In configento.app every configurator is called a component. A component holds all characteristics, values, prices and rules for one product or product group. This article takes you through the whole process once: from the empty component through characteristics and surcharges to the published version your shop displays. The details of each step are in the linked articles.
The principle in three sentences
- You build the component in the editor and save it. A saved state is a draft – only the preview shows it.
- Publish checks the current state and releases it to the shops.
- Your shop or website embeds the component via a plugin or an HTML snippet and always shows the last published version.
Step 1: Open the admin
Sign in to the Service Portal and click Manage next to your service. The component overview opens.
The main navigation has four entries:
| Entry | Content |
|---|---|
| Components | All your configurators |
| Building blocks | Centrally maintained price lists and tables that several components use |
| Settings | Settings for the whole account, e.g. languages and integrations – see Global Settings |
| Introduction | Restarts the tour of the interface |
Empty account: sample components
If your account is still empty, the admin asks on your first visit whether it should add four sample components. They show a combined product image, combination characteristics with formulas, a rule set and graphical icons. You can edit, publish or delete them like any other component – they make good templates to learn from. If you dismissed the question, you can get back to it via Introduction as long as the account is empty.
Step 2: Create a component
In the component overview you have two ways:
- New component: enter a Title, e.g. "Made-to-measure roller blind", and click Create. The editor opens with an empty component.
- Import ZIP: takes over a component you previously saved as a ZIP with Export component – e.g. from another account.
To use an existing component as a starting point, use Duplicate component on its card.
Prefer chat? The AI assistant creates the component including its characteristics for you – see With the AI assistant.
Step 3: The editor at a glance
The editor has three columns:
| Area | Content |
|---|---|
| Left | Four tabs: Characteristics (the structure tree with groups and characteristics), Rules, Settings (of the whole component) and Versions |
| Middle | Toggle Edit / Preview. Edit shows all characteristics schematically – a click selects a characteristic. Preview shows the real configurator. |
| Right | The Settings of the selected characteristic or group |
At the top right you find Undo, Reset (discards all changes and reloads the last published version) and Publish. If there are unsaved changes, the Save button appears above the right-hand area.
Step 4: Create groups and characteristics
Characteristics always live in a group. A new component has none yet, so you start there:
- In the Characteristics tab, click Add group. A group "New group" is created. Use the gear icon (Group settings) to give it a name, e.g. "Dimensions".
- Click + (Add characteristic) on the group. A characteristic "New characteristic" of the type Selection is created.
- On the right, under Basic settings, set:
| Field | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Label | What your customers see, e.g. "Colour" |
| Internal name (ID) | Unique name for formulas and rules, e.g. colour. Give it a meaningful name right away – you won't want to see the automatically assigned new_option_… in any formula later. |
| Data category | Broad kind of characteristic (see below) |
| Data type | Concrete presentation within the category |
How many groups you need and how they are displayed (without groups, as tabs, as an accordion or step by step as a wizard) is explained in Feature Groups & Display Modes.
The four data categories
| Data category | Data types (selection) | Used for |
|---|---|---|
| Discrete characteristic | Selection, Radio Buttons, Checkbox, List with images, Multi-selection | The customer chooses from fixed values, e.g. colour or drive |
| Free entry | Small input field, Large input field, Date | The customer enters something, e.g. width in cm |
| Calculation | Formula, Price list, Simple combination | The configurator calculates by itself, e.g. area or matrix price |
| Frontend | Static field, Action button, File upload | Content and actions without a selection of their own, e.g. an info text or "Request a quote" |
All types in detail: Add Features & Values.
Step 5: Values and surcharges
For a discrete characteristic, you add the choices in the Values section with + Value. Clicking a value opens its settings:
| Field | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Label | What the customer sees, e.g. "Anthracite" |
| Value | Internal value, e.g. anthracite – used in rules and formulas |
| Price | Surcharge when the customer chooses this value |
| Article number | Optional, e.g. for bills of materials in the shop |
How surcharges are displayed is set for the whole component in the Settings tab under Extra charge: Price display on or off, Price type Absolute (the value's surcharge) or Relative (the difference to the current selection), and the Price pattern.
Prices that depend on inputs – tiers, formulas, price matrices – are explained in Set Up Pricing, Price Formulas and Price Matrices from Excel/CSV.
Step 6: Basic component settings
In the left-hand Settings tab you find the settings of the whole component, split into General, Design, Reporting and Custom fields. To start with, these from General are enough:
| Setting | Effect |
|---|---|
| Title | Name of the component in the overview |
| Headline | Optional headline above the configurator |
| Default locale for this component | Language in which you maintain the content |
| Display | No groups, tabs or accordion |
| Frontend engine | Legacy (default) or V3 – see below |
All other settings: Component Settings.
Frontend engine: Legacy or V3
The engine determines which configurator runs in the shop. Legacy is the proven default. V3 is the new engine; some features exist only there, others only in Legacy. For your first component, keep Legacy (default). Which functions exist in only one engine, where each engine runs and what the V3 badge in the overview means is explained in Frontend Engine: Legacy or V3.
Step 7: Save and test in the preview
Click Save. Every save creates an entry in the Versions tab – you can use it later to go back to an earlier state (Restore) or compare two states.
Then switch the middle column to Preview. You see the configurator the way your customers will see it, with the selected frontend engine. Check:
- Do all characteristics appear in the right order?
- Are the surcharges and the total price correct?
- Do your rules work, if you already have some?
Good to know:
- The preview shows the last saved state. If you changed something afterwards, a yellow note points it out – save and reload the preview with ↺.
- The preview needs the HTML5 integration. If it's off, the admin asks you to activate it: switch on the HTML5 card under Settings → Integrations. You only need to do this once.
- Move to separate window opens the preview separately – giving the editor more room.
Step 8: Publish
Up to here, your shop sees none of this. As long as the saved state differs from the published version, the top bar shows Not live yet.
- Click Publish at the top right.
- The admin checks the component. Errors – e.g. a price list without a table configuration – block publishing and are listed. Warnings – e.g. an empty formula or a duplicate internal name – are shown as well, but publishing remains possible.
- Confirm with Yes, publish. Unsaved changes are saved in the process.
From now on, all shops show this version. Changes you save afterwards only go into the draft again – until the next publish.
Step 9: Embed in your shop
How the component gets onto your product page depends on your system:
- Magento 2 / Adobe Commerce: Install Magento Plugin
- Shopware 6: Install Shopware Plugin
- Shopify: Installing the Shopify Plugin
- WordPress, TYPO3 or any other website: HTML Snippet Integration
In each case, you choose there which component should appear on the product. Publish it first – the shop only shows published versions.
With the AI assistant
The AI assistant runs along the full width of the bottom of the admin. Click New chat and describe your product, for example:
I sell made-to-measure roller blinds. Create a component "Roller blind" with width and height in cm (40 to 240 each), fabric type (standard, blackout +€15) and drive (chain, motor +€89).
The assistant creates groups, characteristics, values and surcharges. Check the result in the editor and the preview afterwards, and publish it yourself. The AI assistant uses AI tokens and only appears if it is enabled for your account. More: AI Agent: Build Configurator via Chat.
Common pitfalls
- The shop doesn't show my change – saved isn't published. If the top bar says Not live yet, click Publish.
- The preview shows an old state – it always shows the last saved state. Save, then reload with ↺.
- The preview stays empty with a note about HTML5 – switch on the HTML5 integration under Settings → Integrations.
- I can't find a button for a new characteristic – characteristics need a group. First Add group, then + on the group.
- A formula can't find a characteristic – formulas use the Internal name (ID), not the label. Check the spelling.