Import Custom Attributes during Sync

*** User Experience ***
As a user I want to be able to filter products on the website using filters that are relevant to the products sold by the shop.

Some typical filters would be Brand (which in many cases may have a different title, e.g. in my case as a bottle shop the brand would be “Brewery”), Colour, and so on. In some situations the filters may be very unique to the product. For example, as a bottle shop I may add the IBU of beers.

All of these filters would be managed via “Custom Attributes” in a WooCommerce+Square setup.

*** Shop Owner Experience ***
As a shop owner I have a physical store and an eCommerce store to compliment it. On the eCommerce store I want to have product filters according to the products that I am selling to encourage users to have the quickest journey in their decision to buy.

As a busy shop owner I cannot do a data entry job twice for every single product so I need the Sync to bring all the data across that I need. As I have a physical store I need the system of record to be the the Point of Sale, in this case Square. Therefore, when I sync products I need the Custom Attributes to be brought over to WooCommerce via the plugin and automatically assigned to the products.

If this is done then my Product Filter plugin will work seamlessly and encourage users to buy products.

If my online presence is successful this will encourage me to expand my WooCommerce platform and look into paid plugins to enhance my online presence further.

*** My Request ***
Import the Custom Attributes from Square for each product.

The logic would need to be:
1. Check attribute name. If the Attribute does not exist on my WooCommerce, create that Attribute.
2. Check the attribute value. If the Attribute Value does not exist on my WooCommerce, create that Attribute Value.
3. Assign the Attributes and corresponding Values to each product that is imported into WooCommerce.

Author

Current Status

Open

Last updated: June 18, 2021

2 comments

Log in to comment on this feature request.

  1. stefheisel says:

    Hey there. Dealing with filters can be a bit of a head-scratcher, huh? Your request totally makes sense, and I’ve been down that road before. As a fellow bottle shop owner, I get how crucial it is to make the online shopping journey as smooth as a well-poured pint :)))

    Here’s a hack I picked up: try using a plugin like “Attribute Syncer” (I swear by it!). It pretty much automates the whole attribute import hustle. Just set it up to follow your logic – create, check, assign – and let it do the heavy lifting. Saved me heaps of time, especially when dealing with unique stuff like IBU for beers. If you need help with these settings, go here: https://andersenlab.com/services/custom-software-development

    Plus, it syncs directly from Square to WooCommerce, keeping your Point of Sale as the boss. Once those attributes are in, your Product Filter plugin will sing like a happy customer after a tasting session.

    Trust me, it’s a game-changer for us busy shopkeepers. Hope this advice smoothens out the bumps in your eCommerce journey.

  2. Joe says:

    In order to get the custom attributes it may be necessary to update the Square API that’s being used for this plugin. See this forum thread: https://wordpress.org/support/topic/safest-way-to-update-square-api-its-2-years-out-of-date/

    The Square API is version 2019-08-14, and the latest version is 2021-06-16. It’s almost 2 years and 23 versions out of date.

    The newest version returns the custom attributes in the Search Catalog Objects function. The version currently used doesn’t.