Define product types

To begin defining your product data model, look at your products and identify the basic product types and the attributes needed for each product type.

In Composable Commerce, Product Types group similar products together. By similar, we do not mean products having the exact same set of attributes, but those with a significant percentage of attributes that are common (usually 80% or above, ideally higher than that), and a smaller number that will be populated for a subset of the products. To get a better understanding of how different elements of the data model interact, see product information data model.

Always plan your Product Type structure carefully, keeping in mind the different kinds of products you'll be managing and the kind of information you'll need for them. A good way to validate is to check how well a subset of your products conforms to your data model design. The following are some things we suggest to keep in mind:

• Avoid a large number of Product Types, if possible, as they are more complex to maintain.
• Pay attention to the number of Attributes per Product Type.
• Store information in a Product that relates to:
  • The customer finding the product (explore, search, and filter).
  • The sales process.
  • The processing of product information in downstream systems such as order processing or fulfillment.

Consider if you really need a certain piece of information as a dedicated attribute or as part of a group of information, for example, provided as one block of plain text or JSON. The goal is to identify the most effective model for your specific needs.

After you've identified the Product Types and Attributes you'd need, creating them in the Merchant Center is a straightforward process.