Effects

Effects in Playground define how products are ranked, filtered, and displayed in search results and category pages. They let you control sorting, visibility, and filtering options to create a better shopping experience. By adjusting Effects, you can influence which products appear first, how users navigate search results, and how filters help customers find what they need.

Below are videos and descriptions of all the Effects you can use in Playground.

Parameters

Parameters in Playground control how products are ranked in search results. They assign weights to product attributes like brand, material, stock availability, or sales performance to influence sorting.

Each parameter consists of at least one partition and a weight (how much it affects ranking). Higher weights push products up in search results. For example, in Playground, you can:

Boost organic cotton baby shoes by assigning a weight of 10 to the "Material" parameter.
Prioritize in-stock items by giving them a higher weight than out-of-stock products.
Rank best-selling products higher by increasing the weight of top-selling items.

Parameter set

Parameter Sets in Playground let’s you apply multiple ranking rules at once. They let you combine different parameters—such as material, stock status, and sales performance—into a single setup for easier management.

Each parameter consists of at least one partition (the product attribute) and a weight (how much it affects ranking). Higher weights push products up in search results. For example, in Playground, you can:

Boost organic cotton baby shoes while prioritizing in-stock items.
Promote bestsellers while keeping discounted products lower.
Increase visibility for new arrivals while still factoring in popularity.

Facets help customers refine their search by adding filtering options to category pages and search results. They allow users to narrow down products based on attributes like price, color, or material, making it easier to find relevant items. Well-structured facets improve navigation and enhance the shopping experience.

When filtering products using facets, you can choose between three options: Any, All, and None. These settings determine how selected values affect the search results.

Any

If you select Any, the results will include products that match at least one of the selected values. Example: If you filter by Color: Orange or Blue, you will see products that are either orange, blue, or both.

All

If I choose "All" - my results will show products that have 'orange' and 'blue' as a match.

None

If I choose "None" - my results will show products that are not 'orange' or 'blue' as a match.

Pinning

Pinning lets you control which products appear at the top of search results or category pages, regardless of other ranking factors. This ensures key products, promotions, or bestsellers always stay visible to customers.

Affinities

Affinities or personalization adjusts search results based on customer behavior. It helps show products that are more relevant to each user, improving their shopping experience.

To setup Affinities follow this guide Using affinities for commercial sorting.

Search relevance

Search Relevance controls how search results are ranked by adjusting the importance of different product fields. This helps ensure customers see the most relevant products first.

Each field, such as Product Name, Description, or Product Number, can have a different weight. Higher weights make a field more important in search rankings.