What are Product Browsing Filters?

We can setup filters for customers to use while browsing (by brands, colour, size, price, availability, etc.) using our Query Rewrite fo Lightpeed, AdVision AE web store platforms.

PRODUCT BROWSING FILTERS IN AE

Speak with AE Sales about installing the product browsing filters module.

Once installed, product browsing filters can be found in AE admin under Catalog>>Products>>Filters.  Here you can create new filters and determine where (which categories, search) they show in your webstore(s).

To create your first filter, click “Create a New Filter”.  In the form that loads, fill in the following fields:

  • Name: Your name for the filter.  Should be whatever let’s you know what the filter is for (e.g. “Color Filter”)
  • Active: check to make the filter active, uncheck to de-activate (only active filters will display on your webstores).
  • Label: Name of the filter that shows in the webstore to your customers (e.g. “Filter by Color”)
  • Type: Determines what the filter is for.
    • Availability: filters to show products of certain stock availabilities
    • Pricing: filters to show products within specified price ranges
    • Attributes: filters to show products by a particular attribute you have setup in your catalog (e.g. Color, Size, etc.)
    • Brands: filters to show based on brand of products
  • Rank: determines the order that filters show in on the webstore.  When multiple filters are set to show on a page, this value determines the order they display in (lower numbers show before higher numbers; i.e. filter with rank set to 0 shows before a filter with rank set to 10)
  • Field Type: determines the field type used to display the filter in your webstore.  Select menu will show a select (and also means the customer will only be able to select one value to filter by at a time).  Checkboxes shows a list of checkboxes (and allows the customer to select multiple values to filter by).
  • Use in Search Results: if checked, the filter will display in the webstore’s search results page.  If not checked, filter will NOT display on search results page.
  • Categories: determines which categories the filter to show in.  If none are checked, the filter will not show in any categories.  Check all categories you want the filter to show in.

Once you’ve filled in the fields, click Save Changes.  This will generate the new filter and refresh the form so you can setup the final elements.

For Availability type filters, when the form refreshes you’ll be presented with the “Availabilities” section.  Here you can setup the options that will display for your availability filter.  For example, most frequently customers what to setup 2 or 3 options: In Stock, Backordered, Discontinued.  

To do this, we’ll start with the first option and fill in the label calling it “In Stock”.  The label is how the option will be displayed in the webstore.  For the In Stock option, we want to show any products that have an availability of In Stock or Low Stock, so we check those checkboxes for this option.  Next we set the rank (determines the order these filter options will display in).  We want In Stock to be the first option, so we’ll set it’s rank to 0.  We check the Active checkbox to make sure this option shows.

Now we need to add an option for Backordered items, so we’ll click “Add Another Availability Option”. When the new fields load, we’ll set Label=”Backordered”, check “On Order” for the options checkboxes, set Rank=1 (to show it after In Stock option) and check Active.

Finally, if we want an option for Discontinued, we’d click “Add Another Availability Option”, set Label=”Discontinued”, check “Discontinued”, set Rank=2 and check Active. Click Save Changes and we’ve now setup a product filter for customers to filter products by availabilities.

For Pricing type filters, when the form refreshes you’ll be presented with the “Pricing” section.  Here you can setup the different price ranges you want customers to be able to filter by.  For example, our first price range might be to show item’s priced under $10, so we might set Label = “Under $10”, set Rank=0 (to show this as the first option in the filter), set Min Price = 0 and Max Price = 9.99 (to show anything between priced between 0 and 9.99).

Now we might want another price range to show items between $10 and $50, so we’ll click “Add Another Price Range”, set Label = “$10 - $50”, set Rank = 1, set Min Price = 10 and Max Price = 49.99.

Maybe we want a final price range to cover anything over $50, we click “Add Another Price Range”, set Label = “Over $50”, set Rank = 2, set Min Price = 50 and leave Max Price empty.  This will grab anything priced at $50 or more.  Click Save Change and we’ve now setup a pricing filter for customers to use.

For Attributes type filters, when the form refreshes you’ll see the “Attributes” section.  Attributes type work differently than the other types in that you can setup multiple filter fields within this single filter.  Each field you setup is for a single attribute, but you can setup multiple attributes in this one filter.  So for example, I may create a product filter called (Color and Material) to host two attribute filter fields, one for a “Color” attribute and one for a “Material” attribute (note: these are example attributes that I would have setup previously under Catalog>>Attributes and assigned the appropriate color and material attribute options to products).

To setup these attribute field filters, in the first fields that show in the “Attributes” section, I’d select the attribute that should be used for this first field, in this case I select the “Color” attribute.  Next I set the Label that will display with the filter, so I’m going to enter “Filter by Color” and I’ll set the Rank=0 (so it shows before any other field filters I setup in this product filter) and I’ll check Active so it shows.

Now I want to add a material field filter next, so I click “Add Another Attribute” and in the new fields that show I select the Material attribute, set Label = “Filter by Material”, set Rank=1 (so it shows after Color field) and check Active. Now I click Save Changes. This product filter will now show in your webstore with two filter fields for the two attributes I’ve setup.

For Brands type filters, when the form refreshes there’s nothing additional to do.  This is a straightforward filter that will show any brands setup in your catalog (Catalog>>Brands) as options for the customer to filter by.

PRODUCT BROWSING FILTERS IN LS ONSITE

In Lightspeed Onsite webstores, AE support setup our query rewrite module to override Lightspeed’s product query with our own.  Within this we can setup several optional filters including Size, Color, Brands and Price (with customized price ranges based on your preference).

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