I’m working on an e-commerce database and I’m stuck on how to label certain product features. I get that attributes are things like color or size, options are the choices for those attributes (like red or blue for color), and variations are combos of attributes and options.
But what about stuff customers can customize? Like if they want to add text to a t-shirt. Is that still an option? Or something else?
How do most e-commerce databases handle this kind of custom input? I’m not sure where it fits in the standard product model. Any insights on best practices for this would be super helpful. Thanks!
In my experience working with e-commerce systems, we typically refer to these customizable elements as ‘personalization options’ or simply ‘customizations’. They’re distinct from standard attributes and options because they involve unique user input for each order.
For database structure, we generally create a separate table to store these customizations, linked to the main product and order tables. This allows for flexible data storage without complicating the core product schema.
The exact implementation can vary based on the complexity of customizations offered. For simpler cases like text input, a basic field in the customization table suffices. More complex scenarios might require additional tables or JSON fields to store multiple customization options.
Ultimately, the goal is to maintain data integrity while providing flexibility for various types of customizations across different products.
hey, dancingbutterfly! for custom text on shirts, i call them ‘customizations’. they aren’t regular attribs since every order gets unique input. in our db, we use a separate table for them to track custm input. hope it helps!
Hey there DancingButterfly! 
Ooh, custom product features - that’s a tricky one! Have you considered calling them ‘personalizations’? I’ve seen some shops use that term.
I’m curious, what kind of products are you dealing with? Just t-shirts, or other stuff too? And how complex can the customizations get?
In my experience, it helps to think about the workflow. Like, at what point does the customer input their custom text? Maybe that could give you a clue on how to structure it?
Also, have you looked into how platforms like Shopify or WooCommerce handle this? Might be worth checking out for inspiration!
What’s the most challenging part for you in figuring this out? I’d love to hear more about your specific use case!