FOCUS WEBSITE GUIDE - SUPPLIER GUIDELINES

Version 1.0 - 25th October 2004

www.focusdiy.co.uk

Featuring products on the Focus website

The following guide describes the requirements for products to be featured on the Focus website. It details current physical constraints and requirements for product information and images.

PHYSICAL PRODUCT CONSTRAINTS

Currently Parcelforce undertake all deliveries for products ordered via the Focus website.

Parcelforce delivery restrictions dictate that we can only delivery products that weigh 30kg or less and measure 1.5 metres or less in length and have a girth (see diagram) of 3.0m or less.

We welcome product information and images for all products but the supplier should indicate any that do not currently meet the Parcelforce requirements. Any information for products that cannot currently be sold on the website will be held on file and will be used for display purposes allowing customers to perform comparison searches with our competitors etc.

Recommending featured products

All products sold on the website can be found by the customer by clicking through the product category links or from the sophisticated product search facility. They may also be found by ad-hoc links throughout the site (e.g. in articles). Focus will also feature products that we think are particularly attractive. These featured products will show on the home page, on the right-hand side of product category pages and within product categories (see screen images at the end of this document). They will automatically rotate so that products are featured on a random basis. We welcome recommendations from the supplier of which products to feature. Please do not feature all products as we need to provide a varied range of featured products. Focus reserves to right not to use supplier recommendations.

REQUIRED PRODUCT INFORMATION

Images

Format: Jpeg, standard encoding, lowest compression (i.e. highest quality, but not 'lossless' encoded), Exif data optional.
Filename: Images should be named as the Focus sku code with the extension of .jpg (note: lowercase and NOT .jpeg). For example, sku 123456 would have an image called 123456.jpg
Dimensions: 72dpi, minimum of 380x380 pixels, bigger if possible. Images should be square where appropriate. For long, thin products (e.g. garden spade), a cropped tall or wide image can be submitted. The longest side should be at least 380 pixels.

Quality: Please note the following quality points:
Use of space: Images should comply with the dimension requirements above but within these dimensions, the product should fill all available space so that the amount of background is minimised.
Contrast etc: If products are not professionally photographed, care should be taken with focus, flash reflections and brightness/contrast. Please review all images at full size and adjust for colour-cast, white balance, brightness and contrast as appropriate.
Sharpening: Please do not sharpen images (including applying unsharp mask). The sharpening function needs to be applied to the final resized image - we will resize images to 3 sizes (69x69, 200x200 and 380x380), each will be sharpened as part of our resizing process. The sharpening function does not compensate for poor focusing or unsteady blurred images.
Background: If possible please have products professionally photographed against a seamless white background or in a light tent. If this is not possible, select a plain background, white if possible, and frame the product to exclude as much of the background as possible. Please ensure that the background is consistent across the whole range.
Sourcing: Where possible images should be shot specifically for web use. Existing images, shot for print purposes, can be used providing they feature the product in a way suitable for the web. Images can be screen grabbed from existing Adobe Acrobat documents (pdf) and saved as jpegs providing that the pdf is high quality with no pixelation. Avoid scanning in printed material.
Additional images: We welcome additional images to support the sale of a product. Supersized images, room sets, products in use, plans and diagrams or video clips (see separate specification). We reserve the right not to use any additional material and additional material should not be sent in lieu of the required images.

When providing images on disk please label both the disk and the case clearly with the following information - Supplier name/Range/Category/Focus Product Marketing Manager responsible/ Date/and disk 1 of 3 / 2 of 3 etc.

Brand logo

We are able to show a brand logo against products on the site. Brand logos should be supplied as a minimum of 200 pixels in length (longest side) or bigger if possible. Other than this, the requirements for a brand logo are as for the product images. We will only use brand logos which customers will be familiar with, we reserve the right not to show a brand logo.

Video

This is not compulsory but is nice to have if possible as it gives the customer even more information before they buy.
Format: All video should be sent in original AVI format on DVD or CD. We will convert the video to formats suitable for different connection speeds. If possible please edit video and keep the clips short, concise and factual. TV advertisements are also welcome if we are given permission to show them on the site.

Supplier website URL

We may wish to provide a link to the supplier website from either a category listing or from a specific product. We will normally only link to websites which do not have products for sale. The site should not have links to Focus DIY competitors and should provide added value to the brand and/or product. We reserve the right not to link to a supplier site. If a URL is changed or becomes obsolete after being provided to us, you must inform us of the change.

Descriptions, features and benefits

Product descriptions should be supplied on a spreadsheet in Excel or csv format. Descriptions etc should not contain commas, quotation marks or apostrophes. All sizes, capacities etc should be in metric.

