In the last chapter we added Simple Products to Magento's catalog. It is possible that Simple Products do not suit what you want completely. In that case, some of Magento's other more complex product types may be useful for you.
In this chapter we will discuss the following product types:
- Virtual product and Downloadable product: This is used to sell a nonphysical or downloadable product
- Grouped product: This is used to allow a customer to add multiple products to his/her cart at once
- Configurable product: This is used to sell a product that consists of multiple variants where each variant can have its own inventory and product code (SKU – Stock Keeping Unit)
- Bundle product: This is used to allow a customer to quickly configure and order a whole set of products that belong together
Grouped and Configurable products will receive the most attention as these are in general the product types that are most used besides Simple products. After the different product types have been discussed, the final part of this chapter will explain more about what the three types of product relations (cross-sells, up-sells, and related products) are in Magento as well as how to set them for a specific product.
By the end of this chapter you should know enough to completely set up your store's catalog!
Virtual products are used to facilitate nonphysical purchases such as house cleaning, a service contract, or an hour of consultancy. Adding a Virtual product is much like adding a Simple product as described in the previous chapter. In the Magento admin, by using the default Magento settings, the most noticeable difference when adding the Virtual product is the absence of the attributes weight, color, and manufacturer.
In your store's frontend, the difference between a Virtual product and a Simple product can be seen in the checkout process. When a customer orders a Virtual product, the step to select a shipping method will be completely gone!
The first step when adding a Virtual product is to go to Catalog | Manage Products. On this screen, click on Add Product in the top-right corner. You will be taken to the first step of adding a product: choosing the attribute set and product type. So far, this should be familiar from Chapter 4, Simple Products. However, now choose Virtual Product from the Product Type drop-down list instead of Simple Product and click on Continue:
As stated earlier, the next screen will be much like the product edit screen for adding a Simple product, with the main difference being that some attributes are not available. In this example, we will be adding a Virtual product with the name House cleaning.
Note
The easiest way to find your product on the frontend of your store is by searching your store for the product's name. If you cannot find your product in your store, check if the product is enabled, check if it has stock and stock availability is set to Yes, and check if the product has been added to the website you're searching on in the Websites tab of the product edit screen.
All information pertaining to this product can be filled in in the same way you would do for a Simple product. In the frontend, the resulting product page looks much like a Simple product:
The big difference with a Simple product can be seen in the checkout. First, add the product to the shopping cart. Choose Proceed to Checkout when you are in the shopping cart. You will arrive at Magento's one-page checkout process as usual, but look at the checkout steps and you will see that the entire step of choosing a shipping method will be gone.
As a rule more people will finish the checkout if your checkout process is shorter, so always be careful to choose the right product type when adding products, as that way your checkout flow will be as smooth as possible.
