonething–turnplaintextintocode.)Soyouwillneedtocleanoutallthatinvisibleformattingandturnwhatyou’vecopiedintoplaintext,beforepastingitintotheWYSIWYGeditor.Thereareseveralwaystodothis,dependinguponyouroperatingsystem,yourbrowser,andrespectiveversionsofthese.OnaMac:IfyouareusingaMac,andareusingeitherChromeorSafari,insteadofdoinga“paste”intotheWYSIWYGeditor,simplydoa“PasteandMatchStyle”underEdit.Thispastesthewordsasplaintext.

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OnaPC:

a. IfyouarecopyingfromWORD–youcanusethe“pastefromword”iconintheWYSIWYGeditor.First,clickontheicon:

Then,pasteintothewindow,andleavealltheCleaningboxescheckedatthebottom.ClickOK.

b.Regardlessofwhereyouarecopyingfrom,whetheritbeWord,awebpage,anemail,oranywhere,youcanfirstpastewhatyou’vecopiedintoNotepadandturnthecopyintoplaintextwithinNotepad,thencopyfromNotepadandpastedirectlyintotheWYSIWYGeditor.

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c.Theremaybeotherprogramsandshortcutsyoucanuse–simplyGoogleit–forexample,“howtopasteplaintextintoFirefox(orIEorChromeorwhatever)onaPC”.

10.BestImageFileNamingProtocols–

• Neverusespacesinimagefilenames,alwaysuseeitherunderscoresordashesbetweenwords.Ifyouusespaces,yourcustomersmaynotseetheimages.

• Werecommendthatyounameyourproductimagessomethingrelatedtotheproduct–

perhapstheproductname–andnotsomerandomdateorotheralphanumericname.Thiswillmakeyourlifemucheasierwhenmanagingtheimagefilesrelatingtoyourproducts.

• Ifyouarecreatingseveraldifferentimagessizesofthesameimage,forexampleforthe

imagegallery,considernamingthemtheexactsamething(nameoftheproduct),andadd_th(forthumbnail)/_mn(formain)/_lg(forlarge),and_mini(forminithumbs),soyoucantellwhatproductandsizetheimageis,justbylookingatthefilename.Againthiswillmakeyourlifemucheasierwhenmanagingtheimagefilesrelatingtoyourproducts.

11.Don’tshowmorethan20itemsonanOMSpageforbestsystemperformance–getusedtosearch!It’stemptingtosetyourOMStoshowasmanylineitemsaspossibleontheorder,product,customerandotherlistpagesintheOMS.However,doingsowillslowdownyourOMSandmakeyoulessefficient.Thedefaultis15itemsperpageandwerecommendyoukeepitat15-20.Trytogetusedtousingthesearchandvarioussortingfeaturesoneachlistpagetofindwhatyouneedinsteadoflisting50itemsperpage(whichisthemax,butwedoNOTrecommendit).

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12.TheFourGoldenRulesWhenworkingintheOMSpleasefollowthesefourgoldenrulestoavoidfrustrationandensurethebestshoppingexperienceforyourcustomers.

• Saveyourworkoften!TheOMSisprogrammedtoautomaticallylogyouout(withouttellingyou)after60minutesofinactivity.Whatinactivitymeansis,60minutesduringwhichyoudon’tclickanyofthenavigationprovidedtoyouintheOMS–whetheritsleftnavigation,topbluebuttons,next,finishorpreviousbuttonsatthebottomofapage,etc.Rememberthatfinishandnextbothmeansave,soclickthesebuttonsregularly.

• Never,everuseyourbrowser’sbackbutton.Ever.Weknowit’stemptingbutcontent

managementsystemsliketheNexternalplatformonlyunderstandthecommandsthatarebuiltintothem–theygetconfusedwithcommandsthataredrivenbyyourbrowser–andcancorruptyourdatabaseifyouuseanycommandsotherthanthosethatarebuiltin.So–justdon’tuseyourbackbutton.J

• ALWAYScheckyourworkintheonlinestoreafteryoumakeeditsintheOMS.Never

assumethatyoudiditright,justbecauseyouknowtheOMS.Alwayscheckthecustomerexperiencebeforeyoufinishyourworksession,toensurethatyourcustomersdon’tfindyourmistakesforyou!

• Refreshyourpageandclearyourcachebeforeviewingedits.Inotherwords,ifyou

makeaneditintheOMS,youneedtobesureyouarenotlookingatacachedpageoftheonlinestorewhencheckingit,becauseifyouare,youwon’tseeyouredits.

AftermakingOMSedits,whencheckingthoseeditsinyouronlinestorepagesyoucanfirsttrytorefreshyourpagebyusingtherefreshfunctionintheURLbarofyourbrowser.Ifthatdoesn’tmakeyoureditsappearthenyou’llneedtoclearyourcache.Therearethreewaystoclearyourcache:a) YoucannavigatetotheLayoutorSettingssectionsinyourOMS,andclickViewLive

Layoutintheupperrightcorner.Thelinkstherehavesomecodebuiltintothemwhichclearyourcacheastheytakeyoutothedestinationpage.

b) Youcanadd?Reset=truetotheendoftheURLofthepageyouwanttosee(no

spaces),andhitenter.Thiscodesnippet,whenattachedtoanyNexternalURL,willclearthecachewhiletakingyoutothedestinationpage.

c) Youcanclearyourcacheinyourbrowserusingthedirectionsforthatparticular

browser.Ifyoudon’tknowhowtodothat,youcanGoogleit.

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