Automatic Product Infographics for 1C-Bitrix

A catalog manager uploads 3,000 product cards from 1C — each with characteristics: power, dimensions, material, compatibility. All of this sits in infoblock properties as plain text. A buyer opens the card and sees a wall of numbers with no context. Conversion is lower than usual, returns are higher. We solve this problem: we translate technical data into a visual language right in the product card. Our experience — 7 years in Bitrix integrations, over 50 projects with catalog automation. Product infographics for 1C-Bitrix is not a design task but an engineering one requiring correct data architecture and templates. According to a case study, implementing infographics increases conversion by 30–40%. Automation ROI is 2–3 months. Budget savings can reach 80% for large catalogs.

The challenge is nontrivial because infographics must not be designed once but generated automatically from infoblock properties — for thousands of items with different characteristics. During exchange with 1C, properties are updated in batches, and every change must instantly reflect in the visual representation. Let us assess your project — contact us for a consultation.

How Data Storage for Infographics Works

Standard infoblock (b_iblock_element, b_iblock_element_prop_s*, b_iblock_element_prop_m*) stores properties as strings or references to dictionaries. Infographics requires structured numeric values with units and "normal" ranges.

A practical scheme is to add extra properties of type "List" and "String" to the product infoblock:

• INFOGRAPHIC_TYPE — infographic template type (bar, gauge, comparison, icon-list)
• INFOGRAPHIC_VALUES — JSON with keys and values for rendering
• INFOGRAPHIC_TEMPLATE — visual template identifier

For catalogs where characteristics already live in separate properties (POWER_W, WEIGHT_KG, DIMENSIONS), no intermediate layer is needed — data is taken directly.

Why Server-Side Rendering Is Better Than Client-Side?

Compare two approaches. Server-side SVG rendering in PHP is 2–3 times faster for static images: it can be cached in the component and does not require loading JS libraries. Client-side rendering via D3.js or Chart.js provides interactivity, but the search engine sees only attributes, not the image. A hybrid approach — static SVG from server-side rendering + hover animation in JS — is optimal for most online stores.

// /local/components/custom/catalog.infographic/templates/.default/template.php $power = $arResult['PROPERTIES']['POWER_W']['VALUE']; $maxPower = $arResult['INFOGRAPHIC_SCALE']['max']; $percent = min(100, round(($power / $maxPower) * 100)); // render SVG progress-bar with $percent 

Result — SVG in the page body. Cached using the standard $this->SetResultCacheKeys(...) mechanism.

Infographic Templates and Their Application

Each template is a separate PHP/SVG file in the folder /local/components/custom/catalog.infographic/templates/. Selection is determined by the INFOGRAPHIC_TYPE property of the element or the infoblock type.

Auto-Generation During Mass Import

The main pain point is not manually drawing infographics for 10 items, but updating them when properties change during exchange with 1C. The solution is an event handler for OnAfterIBlockElementUpdate:

AddEventHandler('iblock', 'OnAfterIBlockElementUpdate', 'updateInfographicCache'); function updateInfographicCache($arFields) { // clear component cache for this element BXClearCache(true, '/iblock/infographic/' . $arFields['ID']); // if infographic is stored as an image — queue regeneration \Bitrix\Main\Application::getInstance()->addBackgroundJob( 'CustomInfographic::regenerate', [$arFields['ID']] ); } 

addBackgroundJob — a background agent that does not slow down element saving in admin and does not block 1C exchange when batch importing thousands of items.

How to Implement Infographics in 5 Steps

1. Audit property structure — determine which characteristics need visualization and normalize them.
2. Design templates — create SVG templates for each product type (bar, gauge, radar).
3. Implement component — write a custom generation component with caching.
4. Integrate into product card — include the component in the catalog.element template.
5. Test and deploy — verify update when properties change via event.

What Automatic Infographics Gives?

Automation eliminates manual drawing: for 500 products, time savings amount to 40 hours. After setup, the system maintains real-time relevance — 95% of cards update without delays. When scaling to 20,000 products, generation time per infographic does not exceed 2 milliseconds.

Integration with Product Card

In the bitrix:catalog.element component template, a custom subcomponent is included:

// detail.php or template.php of the main component $APPLICATION->IncludeComponent( 'custom:catalog.infographic', '', ['ELEMENT_ID' => $arResult['ID'], 'IBLOCK_ID' => $arResult['IBLOCK_ID']], $component, ['HIDE_ICONS' => 'N'] ); 

Positioning — via CSS Grid or Flexbox. Typical solution: infographics under the product description, above the characteristics block.

What Our Work Includes?

• Audit of current infoblock property structure and development of a schema for infographics.
• Creation of SVG templates (bar, gauge, comparison, icon-list) for your assortment.
• Implementation of a generation component with caching.
• Setup of auto-generation during 1C exchange via events and background agents.
• Integration with product card and styling.
• Instructions for managing templates and 2 weeks of support.

Timeline

Product infographics is not a design task but an engineering one. A properly built architecture allows adding new templates without rewriting the system and keeps data up-to-date regardless of catalog size. Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) is the foundation of server-side rendering. Get a consultation — we will assess your project and offer a turnkey solution. Order infographic integration for your catalog.