Product and Variant Management

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Part 1: The Products Page

1.1 Accessing Products

Go to /dashboard/products from your dashboard navigation. This is your product catalog — the central list of every item in your store.

1.2 What You See

• A search bar at the top to find products by name, SKU, or description.
• A filter button to narrow down by category, status, stock level, or featured flag.
• An "Add Product" button (with a plus icon) to create a new product.
• An "Export" button to download all products as a CSV file.
• An "Import" button to bulk upload products from a CSV file.
• A "Download Template" button to get a starter CSV with all supported fields.
• The products table showing: a checkbox column, image thumbnail, product name, SKU, category, price, stock, status, featured flag, and action buttons.

1.3 Product Status

Each product shows one of four statuses:

• Active: Product is live and visible in your storefront.
• Draft: Product is hidden (not yet published or temporarily disabled).
• Low Stock: Product has fewer than 10 items remaining.
• Out of Stock: Product has zero stock.

1.4 Search and Filters

• Search: Type any keyword — it searches product names, SKUs, descriptions, and tags.
• Category filter: Pick one or more categories.
• Status filter: Active, Draft, Low Stock, Out of Stock.
• Featured filter: Show only featured or only non-featured products.
• Sort: By date created (default), name, price, or stock. Ascending or descending.
• Pagination: 20 products per page by default.

1.5 Bulk Actions

Select one or more products by ticking the checkbox next to each row. A bulk actions bar appears at the bottom showing how many products you selected. From there you can:

• Delete Selected: Permanently removes all selected products (with a confirmation dialog).

1.6 Per-Row Actions

Clicking the three-dot menu on a product row shows actions for that single product:

• Edit: Opens the product editor.
• Manage Images: Opens a dialog to reorder, add, or remove product images.
• Delete: Removes the product (with confirmation).

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Part 2: Adding a New Product

2.1 Opening the Add Product Page

Click "Add Product" or go to /dashboard/products/add. The page opens with a tabbed form.

2.2 Page Layout

• Header: Back arrow, breadcrumb (Catalog / Products / Add), page title "Add Product", and Save / Cancel buttons.
• Readiness banner: A colored bar at the top showing which required fields are still missing. Turns green when everything is complete.
• Tab navigation: 5 tabs — Basics, Media, Pricing, Inventory, Extras.
• Tab indicators: Each tab shows a green checkmark when its required fields are complete.
• Sidebar (right): A "Publish panel" with publish status, metadata (SEO), and category selection.

2.3 Tab 1: Basics

Item Name (required): The product title customers see. Example: "Classic Cotton T-Shirt" or "Samsung Galaxy A54 Case".

Short Summary: A one-line description shown in product cards and search results. Keep it under 160 characters for best results.

Brand: Optional. The brand name of the product.

Condition: Dropdown — choose "New", "Used", or "Refurbished".

Unit Name: Optional. The unit label for what is being sold (e.g., "piece", "kg", "liter").

Product Details: A flexible list of label/value rows. Add as many as needed — common uses are Material, Dimensions, Weight Capacity, Country of Origin, Care Instructions. Each row has a Type field (label) and a Description field (value). Click "Add More+" to add another row, or the X icon to remove one. Empty rows are not saved.

AI Description Generator: A button labeled "Generate with AI" appears under the full description section on the Media tab. Click it to auto-generate a marketing-ready product description based on the item name, short summary, and brand. You can choose a style: paragraph, spec table, bullet list, numbered steps, or highlight cards.

2.4 Tab 2: Media

Photos: Two ways to add product images.

• Upload: Click the upload area, pick an image file from your computer (PNG, JPG, WebP). Files are uploaded to cloud storage and the URL is added to the product.
• Paste URL: Paste a direct link to an image hosted elsewhere. Add an optional alt text for accessibility.

The first image you add becomes the primary image. You can reorder images later from the products list by clicking "Manage Images" on a product row.

Video URL: Optional. A link to a product video (YouTube or direct video URL). Shown in the product page.

Full Description: A rich-text editor for the long product description. Supports AI generation (see above), manual editing, and style templates. This is the main body of text customers read on the product page.

2.5 Tab 3: Pricing

Price (required): The selling price in BDT. Must be greater than zero.

Compare-at Price: Optional. The original price shown crossed-out next to the sale price. Used to show discounts.

Cost per Item: Optional. Your cost for one unit — used internally for profit calculations, not shown to customers.

