Shopify Product Variants: A Complete Guide and How to Avoid Common Errors

The importance of optimizing visitor-to-buyer conversions is an indispensable element. One effective strategy to achieve this is to prioritize Shopify product variants, which can increase visibility on your product page. The product page is a crucial component of any Shopify store, and it is the responsibility of a seller to ensure that customers can easily select and add products to their cart.

In this post, BSS Commerce Shopify will discuss everything about Shopify multiple product options, covering topics such as what they are, how to add and edit them, factors to think about when adding variants, and more. Don’t wait any longer, let’s scroll down to learn more about how to leverage Shopify variants to maximize the store’s potential.

Shopify Product Variants: At a Glance

Learn more about all the things you need to know about Shopify product variants, like how they work, who should use them, and some highlighted benefits below.

How Do Shopify Product Variants Work?

Shopify provides customers with a range of buying options through its product variants. With the ability to add up to 100 variants per product, customers can customize from different colors, sizes, materials, and price points. In addition, Shopify allows for three customized choices, such as color, size, and material, to further cater to customer preferences.

When creating a new variant, you have the flexibility to adjust the price to align with each specific option. Furthermore, you can make other modifications, including inventory management and shipping preferences, to ensure a seamless customer experience.

However, the possible choices are also subject to change and the variety of them might depend on the product. Therefore, some products can have selections for sizes, colors, and materials while other products could concern themselves with flavors or styles. This versatility allows us to tailor the buying experience to the specific characteristics of each product in the store.

To facilitate accurate identification, each variant on Shopify is assigned a unique stock-keeping unit (SKU). This SKU enables you, as well as any third-party warehouse or shipping provider, to effectively track and manage every individual item within the catalog.

Who Should Use Shopify Product Variants?

In essence, if you have one product in several colors, shades, sizes, designs, fragrances, tastes, etc., let’s put them as Shopify variants. Shopify’s infrastructure is optimized for the product variant system, and therefore organizing your catalog hierarchy in such a manner allows for great savings on time and effort over the long term.

However, if you have only one item per color or size or even though the product catalog is small, avoid creating a separate listing for each of these items because setting up one single product with variations is what the customers expect and Shopify offers such an experience.

Top Benefits of Shopify Product Variants

Adding product variants allows customers to have a comprehensive view of all available options before making their final selection based on their preferences and requirements. These elements enable one to pick from a range of designs or variants for the same product, such as different sizes for a pocketbook or various colors for a garment. And here are the main benefits of adding Shopify product variants you should refer to:

Enhance the Customer Experience

With Shopify product variants, you can customize the way the customers shop. No more sifting through countless products to find what they want. Via including product variants on the collections page, you provide a seamless and effortless shopping experience.

All the customers can easily view all available options and make an informed decision without even clicking through to the product page. This streamlined approach saves time and effort, at once leading to a more satisfying shopping experience.

Boost Traffic

For instance, if a customer needs a certain commodity (pink hat), he will only click on the product page that has it in store. If you put in the variant color of pink, a potential customer might stumble across it as they look up in their search.

Ensuring that such as color or size option as part of the variant option is included in collection pages makes the whole process for the customer very easy; by just clicking the option they automatically get only those products that interest them.

More Effective Inventory Control

Adding variants to your inventory management system can significantly enhance its effectiveness. As a result, by closely monitoring the popularity of each variant, you can make informed decisions to optimize the inventory levels and restock accordingly. This strategic approach not only saves valuable time and money but also minimizes waste.

✅ View more: Best Shopify Inventory Management Apps: Comparison And Guide

Factors to Consider for Adding Variants

Before adding variants to the product, it is important to consider the following:

Firstly, 100 variants is the highest number that can be created for a product.

Secondly, there are up to 3 options for each product which may differ depending on a particular product. For example, one product might have choices such as size, color, or style whilst another product could be available in weight, finish or material.

Third, if you wish to include specialized information for your variants, you have the option to add custom fields to your variant details pages using metafields. If you are using an Online Store 2.0 theme like Dawn, the free Shopify theme, you can easily add references to your product variant metafields through the theme editor.

