How to Create a Pre-Decorated Product Within a Website

When launching a website for a client, most of the work happens before the site ever goes live. In DecoNetwork, this work centers on creating pre-decorated products – products that already have artwork applied and are ready to order. This guide walks you through creating a pre-decorated product, controlling personalization options, and efficiently applying the same design across multiple products.

In this article

• Prerequisites
• Why create pre-decorated products
• Step 1: Start a decorated product
• Step 2: Add artwork in the Design Tool
• Step 3: Configure personalization options
• Step 4: Name and configure the product
• Step 5: Apply the design to multiple products
• Step 6: Edit and fine-tune individual products
• Best-practice tips
• Troubleshooting
• FAQs
• Additional resources

Prerequisites

Why create pre-decorated products

Pre-decorated products are the foundation of most DecoNetwork websites. They allow you to:

• Rapidly build a client’s store by applying designs once and reusing them
• Control how much flexibility customers have when ordering
• Ensure consistent branding across products and colors
• Streamline both internal ordering portals and public merchandise stores

Step 1: Start a decorated product

1. Open the specific store you are building.
2. Navigate to Decorated Products.
3. Click Add Product → Create Decorated Products.
4. Select the blank product you want to decorate.
5. Click Save and Continue to launch the Design Tool.

Step 2: Add artwork in the Design Tool

Inside the Design Tool, you can add artwork in two ways:

• Upload new artwork directly into the design
• Select existing artwork from Store Designs

Vector artwork is strongly recommended, as it allows for easy color changes and cleaner output across products.

Step 3: Configure personalization options

Personalization determines what simple changes a customer can make without opening the full Design Tool.

1. Select an artwork element or text element.
2. Open Advanced settings.
3. Enable Allow Personalization.

You can allow customers to:

• Change artwork colors (ideal for vector designs)
• Swap the design with another approved design
• Edit placeholder text (for example, player names or numbers)

Step 4: Name and configure the product

1. Click Save and Continue once the design is complete.
2. Enter a product name (for example, DecoNetwork Example).
3. Optionally append the blank product name (for example, – Unisex T-Shirt).
4. Choose whether to allow:
   • Personalization (simple changes)
   • Customization (full Design Tool access)

Step 5: Apply the design to multiple products

One of the most powerful features in DecoNetwork is applying the same artwork to multiple products at once.

1. Open Select Products.
2. Search for additional items (youth shirts, ladies styles, hoodies, etc.).
3. Select the products you want to include.
4. Choose available colors and default options for each item.
5. Create all products in a single action.

Step 6: Edit and fine-tune individual products

After creation, you can further refine individual products:

• Recategorize products
• Override pricing, discounts, or commissions
• Set size-based pricing differences
• Upload custom listing images
• Choose default views (front vs back)
• Mark products as featured
• Ignore minimum quantities if needed

When working from a template, most of these settings are already configured – allowing you to focus primarily on applying designs.

Best-practice tips

• Use vector artwork whenever possible for maximum flexibility
• Limit personalization to essential options to avoid customer confusion
• Reuse designs across products to build stores faster
• Test personalization on the storefront before sharing the site with clients

Troubleshooting

If your pre-decorated products or personalization options aren’t behaving as expected, review the common issues below.

Customers can’t change colors or text

• Confirm that Allow Personalization is enabled for the specific artwork or text element.
• Verify that the artwork is vector-based. Raster images cannot support color changes.
• Ensure you selected the correct personalization option (for example, change text vs change color).

The Design Tool opens instead of simple personalization options

• Check whether Allow Customization is enabled on the product.
• If you only want simple edits, disable customization and rely on personalization instead.

The product isn’t available in the expected colors

• Review the color selection during product creation.
• Make sure the desired colors are checked and set correctly for each product.
• Confirm that the blank product itself supports those colors.

Changes don’t appear on the storefront

• Refresh the storefront and clear your browser cache.
• Confirm the product is published and assigned to at least one category.
• Check that the product is not hidden or restricted by store settings.

Pricing or discounts look incorrect

• Review whether pricing is inherited from a template or overridden at the product level.
• Check size-based pricing, discount rules, and commission settings.
• Confirm minimum quantity rules aren’t affecting the displayed price.

FAQs

What’s the difference between personalization and customization?
Personalization allows simple, controlled changes (text or colors). Customization opens the full Design Tool.

Can customers personalize products on the storefront?
Yes. Customers can adjust allowed personalization options directly before adding items to the cart.

Do I need to recreate designs for each product?
No. You can apply the same design to multiple products in a single step.

Additional resources

• Decorated Products
• How to Edit the Pre-Decorated Product Page