[intro]Now you’ve worked on the basic design, the next step is to add your products to your EKM online shop. [/intro]

How you add your products to your EKM online shop depends on the format of your product data. If you have previously managed an ecommerce website elsewhere, you might have all of your product data (Product Images, Product Descriptions, Prices and so on) on a spreadsheet. However, if you manufacture your products yourself, you may have a folder on your computer full of Product Images and product data all ready to upload. 

[tips]At this point, it would be a good idea to install the Product Attributes feature on your EKM online shop. This feature allows you to add attributes to each product, such as GTIN, SKU, MPN, EAN and Weight. This is required to submit your products to search engines in Step 9 and to help you set up your Delivery Methods in Step 7.[/tips]

Product Variants

When you have one item - such as a sweater - which is available in 5 different sizes and 3 different colours, the colours and sizes are called Variants; they’re variations of the initial product. If you have any products that have a large number of Variants, it’s essential that you take a look at this Guide to ensure that when you manually create your Variants that they are built onto the product correctly. 

Product Calculators

If your product range includes items typically sold by area, length or width - such as material, tiles and flooring - you may want to look at our Product Calculators Guide. Calculators are different to Variants but allow your customers to purchase the amount they need instead of a set figure. 

Adding a product manually

Even if you intend to upload all of your product information in bulk using a spreadsheet, it’s a good idea to upload one product manually first. To do this, you need to install the Advanced Inventory Manager and follow the steps in this Guide to add a product. It’s a good idea if you are planning to use spreadsheets to add the rest of your products that you select a product with Variants and one without. This is so you can use these products as guidelines when adding the rest of your product data.

Product Descriptions

Are your Product Descriptions a minimum of 200 words each, comprising bullet-pointed features, a paragraph of text and the product specifications? If not, this Guide will be able to help you.

Product Images

Of the Products that you’ve uploaded so far, do they have at least one high-quality Product Image (ideally, you’re aiming for a minimum of five different Product Images per product/product Variant)? If you’re unsure, this Guide covers high-quality Product Images and the kind of standards you should be looking for.

File Manager

Before you upload the rest of your products using spreadsheets and the Import/Export System feature, you need to add all of your Product Images to the File Manager of your EKM online shop. 

[tips]Before you begin, it’s a good idea to look at your Product Images. For your EKM online shop, your Product Images need to be square and sized 1024 x 1024 pixels. These square Product Images can be as small as 500 x 500 pixels up to 2000 x 2000 pixels, but 1024 pixels square is the optimum size for best results. [/tips] 

Import/Export System

When you have added a product manually, your next step is to install the Import/Export System feature on your EKM online shop to allow you to use spreadsheets to add the rest of your products. When you have installed the Import/Export feature, you will need to follow the steps within these Guides:

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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]