How to add sizes, colors and other variants

To sell one TeleportHQ store product in several versions, such as a sourdough loaf in two sizes and three flours, open the product and click Variants under More ways to sell it. Add each variant option (for example Size) with its values, then set the price, stock and SKU of each combination. Click Save Changes to save the variants. Shoppers pick a size and a flour on the product page, and the price and stock follow their choice.

Before you start#

• Create the product first, or open the Create Product panel. See How to add a product.
• A product can have up to 3 variant options, for example Size, Flour and Shape.
• Variants or options? Use variants for versions you stock separately, each with its own price, stock and SKU. To let shoppers add something to the product, such as a message on a cake, use options instead. See How to let shoppers personalize a product (product options).

Steps#

1. Open the Variants panel#

1. In the editor's left sidebar, click E-commerce (the card icon). The E-Commerce panel opens.
2. In the Products list, click the product, for example Sourdough Loaf.
3. In the product form, under More ways to sell it, click Variants ("Sizes or colours, each with its own price, stock and SKU."). The Variants panel opens beside the form.

2. Add variant options#

1. In the Variants panel, click Add variant option. A list opens with the options your other products already use, under a search box: "Search or create option (e.g. Size)...".
2. Type Size. Click Create "Size", or press Enter. If Size is already in the list, click it instead: shoppers can then filter all your products by the same option.

3. Keep the type Text (e.g. sizes). For colors, choose Color instead: each value then gets a color swatch.
4. Click the Add value box, type Small and press Enter. Type Large and press Enter.
5. Click Add variant option again, create Flour, and add the values White, Rye and Wholemeal.

For a Color option, typing a color name such as Green picks a matching swatch. Click the swatch to change it.

3. Set each combination#

Below the options, TeleportHQ lists every combination in a table with the columns Variant, Price, Stock and SKU. With the options above there are 6 rows: Small and White, Small and Rye, and so on.

1. In Price, type a price for a combination that costs more or less, for example 7.50 for Large and Rye. Leave it empty to use the product's price.
2. In Stock, type how many you have, for example 12. Leave it empty to use the product's Quantity. This column appears only when Stock Management is on.
3. In SKU, type a code, for example SRD-L-RYE.

4. Save the product#

At the bottom of the product form, click Save Changes (or Create Product for a new product). The message "Product "Sourdough Loaf" updated successfully!" appears.

Check that it worked#

In the product form, the Variants row now says 6 variants. In the Products list, the product's card shows a 6 variants label; point at it to see the options and values. On your published product page, shoppers see a picker for each option, and the price and stock change with their choice.

Troubleshooting#

"Every option needs a name." or "Option "Size" needs at least one value." Fill in the option's name, and add at least one value, or delete the empty option.

"Duplicate option "Size"." or "Option "Size" has duplicate value "Large"." Each option name, and each value inside one option, must be different.

"Colour value "Black" needs a colour." For a Color option, pick a color for every value with its swatch.

"Variant price cannot be negative." or "Variant quantity cannot be negative." Use 0 or a positive number.

"Some product variants could not be saved. Please review the variants and try again." Check the table for empty or invalid values, then click Save Changes again.

Good to know#

• Deleting an option can't be undone. Click the trash icon on the option (tooltip Remove option). The window Delete this option? warns that it removes the option and every variant combination that uses it. Variants are stored with your product data, not in the editor's history, so Undo doesn't bring them back. Click Delete permanently only if you're sure.
• Up to 3 variant options per product. After the third, Add variant option is replaced by "Up to 3 variant options per product."
• Sales apply to every variant. A product discount lowers each variant from its own price. See How to put products on sale and show related products.
• Translations. On a site with several languages, the Variants panel has a Variant Option Translations section for option names and values.
• Shopify exports keep their variants when you import the file. See How to import products from a file (including Shopify).