---
title: "Concepts | Customer's Canvas Hub"
canonical: "https://customerscanvas.com/docs/hub/dev-center/concepts/"
---

# Concepts

> This section introduces the key concepts in Customer's Canvas.

**Integration (Storefront)**: Represents the external e-commerce system within Customer's Canvas. [Registered manually](https://customerscanvas.com/docs/hub/admin-guide/settings/integrations.md) at the project's start, its identifier is stored in the e-commerce system extension configuration.

**Storefront User**: Represents customers from the external e-commerce system within Customer's Canvas. Only user identifiers are required.

**External App**: Stores authorization data for the e-commerce system extension. Supports various OAuth2 flows (recommended: Client Credentials flow).

**Product, Option, OptionValue, Variant**: Entities describing products, options, and variations in Customer's Canvas, crucial for customization. Equivalent entities should exist in the e-commerce system, though variations and options may differ.

**Public Design (Design Template)**: Describes customized product locations, linked to a product variant.

**Design Variant**: The initial design state for one customization path of a product variant, produced by combining a public design with the matching editor mockup.

**Design Group**: A family of design variants that implement the same design solution across different product variants.

**Private Design (Customization)**: A template filled by the customer with logos, texts, and flags.

**Mockup**: Visualizes customization on a product photo. Multiple mockups can be attached to one variant.

**Personalization Workflow**: Frontend component settings organizing the ordering process (e.g., design editor, shopping cart element).

**Product Link**: A derived product that inherits a base product's options, asset connections, design variants, and design groups and adapts them to a specific scenario—for example, a premium paper business card. It can be published as a separate external product.

**Product Reference**: Links a PIM product to an external e-commerce system product. Stores the external product ID (`externalProductId`), which should remain unchanged even if the product catalog is recreated.

**Product Version**: A published, unmodifiable revision of a product. New personalization sessions use the active version; ongoing sessions keep the version they started with. Up to five versions are kept per product.

**Product Bundle**: A composite product that groups several products or product variants into one offer, such as a marketing kit with a business card, a letterhead, and an envelope.

**Product Specification (legacy)**: The legacy entity used before PIM to describe a customizable product. Its role is now performed by a combination of Product, Product Variant, Design Variant, and Asset Connection. See [PIM products](https://customerscanvas.com/docs/hub/dev-center/concepts/pim.md).

## Section map

- [Assets](https://customerscanvas.com/docs/hub/dev-center/concepts/assets.md) — designs, mockups, images, fonts, and other assets.
- [Storefronts](https://customerscanvas.com/docs/hub/dev-center/concepts/storefronts.md) — integrations with e-commerce systems.
- [Storefront users](https://customerscanvas.com/docs/hub/dev-center/concepts/storefront-users.md) — customers of an external e-commerce system.
- [PIM products](https://customerscanvas.com/docs/hub/dev-center/concepts/pim.md) — products, options, variants, product links, and product bundles.
- [Projects](https://customerscanvas.com/docs/hub/dev-center/concepts/projects.md) — order personalization data and print-ready files.
- [Pipelines](https://customerscanvas.com/docs/hub/dev-center/concepts/pipelines.md) — processing of projects and rendering.
- [Retention policy](https://customerscanvas.com/docs/hub/dev-center/concepts/retention-policy.md) — lifetime of temporary assets and projects.