New Product Outputs: How to Display on Home Page via XML

First of all, you should go to CMS > Pages > Home Page and choose Design tab. Then, you should add the following code into ‘Layout Update XML’ field that will allow you add the content blocks to the homepage:

We will also share with you the process of coming up with a new product for your Magento ® store solution.

Creating New Product Outputs

To create an output for a product that you are bringing into your Magento store solution following these details:

<reference  name="content">
</reference>

Between ‘reference’ tags you should insert the code into new product blocks:

<block  type="catalog/product_new" name="product_new"  template="catalog/product/list.phtml
"></block>

The next step is selecting the number of columns. This can be done through the following code which should be added between ‘block’ tags:

<action  method="setColumnCount"><column_count>6</column_count></action>

Then, you should set the number of products that will be displayed in the new products block:

<action  method="setProductsCount"><count>0</count></action>

The complete XML layout will look like this:

<reference  name="content">
    <block  type="catalog/product_new" name="product_new"  template="catalog/product/list
    .phtml">
        <action  method="setColumnCount"><column_count>6</column_count></action>
        <action  method="setProductsCount"><count>0</count></action>
    </block>
</reference>

If it is necessary to display products of a certain category you should add the following code:

 
<action  method="setCategoryId"><category_id>10</category_id></action>

Here, it is important to make sure that correct category ID is set. You can verify the ID in your admin panel at Catalog > Manage Categories.

5 Steps To Creating Your New Product

1. Identify
2. Measure
3. Develop
4. Test
5. Position

Understanding These 5 Product Launch Steps

IDENTIFY

First, you need to identify the product that you would like to bring to the market.  This can be created from a culmination of your talents and abilities, what the market is currently lacking and where your interests are at.  Creating something that you are unwilling to proactively stand behind is not likely to lead to great success.  Even if it does, you won’t find your new launch to be satisfying to you if your own personal interest doesn’t measure into the equation.

MEASURE

Now that you have an idea of what you want to create it is important to assess the interest level of your audience.  If you bring the best new widget possible to a market that is not interested in it the results in sales will not be what you would desire. That’s why you need to be sure that there is an actual need for the product that you are creating before you create it.

DEVELOP

The comes the development process where you create the product and release it into your targeted niche.  This is where the rubber of all your previous research meets the road with the corresponding result of a brand new product being presented into the marketplace.

TEST

This piece of the puzzle should actually be done throughout the entire process of your product launch.  The more testing that you are able to do the better the chances that the end result will produce the desired outcome both for you (in terms of sales) and for your target audience (in terms of acquisitions.

POSITION

Now its time to tweak your products position in the marketplace.  This is where you may find yourself creating a new product based on what you learned from the first experience.  Another critical factor at this point is to begin to position your products unique selling position within the marketplace.  How is what you are doing differently from what everyone else has done?

Concluding Thoughts About Product Outputs And Your New Launch

Not only have we seen how to produce new products onto your Magento ® eCommerce store but we have also seen how to create those products in the first place.  What has been your experience with creating and marketing new products on your eCommerce store?  Share your thoughts, ideas and experiences in the comments below.

Please follow our updates and you will learn other possibilities of Magento ® stores optimizations in the articles in our blog.