Before adding your first product, let’s get familiar with how product categories, tags, and attributes work.
Product Categories
Product categories and tags work in much the same way as normal categories and tags you have when writing posts in WordPress. They can be created, edited, and selected at any time. This can be done when you first create a product or come back and edit it or the category/tag specifically.
Attributes
These can be added per product, or you can set up global attributes for the entire store to use (e.g., in layered navigation).
Product Types
With attributes and categories set up and stock management configured, we can begin adding products. When adding a product, the first thing to decide is what type of product it is.
- A Simple product type covers the vast majority of any products you may sell. Simple products are shipped and have no options. For example, a book.
- A Grouped product is a collection of related products that can be purchased individually and only consist of simple products. For example, a set of six drinking glasses.
- A Virtual product is one that doesn’t require shipping. For example, selling a service.
- A Downloadable product is much like a virtual one. It’s not shipping but your customers are given a downloadable file. For example, digital album, PDF magazine, or even photo.
- An External or Affiliate product is one that you list and describe on your website but is sold elsewhere.
- A Variable product is a product that has variations, each of which may have a different SKU, price, stock option, etc. For example, a t-shirt available in different colors and/or sizes.