What Kind of Features Makes a Product Design Tool Desirable?

When I utter the word "Product Design Tool", what is the first thought that you have? "A tool that helps you to design products", perhaps? Well, to tell you the truth, the way technologies have advanced, it would be wrong to confine it to the above trait or feature. It has become a dragon that entails everything that befalls under a web-to-print domain. Right from conceptualizing the product and enabling your customers to designing it and obtaining the print ready file to printing it on the product exactly the way your customers want.

If you are an ecommerce store owner, there might be two scenarios. One, you have a product designer tool but it is outdated and isn’t generating a lot of sales for you. In case of which you might be planning to invest into another one. And two, you might not have it at all. In both the scenarios; if you are looking for a perfect tool, you must know about the features that the software must have. Let us look into it:

Mobile First

I guess the word says it all. Right from measuring our heartbeats to keeping the records of our whereabouts, mobile phones are our constant companions. This means that, as an ecommerce store owner, you have to provide your customers with the facility to design the products on their mobiles.

So, when you invest into a product designing software, you must ensure that it is mobile responsive. And not just mobile responsive, it should be able to work on the mobile first and prioritize other devices thereafter. Remember, desktop-based applications are now a passé.

Platform Independence

This is the second most important aspect of a web-to-print tools. Once recommended, the ecommerce business store owners rush to buy this software. And after integrating it with their website, they realize that it is creating hindrances to their purpose and is distorting their website design. This creates a lot of disappointment at later stages.

So, if/whenever you seek a designer tool for your products, you need to check its compatibility with your platform. Let’s say your website is based on Magento or WooCommerce platforms. In this case you would need a Product Designer Tool that works on one of these platforms. Apart from that, you can also find tools that work for Prestashop, Shopify etc.

Image Upload Facility

Quotes, texts, and clipart are not enough for customers who want to create t-shirts with their favorite memories engraved on it. Now, uploading image often becomes a constraint when your software doesn’t accept certain file types. And begins the saga of emailing your customers to send you the compatible file!

Ideally, you should choose a product designer tool that works across all file types and enable your customers to upload images from their devices. If your customers are avid social media users, why not provide them with the option of uploading pictures from their social media accounts including Facebook and Instagram? Social Media Upload is one of "must have" features for such tools today.

Freedom of Creativity

As an ecommerce store owner, there is a dire need to understand that customization and personalization are different. So, if you already have a product designing tool in place but it limits your users to design in a certain way, it won’t work. You need a tool that enables your customers to design at the best of their potential.

Your tool should provide features like object movement, layer management, freedom to design in multiple areas and more. Also, as and when your ecommerce store grows, you can add unique products with printable surfaces and help your customers to design on them with ease. A 360-degree product preview also works wonders as it gives a perfect idea to your customers as to what their product will look like.

Innovative Template Designs

Not everyone that comes on your e-store is good at designing! They will probably surf through your website and look for tools that can help their products look better. You can help them make their designs better by providing them with different template designs. In case you want templates that are specific to the products you sell, you can ask the company providing you with the designer tool to add them.

Once your customers create products using different templates, you can also display them on your e-store. By doing so, you can provide them with the inspiration and motivation to the other users. A clipart library with ample amount of clipart related to different themes will also make a huge difference to the final product designed by your users.

Investing in a product designing tool is a huge decision. A tool that has an amalgamation of all the above features would be the most desirable one. Make sure you buy the best one!