[intro]Before you begin this guide, you should understand how to use the EKM Edit Product window, bulk add Product Images, Product Variants, Attributes and have generated a template Product and a spreadsheet from your EKM online shop to work with. When you have completed this guide, you will have populated your spreadsheet with new Products and Product Variants which can then be uploaded onto your EKM online shop.[/intro] 

[caution]If the Products you want to add to your EKM online shop have Variants but you want to export these Products to an eBay store in the future, please use this guide as Products with Variants cannot be exported to eBay and must be listed as individual Products on the EKM platform.[/caution]

Populating your EKM Spreadsheet

Don’t worry too much if you’ve not used spreadsheets before; you don’t need to know any complicated formulas to complete this task. To populate your spreadsheet, you just need to how to paste data into the different columns and rows. ‘Rows’ refers to the horizontal lines across the spreadsheet, whilst ‘columns’ are the vertical versions. ‘Cells’ are the individual boxes within columns and rows.

Looking at the spreadsheet you have just downloaded from your EKM online shop, you need to delete the details of all other Products apart from your template Product and its Variants. This is so that you can use it as an example when populating the spreadsheet with the rest of new Products.

Bear in mind that the format of existing Products and new Products to the system does have some differences, but the format of the data within the cells is exactly the same. When we have finished adding the new Products with Variants to the spreadsheet, we simply delete the row containing the template Product and its Variants before saving the spreadsheet.

Action
In this column, you need to add Add Product for the entire product, and then for every different size or colour variation of this product, you need to populate the cells below with Add Product Variant. For example, for a t-shirt available in three sizes, you need to have one Add Product and beneath that, three Add Product Variant cells. For a t-shirt that is available in three sizes and three colours, you need one Add Product and beneath that, nine Add Product Variant cells - (3x3=9) - one for each possible variation of the colour and size.

[remember]Throughout this guide, if a column header has an asterisk * next to it, this means that you only need to populate the Add Product row for your Product. No asterisk means you have to populate both the Add Product and the Add Product Variant rows of your spreadsheet.[/remember] 

CategoryPath
The CategoryPath signifies which category the product ‘lives in’ on your website. When you are adding your new products to your spreadsheet, you need to add in which Category you want the Product to display in using this format:

Home > Category Name > Sub Category Name

If the Category or Subcategory does not exist on the site already and you reference it within this column, when you upload the spreadsheet the system will automatically create this Category and assign the Product to it for you.

ID
For the purpose of adding new Products to your EKM online shop, this column needs to remain empty. When new Products are added to your EKM online shop, the system will automatically generate an ID for each one. If you were editing existing Products via a spreadsheet, this column would be populated with all of the ID numbers of the Products and their Variants.

Name
In this column, paste in the names of your new products. The product name for the Add Product row needs to be identical for the Add Product Variant rows for that specific product.

Code
You would need to populate the Product Code for the Add Product Row (this would be the Product code for your Default Variant) and for each individual Product Variant, according to the data on your supplier’s spreadsheet.

You'll notice in this column that one of the codes - MUSLAR001- has been duplicated. This is because that is the code for the Default Variant on this example spreadsheet.
Description*
In this column, paste in the Description for your Product. If you are copying the Product Description from elsewhere, such as a Microsoft Word document or a website, ensure that you paste it into the NotePad application first (if you’re using a PC, run a search for Notepad, however, if you are on a Mac use TextEditor) and then copy the text from that onto your spreadsheet.

Using this method ensures that any code used to format the text elsewhere or third party coding is not carried onto your website, so you will not encounter any issues such as bullet points that don’t line up properly and text in different sizes and colours throughout the paragraphs.
The Description only needs to be populated on the Add Product row; leave it empty for the Add Product Variant rows.

Brand*
This cell should include the name of the Product’s Brand. It only needs populating for the Add Product row, and not the Add Product Variant rows.

Price
Paste your Product Prices into this column, removing any currency signs such as £ or $.

RRP
This is the Recommended Retail Prices for your Product and its Variants. If you have enabled RRP within the Product Attributes feature on the Features tab, you need to populate the rows within this column - if not, simply leave them blank.

Image1-5
In this column, the main image for the product is Image1, whilst columns Image2, Image3, Image4 and Image5 are for additional product images. When you have bulk uploaded images to the File Manager each Product Image will have an address. In each cell, the link to each image must be laid out in this format:

/ekmps/shops/[Account ID]/resources/products/[Image Name]

To populate this cell, open your File Manager and locate the Product Image you want to add to your Product:

Right-click the Image Name beneath the thumbnail and select copy:

This will copy the address to your clipboard. You can then paste this directly into the Image columns of your spreadsheet:

MetaTitle, MetaDescription, MetaKeywords*
You only need to complete these cells if you have specific data for them. If not, and you have the Custom Meta Data feature added on the Features tab of your EKM online shop, the system will automatically determine this data for you, using the Product Name and Product Description. If you wish to complete it yourself, it only needs populating for the Add Product row, and not the Add Product Variant rows for MetaTitle, MetaDescription and MetaKeywords.

Stock
If you have turned on the Stock Control functionality, this is where you would enter the stock levels for each of the different Product Variants. However, if you are not using Stock Control, you just need to enter 1 in this column for the Add Product row and the Add Product Variant rows.

