Our child products/items function allows you to associate similar products that may be bought in multiple sizes and/or colors and display under a single parent item, resulting in a cleaner shopping experience for your customers.
For example: If you sell tee shirts in purple in sizes XS-XL you can associate all sizes (child items) to a single size (parent item).
How To Setup Child Products/Items
- Download and/or open the Import Product and the Import Child Products templates from within WebManager > Manage Data > Download Data Templates.
- Determine which item will be the "parent item" and which items will be the "child items".
- Make sure you categorize your parent item(s) in the product file and leave the child items uncategorized unless you plan to setup your child items like a parent item as well, see screenshot one below.
- Then, in the Child Products Template, associate the child items to a parent item. The ItemID column is where the parent ItemID will go and the ChildItemID column is the ItemID of the child item. Simply repeat this step to associate multiple child items to a single parent item, see screenshot two below.
- Once completed, log into WebManager > Manage Data > Upload Data Sheets and upload your product template first, followed by the child product template.
- Follow the prompts, e.g. click "My Data Looks Good" and "Push Data Live".
Screenshot 1 - Import Product Template
Screenshot 2 - Import Child Products Template
Need a visual tutorial? Click here to watch a video on setting up child items.
Want to change the name of the child products tab? The system will add a "Child Items" tab on the product details page. The name of this tab can be changed within WebManager > Settings > Templates > Product Details.
The “Child Items” function in WebManager allows you to review your child item relationships and make minor edits when needed.
“Child Items” offers a spreadsheet-like interface that has the same headers as the Child Items Template:
- Is Deleted governs whether the parent/child item relationship is active or not. Marking this “True” will remove the relationship from display—this will not delete the product from your account, however. In the ChildItems template this field is called IsDeleted
- Parent Item ID is the ItemID of the parent product; the parent product is the item that will be displayed within its category, and also have the child items associated to it. The ItemIDs cannot be edited. In the ChildItems template this field is called ItemID
- Child Item ID is the ItemID of the child items associated to the parent product. The ItemIDs cannot be edited. In the ChildItems template this field is called ChildItemID
- Sort Order is the order in which your child items are displayed in. You can use this header to rearrange the child items. In the ChildItems template this field is called SortOrder. SortOrder can not be empty and must be a number when uploaded, but the column can be left out of the upload and will set the SortOrder to alphabetical by ChildItemID if it is not included.
To edit a cell, click on it and make any necessary changes. Once you have made your change, a red triangle will appear in the upper left-hand corner of the cell. This symbol means that a change has been made within the cell. A red “Save Changes” will also appear in the bottom left corner of your screen.
Make sure to click on the “Save Changes” button to save your work after you’re done editing. Lastly, you will need to push data live to make your changes official.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQS)
Q. Is a template required?
A. Yes, the Import Child Products template is required.
Q. Can I create parent/child relationships directly within WebManager?
A. No, you cannot create a parent/child item setup directly within WebManager. However, once uploaded, you can make minor adjustments within WebManager > Products > Child Products
Q. Why are my child products showing like the parent products within the app?
A. If you have completed the parent/child relationship setup and child items are showing like they would if they were solo items, double check to see that the child items are not categorized. Child items should not be categorized. Example: a tee shirt is available in sizes XS, S, M, L, and XL and they are all individually listed in the app, but you setup the parent/child setup and size XS is the parent item. Make sure that sizes S-XL are not categorized.
Q. I want child items to show like parent items would, how do I set that up?
A. If you want your child items to show similarly to how a solo item would show, then you should categorize the child items within the system. Example: a tee shirt is available in sizes XS, S, M, L, and XL but only the XS shows in the product list. Categorize sizes S-XL for them to show individually.
Q. Does the parent/child relationship work in reverse?
A. Not automatically but there are ways you can make this work. If you your child items to also show the additional sizes when they are selected, you'll need to setup the parent/child relationship within the template as well.
Q. What happens if my parent item is no longer available?
A. If a parent item becomes unavailable, due to low or no inventory, etc., and you need to replace it with another item, you can follow these steps to update.
- You will need to delete the current parent/child relationship. This can be done two ways:
- Export your child items data, navigate to the parent/child relationship and mark it “TRUE” in the IsDeleted column. Save your work, and re-upload the child products spreadsheet into the Web Manager.
- Alternatively, you can click on “Products” within the Web Manager, then “Child Products”. This will lead you to a spreadsheet-like interface that displays all current parent/child item relationships. Find the one you wish to remove and click the box next to it under the IsDeleted column. Click on the red “Save Changes?” button to save your work.
- Once you have deleted the old parent/child relationship, all you have to do is follow the steps listed earlier in this article to create a new parent/child relationship.
Now that we have covered Child Products, let's look at Related Products!