Build a size guide tool that turns measurements into a recommended size
A size chart asks shoppers to do the work: find a tape measure, read a grid, and guess when they fall between two rows. A size guide tool does the reading for them. They enter a few measurements and get one recommended size, with a note on how it will fit. Anticode can build one from your own chart, so the answer matches how your garments are actually cut.
Start with the chart you already trust
The tool is only as accurate as the numbers behind it. Use your own measurements per size, taken from finished garments or your pattern grading, not a generic chart from another brand. Body measurements and garment measurements are different things, and mixing them is the most common reason a finder recommends the wrong size.
| Size | Bust | Waist | Hip |
|---|---|---|---|
| XS | 80 to 84 | 62 to 66 | 88 to 92 |
| S | 84 to 88 | 66 to 70 | 92 to 96 |
| M | 88 to 94 | 70 to 76 | 96 to 102 |
| L | 94 to 100 | 76 to 82 | 102 to 108 |
| XL | 100 to 108 | 82 to 90 | 108 to 116 |
Give each product type its own chart. A relaxed jumper and a fitted dress shouldn't share a lookup, and shoes need a separate tool entirely, usually from foot length.
The logic that picks a size
Write down the rules before you describe the tool. A few decisions make most of the difference:
- Which measurement leads. For a top, bust usually decides; for trousers, waist or hip. When measurements point to different sizes, the leading one wins and the tool says why.
- What happens between sizes. Recommend the larger size for fitted cuts and the smaller for oversized ones, and tell the shopper: "You're between S and M. This top is cut loose, so we suggest S."
- Fit preference. A simple choice of snug, regular or relaxed can shift the answer by one size.
- Out-of-range answers. If someone falls outside your largest or smallest size, say so plainly rather than recommending the nearest size as if it will fit.
- Units. Accept centimetres and inches, convert once, and show the chart in whichever the shopper chose.
Screens and copy
- Choose a product type
- Tops, dresses, trousers. Each opens its own questions, so nobody is asked for an inside leg when buying a scarf.
- How to measure
- A small diagram drawn in code showing where the tape goes, with one line per measurement: "Bust: around the fullest part, tape level".
- Enter measurements
- Number fields with the unit beside them, sensible limits, and a clear message if a value looks mistyped (a 12 cm waist).
- Result
- The recommended size in large type, a fit note, and the full chart below with the shopper's row highlighted, so they can check the reasoning.
Keep the tone practical. Shoppers are sharing body measurements; the tool should never comment on them.
Describing it to Anticode
Give the chart, the rules and the products: "A size guide tool for our knitwear. Two product types: jumpers (bust leads, relaxed cut, between sizes go down) and cardigans (bust leads, regular cut, between sizes go up). Here are both charts in centimetres. Inches as an option. A how-to-measure diagram, a fit preference of snug, regular or relaxed, and a result that highlights the matching row. Link back to the shop."
Anticode writes it as one app that runs in the browser. Test it with real customers' measurements from past orders that fitted well, and with the edge cases: someone exactly on a boundary, someone outside your range, someone who types inches into the centimetre field. Adjust with change requests until the answers match what you would have told them yourself.
Privacy and limits
Anticode apps run in a sandbox with no network, which suits a size guide tool well: measurements are worked out in the shopper's browser and never sent anywhere. If you add a "remember my measurements" option, they're saved only in that browser, and a sentence saying so is reassuring.
- No connection to your shop. It can't read your product pages, stock levels or a shopper's past orders, and it can't add a size to a basket. Link to the product page instead.
- No camera measuring. Measuring from a photo needs camera access, which the sandbox doesn't allow; everything is typed in.
- No learning from returns. It doesn't know which recommendations led to returns. Review your returns reasons yourself and adjust the chart or rules.
- Charts live in the app. When sizing changes, ask for the new chart as a change request and check the result before you publish.
If shoppers also choose colours or options, pair it with a product configurator. For unit conversions on their own, see the unit converter.
Questions people ask
Can one finder cover several brands or ranges?
Yes, as long as each range has its own chart and rules. Ask for a product type or range choice as the first step.
Do shoppers need an account?
No. The tool works for anyone who opens it, and nothing they type leaves their browser.
Can it recommend shoe sizes?
Ask for a foot-length tool with your own conversion table between UK, EU and US sizes, and test it against shoes you know fit.