And finally, if the store has 50,000 or more variants, there is a daily rate limit for uploading variants through an app or CSV file import. You can add up to 1,000 new variants in a day before reaching the limit. However, if you are on the Shopify Plus plan, the variant limit does not apply to your store.

NOTE: To accommodate a product with an extensive range of options exceeding 100 variants or more than three choices, you can opt for a third-party application available on the Shopify App Store. Alternatively, customization of the theme code can be undertaken to extract line item properties, enabling the acquisition of personalized specifications from customers.

Shopify Product Variants: A Step-by-Step Guide

When dealing with a product that offers various options, such as size or color, it is crucial to incorporate variants to accommodate the preferences of your customers. Each specific combination of option values represents a unique product variant, enabling a more personalized selection process. Below are the complete guides to add variants to a product that you shouldn’t ignore:

Add Variants When Creating A New Product

When creating a new product on Shopify, you have the option to add its variants from the start conveniently. Below is a step-by-step guide on how to add it:

Step 1. Access the Shopify admin page.

Step 2. Pick the desired product that you wish to edit.

Step 3. Navigate to the Variants section, then click on the “+ Add options” button, this section allows you to add attributes like size or color.

Step 4. In the Option name field, provide a descriptive name for the option, such as “Size.” This name will be visible to the customers.

Step 5. In the Option values section, input each available option value, such as “Small,” “Medium,” or “Large.” These values will be displayed to the customers when they choose a variant.

Step 6. For further customization, you have the option to add another attribute by clicking on the “+ Add another option” button to add options like “Color” or “Material.”

Keep in mind that Shopify enables the inclusion of a maximum of 3 options for each product. Upon adding product options, a comprehensive list of variants will be displayed. It is advisable to carefully examine the combinations of options that are not intended for sale and effortlessly eliminate them by selecting the respective variant and clicking on the “Actions” tab, followed by the “Delete variants” option.

In addition, you are granted the ability to modify prices, quantities, SKUs, barcodes, HS codes, country or region of origin, and locations for specific variants. Or you may choose to utilize the default settings derived from the product details.

TIP: To optimize the variant SKUs, it is important to use conditional variants when applicable and choose the appropriate display method for the store’s needs. In addition, it can maximize the potential of a Shopify store and provide a seamless and personalized shopping experience for customers.

Step 7. After completing all the necessary modifications, don’t forget to click on the “Save” button to save the changes.

SMALL TIP: Let’s consider enhancing the customer experience by incorporating a unique product image for each variant. This visual element not only enhances clarity but also adds an element of intrigue to the range of product offerings.

Add Values to an Existing Option

If you have already created a product with variant options, you can enhance it by incorporating new values. This step will enable to efficiency of generating multiple new variant combinations.

For instance, if the current product offers 3 sizes type (including Small, Medium, and Large) and two colors (Red and Blue), and you wish to introduce a third color Yellow, this approach will facilitate the creation of all three possible sizes in the new Yellow variant at one time. Let’s refer to 7 steps to add values to an existing option in the section below:

Step 1. Go to the Shopify admin page.

Step 2. Navigate to the Products section and select the particular product to edit.

Step 3. Within the Variants section, to add a value to an option, select Edit next to it.

Step 4. In the designated field labeled “Add another value,” input the desired value.

Step 5. When completing, let’s click the Done button.

Step 6. Optionally, you can assign distinct product images for each new variant. Or you have the option to add prices, quantities, SKUs, barcodes, HS codes, country/region of origin, and locations for the new variants. Alternatively, you may utilize the default settings based on the product details.

Step 7. Finally, save the modifications by clicking the Save button.

Add a Variant by Duplicating an Existing Variant

To streamline the process of adding similar variants and avoid repetitive data entry, it is possible to duplicate a variant to save time as it automatically copies all the details from the original variant. However, before saving a duplicated variant, you must make at least one edit to its option values. This is necessary to prevent saving an exact duplicate of the original variant or any other variant that already exists.

