Just a couple of suggestions to bring BTO up to speed with many similar customization packages

1) The ability to span BTO options across multiple pages (i.e. page 1: hardware, page 2: software, page 3: Accessories).  If you have 20 upgrade categories, this keeps the page neatly ordered and less cluttered

2) Combining radio buttons and drop down options on a single page and letting us choose which category will be radio and which will be drop down!

3) Category pictures on the BTO page (i.e. a 'hard drive' category with a little picture of a hard drive next to it).  I managed to do this at one time, but with the BTO updates, it got to be more of a hassle than it was worth. 

4) "Estimated shipping date".  If you've got a 10 day lead time, it would be nice to indicate the estimated shipping date on the bto page.

5) Color picker and horizontally listed BTO choices - While one could certainly create a category for color choices, it increases the length of the BTO page and increases the chance that a customer will become overwhelmed and leave.  Having a simple color picker with swatches of color all neatly organized horizontally would add a nice touch to the page.

I would just like to add my thumbs up to Richard's suggestions above.

.... and to extend slightly on the first suggestion

The first suggestion (to allow BTO options to span over multiple pages) could also be extended to tidy up the existing "Additional Charges" functionality.  I believe that the main reason that the "additional charges" are split on a separate page at the moment is because they are not quantity dependent.  I would prefer to see this option built into each customisable category.  I.e if the price option additions for a particular category are quantity dependent then tick a box to say so.  This way price options can be grouped more effectively and the excellent BTO conflict management module will work on non quantity dependent options.

Matt

I was about to add the same thing!  We're definitely on the same page here :D

And expanding upon that, it would be nice to have subcategories for any option.

for example: Let's say my guys put up a computer that offers XP Media Center Edition, Vista Premium and Vista Ultimate.  There's no 64-bit version of XP Media Center, so when Vista Premium or Ultimate is selected, it would be nice to have a subcategory for "64-bit?" to open up. 

Of course, that's still secondary to configuration spanning.  Spanning build options across multiple pages is one of the main differences between a custom ecommerce solution and an 'off the shelf' solution and it would be my #1 choice to add to product cart. 

Page 1: Core components - Processor, motherboard, RAM

Page 2: Multimedia - Video Card, Sound Card, Capture card

Page 3: Peripherals - Mouse, Keyboard, webcam, etc

Page 4: Software

Page 5: Warranty

This is needed desperately, I repeat, desperately.  It would allow us to add more options without creating a cluttered field.  HiPe PC's biggest dropoff point is on the configuration page, because there's just so many dog gone options to choose from on one page that it becomes overwhelming and difficult to read.

Hi everyone. Thanks a lot for the suggestions.

Multi-page configuration

Recoding the product configurator so that it supports a multi-page configuration is a huge task. It's not something that we can tackle any time soon. The http://www.earlyimpact.com/productcart/build_to_order/conflict-management.asp - Conflict Management system would not work at all, for example.

You could theoretically turn the categories into "tabs" using CSS. That would give the customer the idea of having multiple pages, but it would allow for the code to remain the same as it's really just one page as far as the browser is concerned.

This is also something that unfortunately we don't have time to dedicate to right now, but somebody that's good with CSS could rewrite the code a bit by turning table rows into uniquerly identified DIVs and then use JavaScript and CSS to turn those DIVs into tabs.

Other suggestions

I'll talk to the development team and see if we can tackle some of the other suggestions.

Thanks again for the useful feedback!

massimo
Early Impact

Hi Massimo,

I kind of guessed that multi page configuration would throw up a few problems with the Conflict Management System and if an improvement was to get on the development list in the short term then it is best targetted at category level.

The most useful solution for me to combat the cluttered page look would be to choose between drop down and radio options per category.

Going back to the difficulties with the conflict management system over multiple pages (and perhaps contradicting my earlier posting in this thread) I would definitely like to see the functionality to choose between the qty dependent option charges and fixed price charges at category level.  This means that fixed price options can then be controlled by the Conflict Management System.  The fixed price options would also benefit from the Ajax popup and the ability to add quantities to them which are features all missing I believe by placing them on the second page.

The second additional charges page could still remain if people wanted to use it (and would probably have to for existing compatability) but as it stands at the moment I do think this page is a poor relation the preceding configuration page.

Just a thought.  Certainly not a moan because I have only been using this product for a week and I have already uncovered so many features I have not seen before with other commerce software.  Plus its great to see a company taking in suggestions from its customers.

Thanks Matt

There's an easy solution I think that would satisfy both bto and bto+conflict management store owners.

Having multiple BTO pages is actually very easy - in configureprdcode.asp, change the add to cart link from instprd.asp to instprd2.asp, create an instprd2.asp that links to a configureprd2.asp, etc and you end up with multiple pages.

The only problem is that the second, third, etc pages are the same for every product and there needs to be a way to configure what items (if any) will appear on the successive pages.

For conflict management owners, the option to create multiple BTO pages would just be turned off until the conflict management code can be updated to allow it.