Building a configurator isn't hard, but it goes much faster when you've gathered a few things first. Here's what to have ready, and what your options are if you're missing something.
An online store
Kickflip installs as an app on Shopify, WooCommerce and Wix.
On any other platform, Kickflip connects through our API. Book a call with our sales team to talk through a custom integration.
Product visuals
You'll need images of the product you want to make customizable, and there are two ways to get them.
From photography. A high-resolution photo of your product for each view you want to offer, ideally on a transparent or plain white background. This is the most common starting point.
Shoot the product in a neutral colour. A white or light grey version recolours cleanly. Starting from a dark colour makes it harder to get accurate results.
Higher resolution is better. You'll be cutting the image apart, so you want detail to work with. You'll export at arround 1200×1200px, but start larger.
From 3D renderings. If you already have a 3D model of your product, your 3D artist can render each customizable part directly from the software.
Either way, the end result is the same: one transparent PNG per customizable part, all the same size so they line up.
Preparing the layers
Whichever route you take, your product image has to be split into separate layers — one for each customizable part. On a t-shirt, that's the body, the sleeves, the neckline and the tag.
If you're working from photos, that means cutting the image apart in image editing software. You'll need Adobe Photoshop, or a free alternative like Photopea (browser-based, works like Photoshop) or GIMP — plus someone comfortable using the pen tool to trace shapes. This happens outside Kickflip.
If you're working from 3D, your 3D artist exports each part as its own render. No cutting required, since the parts are already separate in the model.
If nobody on your team does this kind of work, you have two options:
Work with a Kickflip partner. Our partners have built configurators before and know exactly which files we need.
Hire a freelancer. Photo cutout work is well-defined and inexpensive on Fiverr or Upwork. Send them our image preparation guide so they produce files in the right format.
Sorting this out up front makes the rest of the process much smoother.
Next step : Your Kickflip setup checklist →