ERPNext Webshop Setup and Publishing Process
1. Create Item Groups
Example Tree:
- All Item Groups
- Products
- Desktops
- Industrial Controllers
- Laptops
- Network
- Network Attached Storage (NAS)
- Servers
- Services
- Frappe ERPNext Solutions
- Industrial Controller Solutions
- Network Solutions
- NextCloud Solutions
- Open Source Solutions
- Raw Material
- Sub Assemblies
- Consumable
- Products
Guidelines:
- Go to Stock → Item Group Tree.
- Create or edit groups according to your product/service taxonomy.
- Ensure correct hierarchy (e.g., “Products” and “Services” under “All Item Groups”).
- For each Item Group:
- Check ✅ Show in Website under Website Section.
- Verify the route (URL path) is valid.
- Optionally write a short description of what the category means (can be added later).
Tax Configuration:
- Groups like Services, Goods (Products), Rent → typically have Withholding Tax and VAT.
- Raw Material, Subassemblies, Consumables → generally not published on webshop, internal use only.
Special Notes:
- Open Source Solutions includes SECADA, STEWARD, SYNX, and third-party open source projects (e.g., Open WebUI, Ollama, WordPress, Mailcow, etc.).
2. Configure Webshop Settings
Path: Website → Webshop Settings
Steps:
- Enable ✅ Field Filters (Categories).
- Add Website Item Fields:
branditem_groupitem_code
- Enable ✅ Attribute Filters (optional, for Colour, Size, etc.).
- Save settings.
3. Bulk Upload and Edit Items
Path: Stock → Item → ⋯ (ellipses) → Import
- Download or view Sample Upload Template.
- Ensure the following default fields are included:
| Fieldname | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| item_code | Unique item identifier | DELL-DC15255 |
| item_name | Display name | Dell 15 DC15255 Laptop |
| brand | Link to Brand DocType | Dell |
| item_group | Link to Item Group | Laptops |
| description | HTML/Text | Intel i7, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD |
| standard_rate | Selling Price | 50000 |
| show_in_website | 1 = Published | 1 |
| image | Image URL | /files/dell15.png |
| stock_uom | Unit of Measure | Nos |
| website_item_group | Group shown on webshop | Products |
- Upload via Import Tool (Add New or Update Existing Items).
Save the spreadsheet used.
- All product and service images must be uploaded and stored in the respective Item entries. These images will later be fetched into slideshows automatically.
Save the spreadsheet used for upload at: Nextcloud Product Information Folder
Tip: For large item sets, you can automate editing using Python + Pandas + Openpyxl.
Install dependencies:
sudo apt install python3-pandas python3-openpyxl
Excel Description Filler Tool Reference Python scripts:
Ensure the column Published in Website is set to 1.
4. Configure and Publish Webshop Items
Path: Website → Website Item
Manual steps for now:
- Publish items using the “Publish to Website” action.
- Verify each entry under Website Item.
- Ensure every item has a Slideshow with matching name to its Item Code or Item Name.
- Right-click → Open linked Slideshow in new tab.
Slideshow Configuration:
- Use Customized type.
- If Allow Bulk Edit is visible, it is already configured. If not visible, escalate to the system admin team to enable it.
- In the Slideshow table (which typically has columns
No,Image,Heading, andDescription), click the gear icon ⚙️ and add another field called URL to make it visible. - Note: when using Fetch Attached Images from Document (from Item → Item Code), ERPNext does not always save the images properly.
- Remember that each Item must already have its images uploaded under the Item entry. The system pulls these attachments into the Slideshow.
- After fetching, download the CSV file and copy the
Imagecolumn contents into theURLcolumn manually. - Name each slide heading as
<Item Code> 01,<Item Code> 02, etc., and add or edit the description fields as needed. - Fetch attached images from Item → Item Code.
- Download CSV → copy-paste
Imagecolumn intoURLcolumn. - Upload modified CSV again (ERPNext sometimes doesn’t retain inline edits).
This ensures all product images appear properly in the webshop.
5. Summary Flow
| Step | Module | Key Action |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stock | Create and configure Item Groups (Show in Website) |
| 2 | Website | Configure Webshop Filters (brand, website_item_group, item_code) |
| 3 | Stock | Bulk upload items with all required fields |
| 4 | Website | Publish items and set up slideshows |
| 5 | Verify | Filters and products appear correctly in /all-products |
6. Next Improvements
- Add category descriptions and icons for better UI.
- Automate bulk slideshow generation with a script.
- Use tags for easier multi-criteria filtering (e.g., ESG, Open Source, SaaS).