Metaparser Web (custom e-commerce tool)

Transcription

1 Metaparser Web (custom e-commerce tool) The Metaparser Web is a custom e-commerce tool that helps you build your own e-commerce catalogs and fill them with your own product listings. The Metaparser Web is a 50 Below product that our customers can acquire as part of their service plan or as an add-on product for their 50 Below Web sites. Using the Metaparser Web tool 1. Select the Store Management option on the upper navigation bar or click the Store Management button. 2. Select the Custom Products option on the upper navigation bar or click the Custom Products button to open the Endeavor Metaparser Web. Starting from this first Metaparser Web page, you may create new custom catalogs or modify existing ones. To add a new catalog: To start a new catalog, click the Create a Catalog button below the Your New Catalog Here graphic. The Create a New Shopping Catalog screen will open (pictured below). On this screen, you will first specify the year and give your new catalog a name. Then you will assign an industry to your catalog and a company name. Finally, you will make selections from the checkbox list (not shown in the illustration below) that will appear in the Industry Shopping box. (An Industry Shopping Type is a category of product that you want to include in your custom catalog.) If you don t see the category you want, you may enter one in the New Shopping Type box at the bottom of the screen and click on the Add New Shopping Type button.

2 Here is some guidance for completing each information field on the Create a New Shopping Catalog screen. Catalog Information Year Click the drop-down list to select year. Catalog Title Give your catalog a name. This catalog name will display when your customers browse the Shop Online page of your Web site. Catalog Placement Industry When you select an industry here, the Endeavor Metaparser Web will populate your options for Company Name and Industry Shopping Types. For example, if you select the Power Sports Industry, the Company Name drop-down list will display names such as Harley-Davidson and Yamaha and the Industry Shopping Type box will be filled with checkboxes and product types such as ATVs and snowmobiles. Company Name Now select a company name or + Add a New One from the drop-down list. If you chose + Add a New One you can type the company name into the New Company Name field to the right. Shopping Type(s) In this section, you will see checkboxes and a list of types of products ( shopping types ). The shopping types that you select will become options for you to select when you are adding custom products to your new catalog. Click as many checkboxes as you want.

3 If you don t find a shopping type that fits the products you will be adding to your catalog, add your own shopping type in the New Shopping Type field. When you are done entering your new shopping type, click on the Add New Shopping Type button to save your work. You ll see your new Shopping Type appear in the box above. Select its checkbox. When you have finished your work this screen, click the >> Save and Continue >> button to open the Shopping Catalog Maintenance screen. If you decide that you don t want to activate the catalog, click the Cancel button to return to the previous Metaparser Web screen. To add catalog sections and pages After you create and activate your custom catalog, you will structure your catalog with sections and pages on the Shopping Catalog Maintenance screen. If you clicked the >> Save and Continue >> button after creating your custom catalog, this screen will open for you. You also can open this screen by clicking the Modify Structure of your choice from the main Metaparser Web screen. button under the catalog The data fields on Shopping Catalog Maintenance screen (some are covered by dark lines in the illustration below) will contain the selections you made when you created your custom catalog (year, title, industry, company name, shopping type).

4 On this screen you can correct or modify the options you chose when you created the catalog. You will also start organizing your catalog s structure. If you re starting a new custom catalog, it s a good idea to sketch out your plan for organizing your catalog on paper before you start working on the computer. Endeavor s Metaparser Web sets up catalogs in a tiered format. Your catalog title will be listed automatically at the top of the Catalog Sections and Pages box, and then below that, you ll have your catalog sections. Finally, below the catalog sections, you ll have your catalog pages. In the Catalog Sections and Pages part of this screen, you ll see the present structure of your catalog. (If you re making a new catalog, this section will show only your catalog title when you begin.) Catalog Sections A catalog section is a division of your catalog. If you sell apparel, for example, your catalog sections have names like T-Shirts, Jackets, Rain Gear, and so on. To add a catalog section, use your mouse to highlight the name of the section that will be one tier above your new section (the catalog title, if you re just beginning) then click the Add Child button at the bottom of the screen. A label will appear, called a New Node. Move your mouse pointer to the grey background of the New Node label, click, and then using your keyboard enter whatever section name you want the name you enter will replace the words New Node on the label. To create your next catalog section, you have two options. You can repeat the process: highlight a section name, click the Add Child button, and name the new section that appears below the highlighted label. The other method is to highlight one of your catalog sections and click the Add Same button. This will create a new section of the same level. (Refer to the illustration below.)

5 Catalog Pages When you have finished creating your catalog sections, you will start adding pages. Pages will be subcategories in which your product listings will display. For example, if you have a catalog section called T-Shirts, you may have a page for solid color T-shirts and a page for T-shirts with graphics. Start by choosing a catalog section that you want to have pages. Highlight that catalog section using your mouse. Then click the Add Child button. As when you added a catalog section, a New Node label will appear on your screen. Enter the name of the catalog page into the New Node label using the same method that you used to name your catalog sections. When you have finished creating your catalog sections and pages, remember to save your work by clicking the Save Catalog button in the lower right corner of your screen.

6 Catalog Image When your customers visit your Web site, they will see colorful images of your distributors or manufacturers product catalogs. (In most cases, your customers can click on a catalog cover image to open a catalog for shopping.) You ll want your new custom catalog to have a similarly-appealing cover image. The Metaparser Web enables you to load attractive cover art for your custom catalog. Any image that is stored on your computer may be used as your catalog cover. On your Shopping Catalog Maintenance screen just to the left of the area where you have added catalog sections and pages, you ll see an area for uploading your cover image. 1. Click the Add New Image button to browse your computer for your catalog cover image. When you click the Add New Image button, a small screen titled Add an Image will open. 2. Click the Browse button and you will see the folders and files of your computer. Select the image that you want to appear as your cover. An image size ranging from 800x600 to 1600x1600 is recommended. The image that you select will be re-formatted automatically to fit the appropriate places on your Web site. 3. After selecting your image, click the Upload >>> button. The Add an Image window will close and you will see your cover image displayed on the Shopping Catalog Maintenance screen. See the example below.

