The success of an eCommerce portal is a function of the technology and how best the products are displayed and described. The latter part boils down to the images and the specification of the product. To bring standardization in terms of describing the products companies rely on the Ecommerce Specification Manual. ESM is the ultimate reference guide while preparing the images and specifications of products. The points given below are based on our experience in a few eCommerce projects we have carried out in the past in the domains of electronic goods, textiles, books etc.

This article delves into some of the key guidelines that need to be adopted while developing an Ecommerce Specification Manual.
1. ESM shall indicate the categories and subcategories that are coming under the scope of this document.
2. ESM shall describe the images in terms of memory size, physical size, clarity, recommended source, etc.
3. ESM shall list the specification fields that must be captured and the recommended sources for the information.
4. ESM should contain a detailed overview of the eCommerce platform itself so that the staff working on images and specifications would be able to appreciate why they do something the way they do.
5. ESM provides a sample specification template for each product category, which will be used as a reference while preparing the specification.
6. Each guideline in ESM shall have an article number such as Article 001, Article 002, etc. So that whenever there is a deviation from this established standard of ESM it can be referred to and discussed.
7. No two articles should explain the same aspect in two different ways. Meaning there should not be any ambiguity.
8. No two articles should contradict each other.
9. ESM shall provide guidelines for Units of Length, Weight, and Time.
10. A company may manufacture a product in three different countries. For the country of origin, there shall be guidelines on the source for this data.
11. For various terms usage, ESM can subscribe to one of the leading Style Guides. Click here for Asian Development Bank’s Handbook of Style and Usage.