Product Upload Guidelines
MINDFUL MAKER RESOURCES
Healers Edition is dedicated to maintaining a high standard for our product listings.
After submitting your product, it will be reviewed to ensure it fits within our guidelines.
Please read our following product upload guidelines to make sure your product will be accepted.
Why does product photography matter?
As an E-commerce store, product images are a very important part of the shopping experience. If done properly, your product images can help shoppers get a better virtual “feel” for the items you offer.
Product photography
→ Establishes what to expect when your product arrives at customer’s door
→ Has a big role in a customer’s decision to place an order or not
→ Presents your products in the best light to maximize sales
People want to know exactly what they’re buying.
The last thing eCommerce brands want is for customers to receive a product that is different from online photos. Shoppers may feel deceived and comment badly about the brand on social media. That’s the quickest way to destroy customer loyalty and brand images. If they can’t be certain how the product actually looks, they’re less likely to complete a purchase (ex: the images are small, blurry, and there’s just one picture of each product). The more comfortable customers feel about the products they’re browsing, the more likely they’ll be to follow through with their purchase, and less likely they’ll be to return the item they bought.
High-quality imagery has consistently proven to…
Product images submitted must meet the following technical specifications.
Image size
Image format
Aspect ratio
Quality
Number of images
Resolution
File size
File name
Images that display as the main image on the product detail page must follow our site product image standards.
Background
Negative space
Alignment
Content type
Props
Accurate color
Consistency
No packaging
No graphics
Content limitations
The secondary photos are the opportunity to make your brand shine and clearly display your key features & benefits.
The more photos, the better…
Including various images of your product from various aspects would support your buyers to fully visualize the product, as if they were handling it in a physical shop.
According to Salsify, 73% of shoppers need to see at least three images to make a buying decision. eCommerce sites use an average of eight photos on a single product page.
Branding and consistency
Despite every product image on your site being different, it’s important you maintain a consistent design for each photo.
Use the same background, modeling, lighting, and image placement strategy throughout your ecommerce website.
Stick to one style in all of your products.
Consistency provides a comfortable, safe, professional feeling.
Inconsistency can be distracting and unsettling.
Requirements for secondary photos
Suggestions for secondary images
If hiring a professional photographer is not within your means, check out this tutorial by Shopify for creating DIY product images.
Also, check out this tutorial on how to create a product shot.
Hire a virtual assistant on Fiverr, you can get the background removed for as little as $5.
A descriptive but simple heading: 3 – 5 words
When uploading a product, you will have the option to select a product type.
You can select one of the following:
If you sell offerings that are handmade, select the “Variable” product type.
This way, you will not need to upload a new product listing each time you create a new offering. Create a single product listing, showcase the variations and explain your customization options in the product images and description. Add your different “attributes” to your product, that your customer can easily select.
If you sell a product that remains consistent, select the “Simple” product type.
This is a great option if you have a best seller or product you do not plan on running out of.
You also have the option to make your product downloadable or virtual.
These types of products are simple and have no variants.
They are single and standalone products.
They do not require any other information to define different variants.
A variable product is a product that has different types of variants.
For example, you might want to sell a dress which is available in 3 different colors and sizes. This option will enable you to add those different colors and sizes. You can add variations based on anything you like, including material used or the stitching style.
If you need custom variations and attributes of your own, then you have to select Custom Attributes and click Add Option. Then two blank fields will appear to input the variation name and attributes.
You can add as many variations and attributes as you want.
When you are done, check the box Create variation using those attributes. The system will make all the combinations and will prompt you to add prices for those variations.
If you want to disable any variation, then you can uncheck the box on the left.
The quantity and variation picture adding function will not be available right away. You have to save the product once to get those options. After saving the product, the fields above will have a pencil icon on the right. Click on that icon to add more details to the variations.
You can create External/Affiliate product.
You can create product and redirect them to your Affiliate sites.
While creating a product, you need to select the External/Affiliate product type from the dropdown menu.
Also, you need to add the link to your site in the URL section and define the button name.
Then you will see the product on the View Product page.
So, when a user clicks on the button he/she will be redirected to the URL page.
You have the option to add a group product.
Suppose you want to sell a music album. But you want to sell different tracks and visuals along with the album as a whole. Then you need to create a group product.
Step 1: Create parent group product
Create a parent product.
Select Group Product from the Product Type drop-down menu.
Remember a group product is a parent product so there is no price field.
You will need to select a category.
Step 2: Create child product
Create a new child product.
Navigate to Vendor dashboard→ Product→ Add new
The child product category needs to be the same as the parent product category.
This child product needs to be hidden from the catalog.
Under the Product → Other Options → Visibility, change the visibility field. You need to set it to hidden and save the product.
Step 3: Link the child product to the Parent product
Get back to the parent product.
Click on the linked product option under the inventory option.
Select the child product in the group product section and link them both.
You can link more products to the parent product.
After creating and linking all your child product to the parent product you will have a group product.
Downloadable products give access to a file upon purchase.
If you are selling photos, music, software or any digital product, then this is the option to use.
If you click on the Add File button, three more fields will be added.
The name field defines what the downloaded file name should be.
You might name the original file to something like “new-album-updated-jan-12.zip” and you want the user to download the file as “New Album”.
If you are serving the files from your very own site, then you can click on choose file and select. You can also serve the file from Dropbox, Google Drive or some other file hosting site.
Virtual products are intangible and aren’t shipped.
You will be prompted to price your products.
Discount price is optional.
