How to Create Product Variants in Shopify (Sizes, Colors, and More)
TL;DR
Shopify lets you create up to 100 variants per product using up to 3 options (like Size, Color, and Material). You can set them up manually in the admin, but if you're adding products from supplier invoices, Ohavah extracts every variant automatically and generates a ready-to-import CSV - saving you hours of manual data entry.
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If you sell clothing, accessories, or anything that comes in multiple sizes or colors, you need variants. Variants are how Shopify tracks separate SKUs, prices, and inventory for each combination of options on a single product.
This guide covers everything you need to know about creating and managing variants in Shopify.
What Is a Variant in Shopify?
A variant is a specific version of a product defined by its options. For example, a "Classic Tee" might have:
- Option 1: Size (Small, Medium, Large, XL)
- Option 2: Color (Black, White, Navy)
That creates 12 variants (4 sizes x 3 colors). Each variant gets its own SKU, price, inventory count, and optionally its own image.
How to Add Variants in Shopify Admin
1. Create or edit a product
Go to Products in your Shopify admin and either create a new product or open an existing one.
2. Scroll to the Variants section
Check "This product has options like size or color" (on older themes) or look for the Variants section. Shopify will prompt you to define your options.
3. Add option names and values
Click Add option and enter the option name (e.g., "Size") and its values (e.g., "Small", "Medium", "Large"). You can add up to 3 options per product.
As you add values, Shopify automatically generates every combination as a variant. For example, 3 sizes and 4 colors produces 12 variant rows.
4. Set price, SKU, and inventory for each variant
Expand the variant list and fill in the details for each one. You can also bulk-edit variants by selecting multiple rows and choosing an action.
5. Save
Hit Save and your variants are live.
Shopify's Variant Limits
There are a few constraints to keep in mind:
- 3 options maximum per product (e.g., Size, Color, Material)
- 100 variants maximum per product
- Each option can have many values, but the total combinations cannot exceed 100
If you need more than 100 variants, you'll need to split the product into separate listings (e.g., "Classic Tee - Solids" and "Classic Tee - Patterns").
Adding Variants via CSV Import
When you're onboarding a new vendor with dozens of products, adding variants through the admin UI is slow. CSV import is faster.
In Shopify's CSV format, each row represents one variant. Products with multiple variants share the same Handle across rows:
| Handle | Title | Option1 Name | Option1 Value | Option2 Name | Option2 Value | Variant Price | Variant SKU |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| classic-tee | Classic Tee | Size | Small | Color | Black | 29.99 | CT-S-BLK |
| classic-tee | Size | Medium | Color | Black | 29.99 | CT-M-BLK | |
| classic-tee | Size | Large | Color | Black | 29.99 | CT-L-BLK |
Key rules:
Title,Body (HTML),Vendor,Type, andTagsonly go on the first row of each handle- Every subsequent row for the same handle only needs the
Handle, option values, price, and SKU - Leave
Option2 Name/Option2 Valueblank if the product only has one option
Common Variant Mistakes
Inconsistent option values. "Sm", "Small", and "SMALL" are three different values to Shopify. Pick a convention and stick with it.
Forgetting to set inventory. New variants default to "not tracked" for inventory. If you use inventory tracking, make sure to set initial quantities.
Using variants for unrelated products. Variants should be versions of the same product. Don't use variants to group different products under one listing - use collections for that.