A Variable Product is a product type that is very useful when you need to group products through an attribute.
It is possible to create multiple variations for each product, and each variation can have its own price, stock, code, image, and dimensions. Each attribute will generate variations for each term entered. If two or more attributes are defined for this product, products will be generated by combining each term of the attributes.
For example, imagine a store that sells a t‑shirt in various sizes and colors. Within the site’s admin area, go to Products > Attributes.
Create the attributes Color and Size and define the terms for each attribute. Now let’s create our variable product. In the Product Data area, select the option Variable Product. Some fields will disappear from the General tab, so go to the Attributes tab.
In the Custom Product Attributes field, select the attribute you created and click Add. Repeat the process until you have added all the desired attributes. After the attribute is added, you can select which terms apply to this product.
Always remember to select the options Visible on the product page and Used for variations. After entering the desired attributes and their terms, click Save attributes. This process may take some time depending on the number of attributes entered.
Configuring Variations
Now let’s configure each variation. Go to the Variations tab. Here you can add one or several product variations. Since each variation has its own stock, click the button Link all variations. This way, multiple variations will be created, and you can enter different details for each.
If the variations do not require stock, you can create a variation by clicking Add Variation. The variation created will not have defined terms (in the upper left corner of the variation you can see which terms are selected for that variation, but in this case it will show Any [Attribute Name]).
From this area, you can enter details for each variation. In the upper left corner, you can see which variation you are editing.
- Click to open the media library and insert the variation image.
- SKU: product code.
- Enabled: select to enable this variation.
- Downloadable: select if the product is a downloadable file.
- Virtual: select if the product is virtual.
- Manage stock: select to enter the available quantity for this variation.
- Regular price: standard product price.
- Sale price: promotional product price.
- Stock quantity: enter the stock quantity for this variation.
- Allow backorders: select Allow if the variation can be backordered.
- Stock status: select whether the product is in stock or not.
- Weight: enter the product’s weight in kg. Leave blank to use the values configured in the Shipping tab.
- Dimensions (LxWxH): enter the length, width, and height of the variation. Leave blank to use the values configured in the Shipping tab.
- Shipping class: select the shipping class for this product.
- Variation description: enter a custom description for this variation.
You can also add an image for each variation by clicking the image box located on the left side of each variation.
Final Step
After finishing the product setup, you can view on the front‑end how the variable product behaves.