Tax rate: Optional. Override the default tax rate for this product.

2.6 Tab 4: Inventory

SKU (required): A unique identifier for this product. Use any combination of letters and numbers. If you have variants, the system appends a suffix automatically (e.g., TEE-BLK-M).

Barcode: Optional. The product barcode (EAN, UPC, or custom).

Initial Sold Count: Optional. Enter a number if you already sold some units before adding the product to Lokzon (e.g., when migrating from another platform). The store total reflects this number from day one.

Stock (required if no variants): The total quantity available. Enter as a whole number, minimum 0.

Has Multiple Variants toggle: A switch to enable variant management. See Part 4 below.

Warranty: Dropdown — None, 1 Day, 7 Days, 30 Days, 3 Months, 6 Months, 1 Year, 2 Years, Lifetime, or Custom. Choosing Custom reveals a text field where you write the warranty terms in your own words.

2.7 Tab 5: Extras

Product Source: Dropdown — Self (you made or sourced it) or External (you resell someone else's product).

Tags: A comma-separated list of keywords that help with search and filtering. Example: "summer, cotton, casual".

Use Default Shipping: Toggle — when on, the product uses your store's default delivery charge. When off, you can set per-product delivery fees on the Delivery section that appears.

Delivery Charge (per-product): Shown only when "Use Default Shipping" is off. Lets you set a different inside-Dhaka and outside-Dhaka charge for this specific product.

Active: Toggle — when on, the product is visible in your storefront. When off, it's hidden (draft mode).

Featured: Toggle — when on, the product appears in the featured products section on your storefront.

2.8 Right Sidebar — Publish Panel

Category: Dropdown — pick the category this product belongs to. If the category does not exist, click "Create New Category" to add one inline (a small dialog opens where you enter the name and description).

SEO: Optional fields for search engine optimization — Meta Title and Meta Description. If left blank, the platform uses the product name and short summary automatically.

2.9 Saving the Product

Click the "Save" button in the header (top right) or at the bottom of the form. Once the readiness banner is green (all required fields complete), saving is allowed. After successful save:

• A toast notification confirms "Product created successfully" (with the number of variants and images if applicable).
• You are redirected back to the products list.

If you close the page mid-form, any images you uploaded but did not save are automatically cleaned up from cloud storage.

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Part 3: Editing an Existing Product

3.1 Opening the Editor

Go to /dashboard/products/[id]/edit or click the three-dot menu on a product row and choose Edit. The editor looks identical to the Add Product page, with all fields pre-filled.

3.2 What is Different from Add

• The title changes to "Edit Product".
• The product is loaded from the database including all variants, images, and existing combinations.
• Existing stock is preserved; you can adjust it up or down.
• Saving updates the product and triggers a sync of options and variants.

3.3 Variants Tab (Edit)

In edit mode, the variants tab shows the current combinations and lets you modify:

• Stock for each combination.
• SKU for each combination.
• Active state for each combination.
• Variant-specific image override.

Adding or removing variant groups and options is also possible. The combination table refreshes automatically.

3.4 Managing Product Images

Click "Manage Images" from the products list (or use the dedicated dialog). The dialog shows:

• All current images in a grid.
• Drag to reorder — the first image becomes the primary.
• Click an image to set alt text.
• Click the trash icon on any image to remove it.
• Add new images via URL or upload.

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Part 4: Variant Management

4.1 When to Use Variants

Use variants when the same product comes in different sizes, colors, materials, or any combination. Example: A t-shirt that comes in Red/M/Blue/L, or a phone case that fits iPhone 14 / iPhone 15 / Samsung S23.

4.2 Enabling Variants

In the Inventory tab, flip the switch labeled "This product has multiple variants". A toggle confirmation appears.

4.3 Creating Variant Groups

Each group represents one dimension of variation (e.g., "Color", "Size", "Material").

Adding a group: Click "+ Add variant group". A new group appears with:

• Title field: The group name (e.g., "Color", "Size").
• Options list: Each option is a specific value within that group (e.g., Red, Blue for Color).

Adding options: Click "Add More Option+" inside a group. Each option has:

• Attribute: The value name (e.g., "Red", "Large").
• Extra Price: An optional price modifier added to the base price when this option is selected (e.g., +50 BDT for XL size).

Removing options: Click the X icon next to an option. Options cannot be removed if only one remains.