Provide details of each product on a separate row, with the columns headed:

Sku, Title, Description, Size, Colour, Red (RGB), Green (RGB), Blue (RGB), Feature1, Feature2, Feature3, Feature4, Feature5, Feature6, Feature7, Feature8, Feature9, Featured

(RGB values above in bold italic only apply to paint, please leave these fields blank for other products)

Like this…

The values of each of these are explained below…

Products excluding paint and woodcare

All products need the following details. The exception is for paint and woodcare products where colour and size are an inherent feature of the product.

Title: A short statement of what the product is, that will always accompany the product image. These should be 'customer friendly!' and it should be no more than 7 words in length and ideally 4 or less. The title should identify the product although it may not fully describe it. It can include the brand and size/colour variations (except for paint). Examples are: 'Double extension ladder', 'Champion Easylife Tractor mower', '66cm yellow toolbox'.

Description: A concise description of the product in no more than 10 words. Can include the brand, size and colour. The description should fully describe the product without the need to refer to the additional features and benefits. The description will always show with the title so the description can complement the title - there is no need to duplicate words between the title and description.

Features and benefits: Up to 9 features and benefits should be provided. The amount of detail will vary with the nature and complexity of the product but should provide the customer with all the information they need to select the product they need. Remember you need to sell the product to the customer as they cannot see or feel it as they would in store.

Features and benefits should include, colour, size, power, capacity, quality etc. In general the more expensive or complex a product, the more information the customer will require before purchasing. If you need more than 9 features and benefits then put more than one feature per field on the spreadsheet but do not use commas to separate them.
Forward slashes can be used for separation.

Examples:

Features and benefits for a ride-on lawnmower:

6.0hp Briggs and Stratton engine
62cm (25 inch) cutting width
Electric start
3 forward speeds and 1 reverse
5 position cutting height
140 litre grass collector
Suitable for areas up to half an acre
Maximum user weight 90kg

Features and benefits for a toilet seat:

Champagne colour
Suitable for domestic use
Fits all standard UK lavatories

Featured: If you would like to suggest featuring some products, put a 1 in this column against the products you want to feature. Only feature a few products.

Paint and woodcare products only

Paint and woodcare products where colour and size are an inherent feature of the product should follow the following guidelines:

Title: A short statement of what the product is, that will always accompany the product image. It should be no more than 7 words in length and ideally 4 or less. The title should not identify the size or colour as it will be used for the link to the product detail, where the customer will be given the opportunity to select colour and size.
Example: 'Focus Matt Emulsion' NOT 'Focus Matt Emulsion 5L Almond Slice'.

Description: The description of a paint or woodcare product should include the brand, colour and size in no more than 10 words. The description should fully describe the product without the need to refer to the additional features and benefits. The description will always show with the title so the description can complement the title - there is no need to duplicate words between the title and description.

Example: 'Focus Matt Emulsion Almond Slice 5L'

Size: The size of the pack is required separately.
Example: '2.5L'

Colour: The name of the colour is required separately.

Example: 'Almond Slice'

RGB Colour: The RGB (Red/Blue/Green) representation of the colour is required as three decimal numbers in the range 0 to 255. This will be used to show an approximate representation of the colour on the web page.
Example:
Red (RGB): 248
Green (RGB): 225
Blue: 199
Colours of each product will be displayed as a colour matrix similar to the paint colour card.

Features and benefits: Up to 10 features and benefits should be provided. The amount of detail will vary with the nature and complexity of the product but should provide the customer with all the information they need to select the product they need. Features and benefits of paint and similar products will include the type of surfaces it can be used on, any guarantee etc. If you need more than 9 features and benefits than put more than one feature per field on the spreadsheet but do not use commas to separate them.
Forward slashes can be used for separation.

Featured: If you would like to suggest featuring some products, put a 1 in this column against the products you want to feature. Only feature a few products.

Examples from the website:

A category listing showing a featured product and listing 3 of its features and benefits.
Other featured products are shown at the bottom right.

Part of a product listing page showing a brand logo ('Get ready for Christmas') the product Title
('Multi Tool Set' and 'Porsche') and the Description ('Complete mini…' and 'New! Turbo…')

An example of a good product detail page. A 380x380 pixel image, good title ('Popular 10x6…')
and adequate features and benefits ('FREE Home Delivery…').
Some products will require more features and benefits than this.

NEW FUNCTIONALITY

We are always upgrading our website with new features. In the near future we plan to offer cross-sell and up-sell features. We will be linking products ourselves, sometimes across suppliers (e.g. brushes with paint) but if you have any specific suggestions within your range, please let us know by cross referencing skus on a separate document - service kits with lawnmowers, drill-bits with drills etc. We also plan to add project building features and multi-buys.