Working with Attributes

What is an Attribute?

At a high level, you can consider that attributes are parameters of data for a specific item. An attribute will be inside of a data set, and depending on how the attribute is managed, can be modified from the Admin Portal. Some attributes can be used to be displayed to customers on the front end, whilst others may be used as a method of capturing data. There are many different types of attributes:

Product Attributes

These would include attributes such as price, category, weight, and dimensions. You may also be able to add new attributes from the Admin Portal such as colour, size, or other relevant parameters.

Vendor Attributes

These would include the Vendor's details, such as business name, tax number, and business address. You may also be able to add new custom attributes from the Admin Portal such as years in business, industry type, or other business specific attributes required for either displaying to customers, or used for approvals in Sign Up forms.

Customer Attributes

These would include a customer's details, such as customer name, email address, and default shipping / billing address. Custom Customer Attributes are not normally managed through the Admin Portal, and would need to have development work to be able to add new attributes.

Order Attributes

These would include details of an order, such as order date, payment method used, order number and ordered items. Custom Order Attributes may be added during development if it requires custom fields used for integration purposes. Custom Order Attributes are not normally managed through the Admin Portal, and would need to have development work to be able to add new attributes if required.

Other Attributes

All data completed are typically attributes from a certain feature / database table. Some of these attributes are visible in the Admin Portal, while others are exist only in the database. Consult with your developers if you need assistance with certain attributes.

What is an Attribute Set?

Attribute sets are a collection of attributes used as a template to verify what attributes should be displayed or populated for a specific item. Typically, there are only 2 attribute sets for the platform which you can use to help categorise items if required.

Product Attribute Sets

This is used as a way to differentiate different products having specific attributes. Eg, you may have a product attribute set specific to "Fashion", which includes attributes such as "Size" and "Colour". These attributes may not be relevant to someone creating a product for hardware tools, where "Size" may have different and irrelevant options, and "Colour" may not be required, however the Hardware Tools Attribute Set may include attributes such as "Material" or "Grade" which may not be relevant for "Fashion".

Vendor Attribute Sets

This is used as a way to potentially capture or display different information about vendors. Eg, you may have a vendor attribute set for retailers that sell alcohol, that may require a mandatory liquor license. This liquor license attribute may be needed for this vendor type, however a vendor selling footwear will not require this - therefore they cannot have this attribute when registering, as this is irrelevant.