7 Remember to click the Save Catalog button when you have finished.

8 Adding products If you are doing this work in one session, when you click the Save Catalog button after adding catalog sections and pages, or after adding catalog cover images, the Your Custom Catalogs screen will open. If you are starting a new Web site work session by adding products, here is how to open this screen: 1. From the Command Center Home page, select Store Management from the top navigation bar or click the Store Management button. 2. Select Custom Products from the top navigation bar or click the Custom Products button. Now, the Your Custom Catalogs screen will open. Below the cover image of each custom catalog that you have created, you will see an Add/Edit Products button. When you click this button, a small set of options will open in the left navigation area of your screen (example shown below). By selecting these options, you will specify which catalog will hold the products that you will add. 1. First, select the Catalog Title. 2. Then, select a Catalog Section. 3. Finally, select a Catalog Page. Upon your selection of Catalog Page, a screen will open to enable you to add products. 4. Click the + Add a Product button to begin. A screen like the one shown below will appear.

9 5. To select a new product image, click the Edit Images(s) button. 6. Then click the Add a New Image button on the next screen. 7. On the small pop-up screen, browse for an image that you have stored on your computer. 8. Give your image a name (most likely a version of the product name) and use the checkboxes to specify whether this image is the primary image. (If you want your catalog to display more than one image for this product, you must select one of them to be the primary image that will display as a thumbnail in your catalog. The other images will display when your customers look at the product details.) 9. Remember to save your work by clicking the Upload >>> button when you are finished.

10 Returning to the Product Information screen, 1. Click the Edit Product Information button. The Product Listing screen will open: You may ignore the topmost field on this screen, which displays the Item ID. This is an automaticallygenerated number that the Endeavor system uses to keep its data organized. It is not your SKU and it won t display to your customers. 2. Enter the name of your product in the field labeled Item Name. You may use up to 50 characters. 3. Enter the product description in the field labeled Description. 4. In the field labeled Item Features, you may enter particular features selling points that will display to your customers as product feature bullet points following your description text. As you finish typing each item, click the Add Feature button. Your newly-added feature will be displayed below on the Feature Description table. You may add more bullet-point features, clicking the Add Feature button after you type each one. You may modify the sequence in which the bullet points will appear, using the arrows. You may also delete any bullet point by clicking the Delete button that appears to the right of it in the table.

11 Adding Variants What are variants? Variants are the available options for a particular product listing. For example, T-shirts are typically available in different sizes. Size is a variant. You will assign different part numbers for the sizes of T- shirt that you have available in your custom catalog. By doing this, you and the Endeavor system will be able determine which size T-shirt the customer wants from the part number. In order for your product to display, you must list at least one variant. Here s how to list variants: When you have finished adding and organizing your bullet-point features on the Product Listing screen, 1. Click the Save Changes button. This will open a screen that displays your product image, description and bullet points as they will appear to your customers. 2. Move your mouse pointer to the area below the product image, description and bullet points on your screen, which is topped with a blue bar, and click the Add Variant button. A small pop-up screen will open, which is labeled Add/Edit Product Item. Enter the details of your product variant there. Part # Enter the part number that will accompany the product variant information. MSRP Enter your list price or MSRP here. This price will be your baseline price if you introduce a sale price in the future. (If you set up a sale, the Endeavor system will calculate sale pricing as a percentage or dollar amount less than the list price or MSRP that you establish here.) Description Basic information about what makes this variant product different from others. It might simply be a color or a size.

12 3. When you are finished specifying the variant details of your product, click the Save Changes button to save your work and return to the Product Information screen. Your variant data will now be displayed. If your catalog item has multiple variants, you can modify the sequence in which they display by moving their relative position with the up-and-down arrows to the right of each item. Publishing your new custom catalog After you have structured your custom catalog and filled it with products, you are ready to display it for your customers. You will use Endeavor s catalog configuration tools. 1. Begin at the Command Center s Store Management screen (select Store Management on the top navigation bar or click on the Store Management button). 2. Select Catalog Manager on the top navigation bar or click on the Catalog Manager button. This will open the Catalog Manager screen 3. In Step 1 select Store. At Step 2 you will see that the two boxes below are now filled with catalog names. The box on the left will be filled with the names of the catalogs that are available to you; the box on the right will be filled with the names of catalogs that you have already selected for display on your Web site. 4. The names of catalogs in the left box are catalogs that are available but not activated for display on your Web site. Using the scroll bar as necessary, move your mouse pointer to the name of your new custom catalog, which you will find listed in the left text box. Select that catalog with a click, then click the Add >> button. You ll see the name of your custom catalog move to the right text box, indicating that you have selected it for display on your Web site. 5. Move your mouse pointer down the screen, where you will see Step 3, a list of catalogs displayed in blue type. Move your pointer to the name of the custom catalog that you want to add, and click. 6. A small Update Catalogs pop-up screen will open. Select the correct year of the custom catalog you want to display. 7. After selecting the year, click the Save Changes button. 8. A confirmation pop-up screen ( THE FOLLOWING CHANGES WILL BE APPLIED TO YOUR SITE ) will open. Click the Save Changes button. 9. The Catalog Manager screen will re-open. Now click the Publish Changes button at the top of the screen, and your new catalog will display on your Web site. SECTION END