Product variants (size, color, options)
How to add variants to a Shopify product so customers can choose from different sizes, colors, or other options before buying.
Many products come in more than one version — different sizes, colors, materials, or styles. In Shopify, these are called variants. Instead of creating a separate product for each size or color, you add variants to a single product listing.
Quick summary
When you create or edit a product, scroll to the Variants section and click Add options. Add your option name (e.g. Size) and its values (e.g. Small, Medium, Large). Shopify creates a separate variant for each combination. You can then set different prices, stock levels, and images per variant.
What are variants?
A variant is a specific version of a product. For example:
- A t-shirt that comes in Small, Medium, and Large — each size is a variant.
- A candle in three scents — each scent is a variant.
- A chair available in Oak or Walnut finish — each finish is a variant.
Shopify supports up to 3 options per product (e.g. Size, Color, and Material), and up to 100 variants total per product.
How to add variants to a product
Open the product you want to edit. Go to Products in the left menu and click the product name.
Scroll down to the Variants section on the product form.
Click Add options like size or color. A new field appears asking for an option name.
Enter your first option name — for example, Size.
Enter the option values. Type each value (e.g. Small, Medium, Large) and press Enter after each one.
Add a second option if needed by clicking Add another option. For example, you might add Color with values Black and White.
Shopify generates all variant combinations. If you have sizes Small/Medium/Large and colors Black/White, Shopify creates 6 variants: Small/Black, Small/White, Medium/Black, and so on.
Edit each variant's details. Scroll down to the variant table. For each row, you can set:
- Price (if it differs from the main price)
- Quantity in stock
- SKU
- Barcode
Click Save when you are done.
Adding a different image per variant
If you want a photo of the red version to appear when a customer selects "Red," you can assign images to specific variants.
On the product page, go to the Media section and upload the variant-specific image.
Click on the image to open its details.
Use the variant selector to assign the image to a specific variant (e.g. "Red").
Save the product.
Now when a customer selects "Red," the matching photo will display automatically.
Editing or removing variants later
You can always come back and change variants. To edit a variant's price or stock:
- Go to Products, open the product, scroll to the Variants table, and click the variant you want to change.
To remove a variant entirely:
- In the Variants table, click the variant, scroll to the bottom of its detail page, and click Delete variant.
Deleting a variant is permanent
If you delete a variant, you lose its price, stock, and sales history. If you just want to hide it temporarily, consider setting its inventory to 0 and checking "Continue selling when out of stock" to off — it will show as unavailable rather than disappearing.
Common questions
Related guides
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