Adding Variant Products

Variant products allow you to sell the same product in multiple versions (for example, different sizes or colours) while keeping everything organised under a single product listing.

Instead of creating separate products for each option, you create one parent product and then add variants that customers can choose from when purchasing.

What Are Variant Products?

A variant product is a purchasable version of a product that differs by one or more attributes, such as:

• Size (Small, Medium, Large)

• Colour (Red, Blue, Green)

• Format or specification

Each variant can have its own price, stock level, SKU, and image, while still belonging to the same main product.

Why Use Variant Products?

Using variants helps you to:

• Keep your product catalogue tidy

• Offer clear choices to customers on the product page

• Manage stock and pricing separately for each option

• Avoid duplicating product descriptions and images

Before You Begin

⚠️ Important: Variant products are disabled by default.

Before adding variants, ensure that Variant Product support is enabled for your site.

How Variant Products Work

Variant products are built around a parent product:

• The parent product contains the shared information (name, description, images).

• Variants represent the actual items customers purchase.

In most cases, the parent product should not be directly purchasable — customers should select a variant instead.

Step-by-Step: Adding Variant Products

Step 1: Create the Parent Product

1. Go to Commerce → Products

2. Create a new product

3. Enter the product name, description, images, and category

4. Save the product

This product will act as the container for all variants.

Step 2: (Recommended) Disable Purchasing on the Parent Product

To ensure customers must select a specific option:

• Set the parent product as not purchasable

This prevents the generic product from being added to the cart without choosing a variant.

Step 3: Add Variant Options

1. Open the parent product

2. Add a variant option (e.g. “Size” or “Colour”)

3. Define the available values (e.g. Small, Medium, Large)

These options define what choices customers will see on the product page.

Step 4: Create Variant Products

For each combination of options:

1. Create a variant

2. Set:

   • Price

   • SKU

   • Stock quantity

   • Optional variant-specific image

3. Save the variant

Each variant is now a fully purchasable product linked to the parent.

See video below for a demo of these steps

How Variants Appear to Customers

On the storefront:

• Customers see a single product page

• Variant options (such as size or colour) appear as selectable choices

• Selecting an option updates the price and availability based on the chosen variant

Best Practices

• Use clear, consistent names for variant options

• Assign unique SKUs to each variant for inventory tracking

• Only make the parent product purchasable if there is a clear “default” option

• Keep variant images consistent to avoid customer confusion