NOTE: It is worth mentioning that this method only creates a single variant and does not generate all possible combinations of the new value with other existing variant options. If you wish to add multiple variant combinations simultaneously, you can either add a new value to an option or duplicate multiple variants using a bulk action.

To edit a product on the Shopify admin page, let’s refer to 5 steps as follows:

Step 1. Navigate to the Products section and choose the desired product that you wish to edit

Step 2. In the Variants section, choose the variant you want to duplicate and select the Duplicate option.

Step 3. Make changes to an option value to create a unique variant. You have the option to either add a new option value or select one that is already being used for the product variants.

Step 4. Optional: You can assign different product images for each new variant. Additionally, you can also specify prices, quantities, SKUs, barcodes, HS codes, country or region of origin, and locations for the new variants. Alternatively, you can use the default settings based on the product details.

Step 5. To save the changes, let’s press the Save button

3 Common Errors When Adding Shopify Product Variants

When it comes to setting up the product catalog in Shopify, the process can sometimes be a bit challenging. To ensure a smooth and efficient setup, it is essential to establish the product hierarchy correctly. Therefore, you can avoid making common mistakes that many encounter when dealing with Shopify product variants. Below are the top 3 common errors to avoid when adding Shopify product variants:

Consistently name your Shopify product variants

For example, when selling candles with various scents or flavors, it’s crucial to select either “scent” or “flavor” as the product variant and maintain consistency across all the products. These steps will not only bring uniformity to the website but also enable customers to filter products effortlessly in the catalog. Consequently, you’ll enhance the user experience and boost sales efficiently.

Be certain to add links to your photos’ Shopify product variants

Let’s make sure that you are linking these images with the variants. In case a customer opts to change the color of their product from green to blue, you will have to ensure that the corresponding image is made to appear in shade of blue too. The customers could end up buying an incorrect variation if you’re showing them a picture of a blue shirt while the image displayed is that of a red shirt.

Avoid making multiple listings for variants

Adding individual listings for each item can be labor intensive and even frustrating for your customers as well as yourself. With possibly more than a hundred listings, that can easily become trouble and complicated.

As a result, let’s simplify the procedure through the display of all accessible product options on a single platform. This process would save on time needed as well as allow the customer to locate what they are searching for easily. Keep in mind that do not make them search the whole website for a particular size or style; let’s make it simple and quick.

3 Best Apps for Custom Shopify Product Variants

On Shopify, products that qualify for a variant can possess three unique options. If your products necessitate more than three options, there exist several third-party Shopify applications that can incorporate custom options or additional fields to your product. If you encounter Shopify’s constraint on product options or variants, let’s take a look at the 3 best apps for Shopify product variants as follows:

#1 Product Variants & Options

Product Variants & Options by BSS Commerce is a comprehensive customization solution that caters to the needs of both B2B and B2C businesses. This app offers an extensive range of product options, allowing businesses to provide unlimited customization possibilities to their customers. The developers also ensure all these by enabling clients to make different customization choices online, which may include dropdowns, checkboxes, radio buttons, color selections, uploads, and textboxes among others.

The big plus of this app can extend Shopify’s product option limit, allowing merchants to have more options of products with customizations. At the same time, the support team becomes popular among many people due to their good problem-solving skills and ensures that any concerns are addressed promptly and effectively.

Rating: 4.9/5

Pricing

• Free plan available and 14 days free trial with unlimited options, color or image swatches, and min/max characters for the text field
• Advanced plan – $10 per month with the show options on order confirmation and packing slips
• Platinum plan – $20 per month, including all features in the advanced plan package and VIP Support and one-by-one take care.

Core Features

• Product Variants & Options offers endless possibilities for customization with versatile option types, including image swatch, textbox, multi-select, file upload, and more.
• Price add-on option, you can effortlessly add an extra fee when customers select specific options, allowing you to maximize the revenue potential.
• Conditional logic feature takes customization to the next level via dynamically showing or hiding options based on previous selections.
• Convenience is an indispensable element, which is why this app allows for easy editing of options directly on the cart page to enhance the overall shopping experience, saving time and effort for both you and your customers.
• Additional forthcoming features Image modification during choice selection for inventory management

Try App Now:

#2 Globo Product Options, Variant

With Shopify’s limitation of 100 variants per product, this app provides the means to overcome this constraint by enabling the creation of infinite product options. By empowering buyers to personalize their purchases, this app effectively boosts sales.