You can schedule discounts for a certain amount of time.
You can enter a starting date and end date to apply automatic discounts to your product.
Please keep in mind our marketplace commission is 10% per sale.
How much you will earn is written next to the price title.
When pricing your products, make sure you are setting healthy profit margins.
Select only one product category.
By default, category selection is singular. This should be the standard-setting.
According to Google Webmaster Guidelines and other SEO and UX best practices, it is recommended to have only one category assigned to a product.
If you need to show your products based on multiple factors, for searching or sorting feature, you can use tags.
Select the category from the drop-down.
You will see a pop-up where you need to select the categories.
You can search for categories.
Type the category name in the search box, you will see the matching categories.
Click on the Done button to finish adding the categories.
If necessary, you can add multiple categories.
You can create new product tags from the vendor dashboard.
Under the Select Product Tags field, add a tag and Press Enter.
The word or phrase will be added as a separate tag.
Short description should be around 20 words.
This is a summary of the biggest benefit to the customer (placed at the top of the page under the product title).
Include your keyword in the opening line.
An introductory paragraph: 50 – 100 words
Keep your product description introductions concise, and focus on the product’s key attributes (including the keyword) and benefits.
A bulleted list: 20 words
Bots like lists because they suggest a well-organised page, and humans like them because they’re scannable. Keep it short and to the point.
Make sure every feature has an associated benefit, so customers can see exactly how a particular feature will meet their needs.
The best bullet points will address both customer problems and solutions.
In-depth product description: 300 + words
Your in-depth product description is an opportunity to sell the benefits of the product, rather than just focussing on the features.
This part of your product description can bring the shopper closer to the ‘in-store’ experience and evoke the sense of being advised by an expert, friendly shop assistant.
To help with content ideas, research common questions related to your product and answer them in your descriptions.
Remember to divide the page up into readable, scannable chunks divided by relevant subheadings.
Some additional product description tips:
Check out this blog on writing a product description that sells: https://www.shopify.com/blog/8211159-9-simple-ways-to-write-product-descriptions-that-sell
Reference: https://www.bigstarcopywriting.com/blog/fashion-apparel/product-description-length/
Please complete the following steps:
Select “Enable product stock management”
Add “Stock quantity” (how many pieces you have)
Add “Low stock threshold” (what number is considered low stock)
Click on “Allow Backorders”
Select “Allow but notify customer”
→ Once you’ve run out of stock, update your product’s “Stock quantity”
These settings will…
What is SKU?
SKU stands for Stock Keeping Unit.
It is a unique set of characters that will not match any other product.
You will have the option to the select the stock status:
You have the option to select Enable Product Stock Management.
Let’s say you have 10 pieces of your product and you don’t want to receive after orders are placed for 10 units. If you enable stock management and enter 10 in the quantity field, then after 10 units are ordered, this product will show a message that all the quantities are sold and there is no stock.
But, you might want to take some pre-orders before your next batch comes up. So you can Allow Back Order to let the customers place orders even if the product is out of stock.
Manage shipping and tax for this product.
To be able to use the state-based shipping feature, it needs to be activated from your Vendor Dashboard Settings.
After activating the feature, you will get the default shipping price override option. Otherwise, only the shipping class selection will be available.
If you have enabled shipping and configured the costs in the dashboard settings, then you might leave all the settings as is. That means you do not have to input any data in this section. None of the fields are mandatory here.
Select the pre-made tax classes.
Shipping classes are used by certain shipping methods to group similar products.
Before adding a product, please configure your shipping settings.
Set your linked products for upsell and cross-sells.
Link to other products on the marketplace to increase sales!
This is great for product add-ons. Do you have products that would complement the experience of your offering? Link those products!
Upsells are products which you recommend instead of the currently viewed product, for example, products that are more profitable or better quality or more expensive.
Cross-sells are products which you promote in the cart, based on the current product.
Manage attributes and variations for your variable product.
When creating a “Variable” product type, attributes will help customers easily select the product specifications they are interested in.
If you need custom variations and attributes of your own, then you have to select Custom Attributes and click Add Option. Then two blank fields will appear to input the variation name and attributes.
You can add as many variations and attributes as you want.
When you are done, check the box Create variation using those attributes. The system will make all the combinations and will prompt you to add prices for those variations.
If you want to disable any variation, then you can uncheck the box on the left.
The quantity and variation picture adding function will not be available right away. You have to save the product once to get those options. After saving the product, the fields above will have a pencil icon on the right. Click on that icon to add more details to the variations.
Set your bulk discount for your product.
You have the option to create a bulk discount to encourage more purchases of your product. This means, if a customer purchases a specific quantity of your product, they will get a certain percentage off.
Other places to create discounts:
Set your return and warranty settings to override global settings.
You’ve already set your store return and warranty policies.
If you’d like to override your store settings for this specific product, check this option and provide your warranty policy here.
You have the option to sell your product as wholesale.
This option is only available for “Single” product type.
Here, you can see your product status:
The visibility option defines the privacy of the product.
You will have the following options:
By default “Catalog and Search” is selected.
If you want the product to only appear on category listing page, search results or want to list as a hidden product, then you can select the option respectively.
If you select any other option than Catalog and Search then the product will not appear on the site other than the store page.
Please send a “thank you” note to customers.
If you want the customer to receive a custom message right after purchasing the product, you can paste that in the box.
Customer will get this info in their order email.
Please keep the product reviews on.
Reviews increase trust and will increase your sales.
If you really don’t want to receive reviews from the customers, you can turn it off.