With just a few clicks, the customer can clearly choose the ideal product. As a seller, you save the trouble of searching for the right parameters in internal catalogs and avoid unnecessary stress. All of this is made possible by the help of a product configurator or faceted search on the website.
In the introduction, we will answer the following questions:
1. What is a simple faceted search?
2. What is a web configurator?
3. And why should you have one of these tools on your website?
You can find our specific implementations in the second part of the article:
We would be happy to discuss your requirements for any web configurator with you.
Simple product filtering or faceted search – you can call it different names, but the result is the same. It is a less complex alternative to configurators. This basic tool can quickly filter and display currently available goods based on selected parameters, without reloading the page.
The number of filtering parameters depends solely on your requirements. If you sell only two types of products in your e-shop, you can manage with just three filters (e.g., size, color, for men/for women). Of course, there are also products that may have as many as ten specifications.
A sophisticated assistant for product selection or a calculator – all of this can be a web configurator. We can create a configurator with any number of steps or establish detailed conditions and rules according to which the customer selects a product down to the last screw.
The more advanced the configurator you want on your website, the more you should think from the perspective of the customer who will be using it. Is it important for you that it is designed as cleverly as possible? You know your products in detail, and assembling a combine down to the last screw seems easy to you. However, the customer often has no idea what all they can choose and is usually only interested in basic parameters.
The configurator must therefore be designed so that even a layperson can navigate it. At the same time, the configured product should resemble the actual product as closely as possible and display the most accurate final price.
With a well-set configurator and faceted search engine, you will significantly facilitate and clarify the online selection and purchase of products. Customers will get an idea of how the purchased product will look directly on your website. They will also see if the goods are in stock. We can fully integrate faceted search engines and configurators online with ERP systems or connect them to static data files (XLS/CSV/XML/JSON).
After selecting a specific type of product, the customer will learn the most accurate price, stock availability, or the most reliable estimate of the delivery date. This information plays an important role for buyers and can be a crucial factor in completing the conversion.
The entire purchasing process is moving online. Share everything about your products online without the need for a personal meeting. We can create a sophisticated yet guided configurator for your e-shop (supplemented with texts and video tutorials) so that there is no need to visit a tailor for selecting the perfect-fitting suit.
You have customer requirements in black and white thanks to the inquiry form. You do not need to clarify the input by phone or in person – with the configurator, you know everything. Additionally, you can send data about the configured product directly to the client's ERP systems, automating the ordering and production process.
More complex configurators designed for B2B customers (such as manufacturers of heating systems or industrial machines) are also a good assistant in personal sales for sales representatives. Sorting, combining variables in the order, and its completion used to take many hours of work. What previously required several full-time employees can now be handled by one configurator with just a few clicks.
Are you interested in a configurator or a facet search?
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You already know why having your own faceted search engine or configurator on your website is important. Now we will show you that there can be a significant difference between them in terms of features and capabilities.
A simple and affordable facet search engine...
The brand PLEAS, selling clothing on its e-shop, needed a simple facet search engine to assist customers with a few basic product sub-variants: specifically color and size.
Both variables are interdependent. For example, if you select a purple t-shirt that is no longer available in size M, the configurator will not offer it at all (and vice versa). Each variant can also have the option to determine unique pricing and stock availability.
... for an e-shop with clothing and underwear
A similar principle applies to the facet search engine for underwear requested by the brand Schiesser. We again created two basic and interdependent parameters, size and color, displaying stock availability and the final price for the product.
The facet search engine will help you choose a ring
The company BISAKU, which creates jewelry, has also decided to utilize the facet search engine for its business. Why not try custom ring production? Our developers were in favor.
The main essence is again a list of categories from which the user selects (material, size and type of stones, metal color). The variables are not dependent on each other in this case. However, we have added another option to the specification of wedding rings, which is engraving text at the customer's request.
Once the customer selects all parameters, the final amount they will pay for the ring will be displayed.
Web configurator that speeds up work
For the company ISAN, which manufactures radiators, we were tasked with creating three configurators with a similar structure – one for each product line.
The purpose of this configurator was to significantly simplify the work of the sales department. Previously, they had to manually enter all variables into spreadsheets and individually look them up.
