The expanded catalogue requires a clear division and comparable information. The e-shop design is worth starting with how customers choose products instead of copying the structure of the internal warehouse.
Category to match the search method
Names used in a warehouse or storage system are not always understandable to the buyer. Collect examples of customer questions and check if you can find the right department on the basis of them. Sometimes the recipient knows the product type and sometimes only the application he needs it for.
For a commercial company from Krakow preparing Polish sales, it is also an opportunity to explain the language used so far mainly in talks with regular customers. The store should support the person who gets to know the offer for the first time and is not next to the seller.
Filters require structured data
The filter will not help if the same parameter is saved in several versions or missing from some products. Before designing, set common units, names and rules for value replenishment. Separate product characteristics from the variants that the customer actually chooses before purchasing.
For example, in a shop with garden equipment, the use of outdoors can describe the purpose and size is a variant of a particular model. The placement of both information in random fields will make it difficult to compare and maintain the catalogue further.
Check for difficult search results
The project should include not only a full list of attractive products. See also a view without results, one matching position and a large number of similar models. Does the recipient understand how to remove the filter and return to a wider offer?
Prepare a few tasks:
- find a product for a specific application without knowing the model;
- compare two positions according to the same parameters;
- search for the name used by customers;
- check what to do after receiving an empty result;
- go back from the product card to your choice.
Establish rules for new products
Once the catalog is started, it will change. The person adding the assortment needs instructions: to which category assign the product, what parameters to complete and when not create another section. Without these rules even an orderly design can gradually become inconsistent.
Related issues describe testing of the store design on real products i organisation of data in e-commerce.