Removing groups: Click "Remove This Variant Group" at the bottom of the group.

4.4 Variant Group Properties

Each group also has an "Is Mandatory" setting. Mandatory groups must be selected by customers before they can add the product to cart. Optional groups can be left blank.

4.5 Combinations

Once you have at least one group with options filled in, the system automatically generates all possible combinations (Cartesian product).

Example: If you have a "Color" group with options [Red, Blue] and a "Size" group with options [S, M, L], the system generates 6 combinations: Red-S, Red-M, Red-L, Blue-S, Blue-M, Blue-L.

The combinations table shows:

• Combination: Auto-generated name (e.g., "Red - M").
• Variant Image: Optional override image specific to this combination. Useful for showing Red shirt vs Blue shirt. You can paste a URL or upload.
• Stock: Quantity available for this specific combination.
• SKU: Auto-generated from the base SKU plus the option initials (e.g., TEE-RED-M).
• Price: Auto-calculated from base price + extra price modifiers. You can override.
• Active: Toggle to enable or disable this combination.

Auto-calculated price: When you set an Extra Price of +50 on the "XL" option of a Size group, and the base product price is 500 BDT, all combinations involving XL will show 550 BDT.

4.6 SKU Pattern

The system combines your base SKU with the first 3 letters of each option value. Example:

• Base SKU: TEE
• Color group option: "Red"
• Size group option: "Medium"
• Generated combination SKU: TEE-RED-MED

You can override any combination SKU manually in the table.

4.7 Stock Calculation

When variants are enabled, the total stock of the product is the sum of all combination stocks. The system does this automatically when you save.

4.8 Per-Variant Images

Each combination can have its own image that shows when a customer selects that variant. This is done in the "Variant image" column of the combinations table. Click the upload icon or paste a URL.

If a variant has no specific image, the product's primary gallery image is shown.

4.9 Disabling Variants

If you flip the variants switch off, the existing combinations are hidden from view (but preserved in state). If you toggle variants back on, your previous stock and SKU data reappear. Saving with variants off reverts the product to a single stock value.

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Part 5: Bulk Operations

5.1 CSV Export

From the products list, click "Export". A CSV file downloads containing all your products with every supported field:

• id, title, description, price, compareAtPrice, costPerItem
• sku, barcode, stock
• categoryId, categoryName, status, isActive, isFeatured
• tags, videoUrl, metaTitle, metaDescription
• weight, weightUnit, createdAt, updatedAt

Use this for backup or to edit products in bulk using a spreadsheet.

5.2 CSV Import

From the products list, click "Import". Choose a CSV file from your computer.

Required fields:

• title (the product name)
• sku (unique identifier)
• price (numeric, greater than zero)

Optional fields (with defaults if omitted):

• stock defaults to 0
• compareAtPrice, costPerItem, barcode
• categoryId (preferred) or categoryName (matched by name)
• tags (separated by | or , or ;)
• videoUrl (must be valid http/https URL)
• status: active, draft, out-of-stock, or low-stock
• isActive, isFeatured (boolean: true/false, 1/0, yes/no)
• weight and weightUnit (kg, lb, oz, or g)

Import behavior:

• If a row has an SKU that already exists, the existing product is updated.
• If the SKU is new, a new product is created.
• A summary toast shows how many products were imported and how many failed.

5.3 Download Import Template

Click "Download Template" to get a starter CSV file. It includes all supported columns plus a sample row and inline guidelines you can delete before importing.

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Part 6: Product View and Search Behavior

6.1 Customer-Facing Product Page

Once published, products appear at https://<your-store>.lokzon.com/products/<product-slug>. The page shows:

• Image gallery (with the variant-specific image when one is selected).
• Product name, brand, price, and compare-at price.
• Variant selectors (Color, Size, etc.).
• Stock availability.
• Short and full descriptions.
• Tags and metadata.

6.2 Search

The customer-facing search bar searches across product names, short descriptions, full descriptions, tags, and SKUs.

6.3 Categories in Storefront

Products are organized by category at https://<your-store>.lokzon.com/categories/<category-slug>. Subcategories appear nested under their parent.

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Part 7: Quick Reference

Pages

Required Fields for a Product

Common Actions

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End of Guide

Your product catalog is fully under your control. You can add, edit, organize, and manage stock for any number of products, with or without variants, and bring them all into your store in minutes.