Weight
In this column, you would add the Weights of your Product and Product Variants. Weights need to be added in kilos, so 1 kilo would be 1, 750 grams would be entered as 0.75 and 75 grams would be 0.075. Adding Weights to your Products at this stage makes it a lot easier to set up Weight Based Delivery Methods later on.

TaxRateID
For all the cells in this column, you need to ensure that they are populated with the right single digit number to signify their tax rate. It is usually 1, but if you have any doubts, check the Tax Settings page on your EKM online shop.

Condition
If you have ticked the box within the Product Attributes feature to assign Product Condition to your Products, you need to complete this field with either NotApplicable, New, Used or Refurbished. Bear in mind that you cannot assign Condition to a Product with Variants, as the system presumes that a Product with Variants is brand new, so add NotApplicable - if you have a Product Variant which was not brand new, you would need to list this as a single Product in its own right.

SpecialOffer*
This refers to whether the Product is a Featured Product or not. It only needs populating for the Add Product row, and not the Add Product Variant rows. If you do not wish to display Featured Products on the homepage of your EKM online shop, simply populate the Add Product row with No instead. This only needs completing for the Add Product Rows, not the Add Product Variant Rows.

OrderLocation*
This is for your own use and pertains to the order which you would like to see Products ordered on the Category Page of their Master Category. '99999' is the default number, but you can set them to display in a specific order, where '1000' is the first position on the Category Page, and '1001' being the second, and so on. Numbers below 1000 will be ignored and not have any effect. This only needs populating for the Add Product row, and not the Add Product Variant rows.

Order Note
This area needs populating usually if the Product requires some kind of special mention, such as ‘This Product is delivered on a pallet, please ensure you have the space allocated to receive this delivery’. If your Products do not require any specific instructions, simply leave this column blank.

Hidden*
Add No to this column to ensure that all of the Products that you upload via this spreadsheet are displayed on the front end when they have been imported into your EKM online shop. Adding Yes to the Add Product row of this column means the Product will be uploaded, but it will be hidden from your customers. It only needs populating for the Add Product row, and not the Add Product Variant rows.

Related Products
For the task of adding new Products to your EKM online shop, this column should remain empty. However, for future use, the Add Product row is populated with the ID of any Related Products. You can read more about editing Products using spreadsheets and the Import/Export System here.

CanBeAddedToCart*
Add TRUE to the Add Product cells in this column to ensure that every product that you upload has a visible Add To Cart button. Adding FALSE to the Add Product Row to this column means that the Product will be uploaded and will be visible, however, it will not have an Add To Cart button to allow customers to purchase it. This only needs populating for the Add Product row, and not the Add Product Variant rows.

VariantNames
In this cell, you need to add the name of the Variant. If the Variant is Size, simply add the word Size. However, if there are two Variants - Colour and Size - this would need to be added as Colour:Size.

VariantItem1, VariantItem2, VariantItem3, VariantItem4, VariantItem5
When you have populated the VariantNames column, you then need to populate the Add Product Variant rows of these columns with each of the possible choices, as shown in the image. Notice that within the VariantNames column, Colour is referred to before Size, so VariantItem1 must be a colour choice, and VariantItem2 must be a size choice.

VariantDefault
You need to add Yes into a cell in this column for the Product Variant you want to display by default when the customer views the Product Page of this Product. The other Add Product Variant cells need to be populated with No.
[warning]When adding Product Variants to the system, you need to ensure that they are all equal. If the t-shirt was produced in three sizes (small, medium and large) and three colours (red, blue and yellow), but a medium blue t-shirt was no longer available, you would still need to add this to your spreadsheet and ensure that the stock for this item was set as 0 and configured within your Stock Control Settings so that the Product Variant does not display. This ensures that the variants will be built correctly and once the spreadsheet has been imported onto the site, the non-existent product variant would be hidden from front-end display.[/warning]

Attributes:
In the example, there are three Attributes applied to the Product- Size, Type, and Colour. The format of these cells is:

[Attribute Value]:[The order this Attribute is added to the Product]:[The visibility of the Attribute]:[The Name of the Attribute]

If we look at the first cell in the BA column in the picture as an example:

  • Mustard = The Value of that Product Attribute; Colour is the Attribute Name and Mustard is the Value;
  • 3000 = This is the third Attribute added to this Product Variant (Type is the first, as it’s 1000, and Size is the second, as it’s 2000);
  • True = This Attribute is visible and it can also be used with Product Filters on your Category Pages;
  • Colour = This is the Attribute Name.

[remember] You only need to add Attributes for the Product Variants, and not for the default Product (the 'Add Product' row) - leave that row empty. [/remember]

When you have finished adding your new Products onto your spreadsheet, you need to delete the row containing the details of your template Product and it’s Variants, and then save the spreadsheet before you upload it onto your EKM online shop.

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[contact] If you need our help with your EKM online shop, contact your Ecommerce Expert or the Customer Support Team, who will be able to point you in the right direction. We're open from 8am-6pm weekdays and 9am-5.30pm weekends. If you'd like to suggest a feature or an upgrade on any of the EKM platforms, please let us know on the EKM Suggestions Board. If you have a non-account-specific question to ask the EKM Team, join us in the EKM Community. [/contact]