It allows shoppers to design their custom products by selecting from a flexible range of option choices. On top of that, it facilitates the application of specific option sets to relevant products. By offering the opportunity to add custom options for a nominal fee, this app ensures that customers receive the most satisfying product possible, resulting in their utmost satisfaction.

Rating: 4.9/5

Pricing

• Free plan available and 14 days free trial, including 5 option sets, color and Image swatch, button, text box, dropdown, checkbox, and radio
• Premium package – $9.90 per month, including all features in the free plan package, endless variant options, file upload, date time, price add-ons, and POS support
• Pro package – $19.90 per month with many utilities like switch, pop-up modal, max. 100MB upload file size and edit options on cart page

Core Features

• Text input field, file upload, color swatch, variant image, dropdown, and checkbox are options available for customers to choose from.
• An add-on price is an extra cost applied when a customer selects a product variant.
• Conditional logic is used to display or hide relevant options based on the previously selected choices.
• Product variants can be imported or exported using a CSV file, making it easier to manage and customize products.
• An option set can be applied to either all products or a group of products, providing a convenient way to make changes across multiple items.

📌 Try App Now: Globo Product Options, Variant

#3 Product Options & Customizer

Product Options & Customizer is a good app that provides eCommerce stores with limitless customization options, catering to customer preferences ranging from jewelry engravings to texture choices and more. It offers an enhanced shopping experience by going beyond the creation of product variants and aligning closely with customer desires. The product customizer app allows for unlimited variant options, including Color Swatches and File Uploads, enabling product personalization.

This app is highly recommended for its extensive product customization features, such as monogramming, engraving, and custom signage, and is praised for its seamless integration with various themes and compatibility with Shopify 2.0. Besides, the Product Options & Customizer app’s template creation feature simplifies product customization, and its ability to store customization details ensures accurate order fulfillment.

Rating: 4.7/5

Pricing

• Free plan available and 14 days free trial with only one product, add variants, product options and customization
• Basic package – $19.99 per month, including 10+ field types, limitless options fields and variations, image swatches, file uploads, and more
• Premium package – $49.99 per month
• Premium Plus package – $99.99 per month

Core Features

• The functionality of swapping between images on product pages can be achieved through the use of image swatches and color swatches.
• To increase revenue per product or collection, an upcharge can be implemented by customizing the pricing options.
• Conditional logic can be employed to show or hide product options based on specific conditions.
• By combining variants with product variations across multiple products, a comprehensive range of options can be offered to customers.
• More features such as a date picker, font picker, checkbox, calendar date selector, and file upload can also be incorporated to enhance the overall user experience.

📌 Try App Now: Product Options & Customizer

🎁 May you also like: Top 9+ Shopify Embedded Apps To Maximize Your Store Potential

Shopify Product Variants: Final Verdict

Shopify serves as an exceptional platform for eCommerce enterprises aiming to establish their online presence. However, the presence of variant limits may pose an obstacle for certain store owners. Therefore, Shopify product variants are a fantastic choice worth trying because they offer an adaptable and effective approach to organizing and showcasing the goods with several choices, including material, color, and size.

To sum up, Shopify product variants are essential for improving the shopping experience for customers and merchants alike. Allowing retailers to provide a variety of options like sizes, colors, or materials enables them to satisfy a larger spectrum of client preferences.

Customers may select the precise product variety they want because of this flexibility, which boosts sales and increases customer happiness. Shopify’s extensive platform makes it easy to manage and arrange different product variants, giving retailers the ability to effectively display their wide range of products. All things considered, using Shopify product options and variants can greatly increase an online store’s profitability and competitiveness.

Hope that all the information in this post is useful for readers. If you are seeking a source of knowledge and expertise in the commerce field, BSS Commerce Shopify is an ideal page to visit. Learn more about our post here.