Free-text notes
Configuration arriving as an unstructured note means a human re-reads every order. It works at ten orders a day and collapses at a hundred.
BUILD-YOUR-OWN AND PERSONALIZED PRODUCTS
Shopify product configurators and personalization
Build-your-own product flows that produce a real, fulfillable order. Trunki customers configure custom one-off designs; Moonglow customers enter a date and the store renders that moon phase, which drives the personalized product they buy.
IN SHORT
- A configurator is only finished when the warehouse can act on the order without phoning anyone.
- Configuration travels as line item properties through cart, order and fulfillment, so it survives the whole journey.
- Moonglow customers enter a date and the store renders that moon phase, which drives the personalized product they buy.
- Trunki customers configure custom one-off ride-on designs as part of the store we migrated to Shopify Plus.
- Configurator code loads only on the templates that need it, so personalization does not slow the whole catalog.
The test a configurator has to pass
Most configurator projects are judged on the front end. Does the preview look good, is the flow smooth, does it feel premium. Fair questions, and the wrong test.
The real test is at the other end of the process: can the person making the product act on the order without phoning anyone? A beautiful configurator that produces an order line reading “Custom: see notes” has moved the work from the customer to your operations team, and it will keep doing that on every order forever.
So we design backwards from fulfillment. What does the order need to say for it to be made correctly? Everything else is built to produce that.
Two we have built
Trunki and Moonglow
Trunki sells ride-on children’s suitcases, including custom one-off designs. The configurator is part of the store we migrated from Magento to Shopify Plus, and it has to produce something the production process can act on.
Moonglow sells jewelry set to the moon phase of a date that matters to you. The customer enters a date of birth or another significant date, the store renders the moon phase for that date, and that drives the personalized product. It launched in the US, then Australia, then further markets, and the configuration traveled with it each time.
How we build one
Six stages, designed backwards from what fulfillment needs.
- 01
Define the option model
What can vary, what depends on what, and which combinations are impossible. Getting the dependency rules written down early is what stops customers configuring something you cannot make.
- 02
Design the preview
The customer has to see what they are buying. That may be a rendered image, a composed layout or a plain summary. The requirement is accuracy, not sophistication.
- 03
Carry the state
Configuration travels as line item properties into the cart and through to the order, so nothing is reconstructed or guessed at a later step.
- 04
Make it legible to fulfillment
The order has to tell the person making the product exactly what to make. This is where most configurators fail, and it is the stage we design backwards from.
- 05
Keep rules editable
Options, pricing and dependency rules live in data your team can change, not constants that need a developer and a deploy.
- 06
Scope the performance
Configurator code loads only on templates that need it, so a personalization feature does not tax every page on the site.
What has to survive the journey
- The exact configuration, as structured data rather than a free-text note
- A preview the customer saw and can be shown again in confirmation emails
- Pricing that reflects the configuration, including option-dependent pricing
- Component-level detail where inventory decrements per component
- Production instructions legible to whoever makes it
- Enough data to handle a return or remake without asking the customer to re-specify
Where configurators go wrong
Impossible combinations
Without dependency rules, customers configure things you cannot make, and you find out at fulfillment rather than at checkout.
Sitewide performance cost
Configurator libraries loaded on every page, taxing a catalog where most products are not configurable.
Rules locked in code
Options and pricing kept as constants mean every seasonal change is a developer ticket and a deploy.
Brands running configurators
Trunki
Trunki, the UK kids' ride-on suitcase brand, moved from Magento to Shopify Plus with its design intact and a custom builder for personalized Trunkis. We also built a warranty system, connected their back-office systems and launched their US and German stores. UK revenue is up about 50%.
Moonglow
Moonglow sells jewelry set with the moon as it looked on a date that matters to you. Shoppers were stuck on how it works, so we built a moon-phase calculator that shows the real moon for any date, and a builder that turns that date, an engraving and a metal into a piece of jewelry. Sales are up more than 25%.
Who we have done this for
Clients from the roster whose work this page describes. Each links to what we built.
GANT
GANT came to Shopify with internal systems already in place. We migrated the store and connected those systems, including integrations with individual local stores.
SEE THE WORK →
Tayst Coffee
Tayst launched a new brand of compostable single-serve coffee pods. We built the Shopify store and a guided builder: shoppers say how they brew, how many drinkers there are, which roast they like and how many cups they need, get a recommended mix they can change, and the bundle becomes a Recharge subscription with a 15% discount. Tayst has grown about 20% month on month.
READ THE STORY →
Eat Cake Today
Eat Cake Today is a funded Malaysian startup that sells cakes from many local bakers and kitchens and delivers them the same day. We built the Shopify storefront and the back end behind it: each vendor's capacity and each cake's making time decide which dates and times a shopper is offered, and each order goes straight to the kitchen and a rider. The service now covers three to four cities.
READ THE STORY →
Trunki
Trunki, the UK kids' ride-on suitcase brand, moved from Magento to Shopify Plus with its design intact and a custom builder for personalized Trunkis. We also built a warranty system, connected their back-office systems and launched their US and German stores. UK revenue is up about 50%.
READ THE STORY →
Moonglow
Moonglow sells jewelry set with the moon as it looked on a date that matters to you. Shoppers were stuck on how it works, so we built a moon-phase calculator that shows the real moon for any date, and a builder that turns that date, an engraving and a metal into a piece of jewelry. Sales are up more than 25%.
READ THE STORY →Configurator questions
Can Shopify handle personalized or made-to-order products?
Yes, with line item properties and custom cart logic. The harder part is making the personalization legible to whoever fulfills the order, which is where most configurators fall down.
Does a configurator hurt page speed?
Only if it loads for every visitor. We load configurator code on the templates that need it, not sitewide.
Can Shopify handle personalized or made-to-order products?
Yes, using line item properties and custom cart logic. The technical part is well understood; the harder part is making the personalization legible to whoever fulfills the order, which is where most configurators fall down.
Should we use a product options app or build custom?
An options app is fine for simple variations: a text engraving, a color choice. Build custom when options depend on each other, when pricing changes with the configuration, or when fulfillment needs structured data rather than a free-text note.
How do configurators affect inventory?
It depends whether you are assembling from stocked components or making to order. Component-based configurators need inventory decremented per component, which is an integration question as much as a storefront one.
Related
ERP & Internal Systems
Shopify connected to the systems a business already runs on, down to integrations with individual local stores.
Subscriptions & Recharge
Bundle builders and subscription logic that hand off cleanly to Recharge, as built for Tayst Coffee.
Custom Apps & Back Ends
When the logic does not fit an app: vendor capacity, delivery scheduling, made-to-order queues.
Configured subscriptions are a related but distinct problem. See subscriptions and Recharge. Component inventory usually needs ERP integration.
NEXT STEP
Scope a custom build
Vendor capacity engines, bundle builders and configurators are the work we are asked for most. Tell us the rule set.
