Requirement[01]
Variant system
Options driven from a config file rather than hard-coded, so adding a finish is an edit and not a release.
For agencies
3D product configurator development for agencies
The most common 3D job agencies bring me: a configurator that runs at 60 fps on a phone, loads fast, and lets the client's marketing team change variants without a developer.
- 0160 fps on a mid-range phone
- 02CMS-editable variants
- 03Shareable configuration URLs
- 04AR on iOS and Android
How I work with agencies
- [01]
Your brand on the work. I stay invisible unless you want me on a call.
- [02]
Written scope and acceptance criteria before I start.
- [03]
Handover documentation the next developer can use.
- [04]
NDA and subcontractor agreement on request.
- [05]
I say "no" or "wait" when that is the right answer.
Peter Csipkay
Creative frontend developer and creator of Three.js Resources
Runs
threejsresources.com, read by 200,000+ visits a month.
Author of
The TSL and WebGPU course and the GLSL to TSL converter.
Based in
Near Munich, on CET. Agencies across Europe and North America.
What a production configurator needs on an interactive 3D website
A configurator demo is a weekend. A configurator the client can run for three years without calling you is a different piece of work. Seven things separate the two, and skipping any of them shows up after launch rather than before it.
[01 / Requirements]
Requirement[02]
Materials and colours
Swatches that map to real material definitions, so what renders matches what the client manufactures.
Requirement[03]
Shareable URLs
Every configuration encodes to a link the customer can send, save or bring to a sales call.
Requirement[04]
AR quick look
The configured model placed in a room on iOS and Android, exported from the same source assets.
Requirement[05]
Price calculation hook
A hook the commerce side can read, so the price follows the configuration without a second source of truth.
Requirement[06]
Analytics events
Which options people pick and where they drop out, which is usually the most valuable output for the client.
Requirement[07]
CMS-editable variants
The client's marketing team changes variants without a developer, which is what stops the maintenance retainer becoming your problem.
The failure mode
Why configurators fail on mobile
Four causes account for nearly every configurator that stutters or reloads the tab on a phone: uncompressed textures, full-resolution post-processing, unbatched meshes, and synchronous loading that blocks the first frame until everything has arrived.
None of them are visible on a desktop with a discrete GPU, which is why they survive until the client opens the link on their own phone.
What to fix, in order:
- Compress textures to KTX2 and size them to screen
- Drop post-processing resolution or cut the pass
- Batch and instance repeated parts
- Load progressively, render the first frame early
How I build them
The foundation is production-tested rather than a starter template, which is what moves the timeline.
[02 / Process]
Step[01]
Start from a foundation
I have a production-tested configurator foundation, so your project starts from week two rather than week zero. Variant handling, URL state, AR export and the performance budget are already solved.
Step[02]
Fit it to your stack
It goes into the framework and CMS the agency already runs rather than arriving as a separate app. React, Next.js, Astro or vanilla, and whichever CMS powers the rest of the site.
Step[03]
Wire up commerce
Shopify, Shopware or a custom backend. Cart integration is scoped separately, because it is where the estimate goes wrong most often when it is treated as an afterthought.
Examples
Most of this work runs under an agency's brand, so the finished configurators are not mine to name. What I can show is the method and the demo below.
The product configurator service page carries a live demo you can turn and reconfigure, built on the same foundation.
[03 / Proof]
F.A.Q
Frequently Asked Questions.
What agencies ask before commissioning a configurator.
What the client gets
Editing, AR and platforms.
Yes, that is the default. Variants, materials and colours come from a config the marketing team can edit through the CMS. A configurator that needs a developer for every new finish becomes a support contract nobody wants.
Yes. iOS uses AR Quick Look with a USDZ file and Android uses Scene Viewer with a glTF, both exported from the same source assets so the configured product matches what was on screen.
Shopify, Shopware and custom backends. The configurator exposes the selected configuration and a price hook; how that reaches the cart depends on the platform and is scoped separately.
Building it
Timeline and what it takes.
It depends on model count and integrations rather than on the 3D itself. A single product with a handful of finishes is a different job from a modular system where parts combine. Scoped after a call, in writing, before a number.
The source models in any CAD or DCC format, the list of configurable options, and the target devices the client actually cares about. If the models do not exist yet, that is worth knowing before the timeline is agreed.
Scope and quote after a short call. Every job gets a written scope with acceptance criteria before a number, because configurator estimates go wrong when the variant count is assumed rather than counted.
Get in touch
Tell me what the project is
Tell me what the project is and what is blocking it. I reply within one working day.
Get In Touch
Let's talk about your project
Tell me what you're trying to build, big or small. I'll reply personally within 24 hours, usually same day.
Peter Csipkay
Creative Frontend Developer
Let's connect
Three.js developer and creator of threejsresources.com. I scope, build, and ship the work myself — no middlemen, no handoffs.
Based in
Munich, Germany