Setting up a product configurator sounds technical, but in practice it is more a matter of thinking carefully about what you want to offer, and then methodically lining up all the parts. No code needed, just time and attention. Whether you manage your shop website yourself or have outsourced it to a developer, the steps are the same. The difference is in who carries them out.
Here is how you get it done in six steps.
Step 1: map out the choices on paper first
Before you dive into WordPress, write down on paper (or in a simple spreadsheet) what you want to offer. For each product variant or service:
- Which choices does the customer need to make?
- In what logical order do those choices come?
- What are the options for each choice?
- What is the surcharge for each option?
An example for a bicycle shop:
- Bike type: city bike / e-bike / road bike
- Frame size: 49, 53, 57, 61
- Color: black, anthracite, white
- Accessories: basket, child seat, lock
- Maintenance plan: 1 year, 2 years, 3 years
What you can already see: a single bike comes with about five choices. Forty combinations at minimum. Impossible to manage with separate product pages.
Step 2: choose a plugin that fits your situation
There are several product configurators on the WordPress market. The choice depends on your situation:
- How many products you sell
- Whether you want to show payment options like iDEAL in3
- How much you want to spend
- Whether you need Dutch language support
- Whether you install it yourself or want help with setup
Look at the demos of different solutions before you choose. The admin interface is where you will be working daily, so it has to feel logical.
Step 3: install the plugin
Most WordPress plugins are installed through Plugins > Add new plugin > Upload plugin. You upload the zip file, click activate, and the plugin is ready.
Many commercial plugins work with a license key. You enter that under the plugin settings. After that you receive updates and support.
Step 4: build your first configurator
With your notes from step 1 in hand, you start working in the plugin admin. The typical structure is:
- Step: a part of the configurator (for example “Bike type”)
- Group: a category within a step (for example “City bikes”)
- Option: a specific choice within a group (for example “Comfort city bike, € 599”)
Work top to bottom. First create steps, then groups, then options. If you check the front end as you go, you will immediately see whether the flow makes sense.
Reuse what you can reuse. Are you selling the same set of accessories with multiple bikes? Create them once in a group library (if your plugin has that feature) and link them to each relevant product.
Are you the shop owner doing this yourself? Set aside a quiet moment, not between customer interactions. Building a configurator requires structured thinking, and that does not work when you are jumping back and forth to help customers.
Step 5: test as a real customer would
This often gets skipped. Do it anyway. Open your site in an incognito window, pretend you are a customer, and walk through the entire flow up to checkout. Watch for:
- Is the price correct at every step?
- Are the texts clear?
- Does the order feel logical?
- Does the iDEAL in3 installment calculation work?
- Does the right configuration end up in the cart?
Ask someone else to do the same. A family member, a colleague at the shop, or a customer you know well. A person who was not involved in building it will notice things you no longer see yourself.
Step 6: monitor and adjust
A configurator is not something you set up once and then forget about. Keep an eye on:
- Which options are chosen most often?
- At which step do customers drop off?
- Are there still phone calls with the same questions?
Based on that, you adjust steps. A frequently chosen option you can mark as “recommended”. A group where many customers drop off you can shorten or describe more clearly.
How much time does it take in total
An experienced WordPress user gets a simple configurator (three to five steps, twenty options) up and running in half a day. Plus a few hours of testing. For a more complex setup with conditional logic and multiple product lines, expect a day or two.
Do not have that time? Or does it feel a bit too technical to handle yourself? Many plugins are offered including installation and help with the initial configuration. That saves you the learning curve, and lets you focus on what you know best: your products and your customers.
One final practical tip
Do not start with your most difficult product. Pick a simple product, build a configurator for it, and see how it works. Then move on to the more complex ones. You learn by doing, and your first configurator is a guinea pig you will learn a lot from.