Automation saves a lot of time
Creating a configurator with a range of categories with variables conditioned to each other (depth, height, length, connection type, mounting, and color) brought automation to the work and saved many hours each week.
The sales representative uses the configurator as support in their work. They discuss all the individual requirements with the customer, enter them into the configurator, and the result is a specific product code that is then sent directly to production.
Basic calculators that show savings
Very simple configurators are also the calculators we created for clients Plantour or DS Leasing. For these, it is necessary to specify the categories with which the user will work on the website. For the savings calculator, this will include the length of the route, vehicle consumption, and more. After entering specific information, the configurator can calculate daily and annual savings.
Elementary generator for e-shop
One of the simpler configurators-generators was created for the e-shop with knitted products DOKE. In three basic steps, you choose the material, the shape of the headwear, and then its color scheme and button attachment.
The configurator is accompanied by basic visualization. The final step in the purchasing process is adding the finished product to the cart. You can clearly see the product price – it is a fixed amount, not a price estimate.
Variable web configurator with a range of variables
The client JETSURF, which manufactures motorized surfboards, requested the creation of a comprehensive configurator. So we got to work.
The foundation of this configurator was the assembly of a series of categories with variables that must be interdependent (from selecting a specific model, to color, strap type, and surfer position). The customer can easily edit each category according to their preferences. The selection is further facilitated by product photos that change based on the selected color or type of surfboard.
Thanks to the configurator's variability, the interested party knows exactly what product they have assembled, when they can expect it, and even sees an estimated price. The result for JETSURF is the completion and submission of a request form, as they manufacture each surfboard according to customer specifications.
You can have a similar configurator on your website
Configurator with specific requirements
Based on the same foundation as the configurator for JETSURF, we have also developed a configurator for the fabric roller blind control system ZOOMTECH.
The configurator again consists of two parts – product configuration and graphical section. The user can select from categories (specifications, security, model, material, and others) in one half of the page and refine their requirements. In the other half of the page, a preview of the final product is displayed.
The conditioning of options is an intelligent product specification
The client wanted this configurator to have limited selection options based on certain parameters. For example, if a customer wishes to have a roller blind with a motor, the option to select the color specification of the strap disappears – after all, why would they need a strap if the blinds are self-raising?
In the case of this specific configurator, you can see the final price for the product. Once the customer selects the exact type of blinds on the ZOOMTECH website and fills in all categories according to their wishes, they can add the goods to the cart.
Sophisticated configurator with real products
The client UTY shirts wanted to create a more sophisticated configurator that can seamlessly operate with nearly 3,000 photos in the variant database.
This web application features a smart display of variants that (do not) match – for a colored shirt, for example, it does not allow the selection of colored buttons. Additionally, users are guided throughout the process with text and video tutorials. The configurator essentially takes on the role of a shirt salesperson in a physical store. Customers can measure their waist, neck, and length according to the instructions and choose a fitting piece of clothing from home.
From a UX perspective, this configurator operates very smoothly and instructively. When selecting a shirt, it intuitively guides the customer on what to do, what to click, and what to choose. The configurator will work just as well on mobile phones – the primary focus is on displaying the shirt image. Below it, the individual configurator parameters are arranged.
The comprehensive internal configurator can calmly design an entire combine harvester
At PUXdesign, we are capable of creating complex configurators that require a high level of detail in configuration. An example is the configurator for agricultural machinery from Bednar.
What makes it so specific? This configurator was assembled for the selection and purchase of agricultural equipment – it involves complex machines that contain countless (even tiny) components. And each one had to be taken into account. Each of these components has multiple variants. However, all the ones the customer selects for their machine must be compatible together.
Collision variant in case of an incorrect component
Not everyone is an expert in assembling combine harvesters. Therefore, we included the option to alert users to collisions of incompatible components as part of the configurator. The user receives a clear warning that they need to select a different component.
Only after the customer fills out all the mandatory fields can they proceed to complete the configuration. Here, they see the price of the entire machine and can also download a price list summarizing all the individual components.
Did you like the option of a custom product configurator on the website? We would be happy to create one for your website at PUXdesign.
Photo: Pexels.com
