Managing products

Use ChatCart

Managing products

This guide adds a product from start to finish. Products belong to the store that is selected in the store switcher, so check it first.

1

Create the categories

Open Categories and click New category. Type a Name (the Slug fills in by itself), a Display order (lower numbers come first), and add an image if you like. To make a subcategory, pick its Parent category, for example Women for Dresses. Leave it at None (top level) for a main category. Click Create.

The categories list with images, names, product counts and edit buttons.
Admin, Categories.
The New category form with name, slug, parent category, display order and an optional image.
The New category form. (Uploads are turned off in the live demo only.)
2

Open the product form

Open Products and click New product. The form has these parts:

The empty New product form with cards for details, images, variants, specifications, pricing, inventory, brand and category, and visibility. The parts of the product form Nine numbered areas: details, images, variants, specifications, pricing, inventory, brand and category, visibility, and the Create product button. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Admin, Products, New product.
  1. Details: the title, the slug (the product's web address, filled in for you) and the description.
  2. Images: see step 3.
  3. Variants: sizes, colors and other options. See step 4.
  4. Specifications: rows such as "Material: Linen" shown on the product page.
  5. Pricing: the Price, and an optional Sale price. With a sale price, the old price is shown crossed out.
  6. Inventory: stock. See step 5.
  7. Brand, Category, Tags and Badges: the brand and tags help search and filters. Badges (sale, new, sold out, featured, bestseller) appear on the product card.
  8. Visibility: see step 6.
  9. Create product: saves the product.
3

Add images

In Images, click Add image and choose a file. JPEG, PNG, WebP, GIF and AVIF are accepted, up to 5 MB each. Drag the images to change the order. The first image is the cover: it is shown in lists and on the product card.

An existing product being edited, with three images in the Images card and the first one marked Cover.
Editing a product. The first image is marked Cover. The live demo shows a note that uploads are off there; your install uploads normally.
4

Add variants (sizes, colors)

Turn on This product has variants. Type an option name, like Size, and its values separated by commas, like S, M, L. Click Add option for a second option, like Color. ChatCart makes one row for every combination.

The Variants card with the variants switch on, an option named Size with five values, and a table of five variants with SKU, price delta and in stock switches. How to set up variants 1 2 3 4 5
The Variants card of a shoe with five sizes.
  1. This product has variants: turns the variant editor on.
  2. Option name and Values: one option per row. Values are separated by commas.
  3. Add option: adds a second or third option.
  4. Price delta: added to the product price for this variant. Use 5 to make XL cost 5 more, or 0 for the same price.
  5. In stock: turn it off when this one variant is sold out. Customers cannot choose it.
5

Set the stock

In Inventory, turn on Track stock and type the Stock on hand. The stock number counts the whole product (all variants together).

  • Low-stock threshold: when the stock reaches this number, the product shows a "Low stock" label and appears on the dashboard.
  • Allow backorders: customers can still order when the stock is 0.
  • Each order takes its items from the stock. The server checks the stock when the order is placed. If there is not enough, the customer sees a message and no order is made. When you cancel an order, its stock goes back.
6

Choose the visibility and save

  • Visible in store: turn it off to keep the product as a draft.
  • In stock: turn it off to show a "Sold out" badge, for products without stock tracking.
  • Featured: shows the product in the Featured products section of the home page.

Click Create product (or Save changes when you edit).

7

See it on the storefront

Click View storefront at the bottom of the admin menu. Your product appears in its category, in search, and (if featured) on the home page. No rebuild is needed.

A product page on the storefront with an image gallery, price, size choices, quantity and an Add to cart button.
The product page on the storefront.
The products list with images, names, categories, prices, stock levels, stock labels and visibility.
Admin, Products: search, filter, edit, and see stock at a glance. Use Import CSV to add many products at once.