Shopify currently allows you to create up to 100 variants for a product. Each product can have up to 3 options. The options can be different from product to product. For example, one product can use size, colour, and style, and another product can use weight, finish, and material.
However, when a brand needs more than this what can it do? There’s always the option of utilizing the app store, but they’re usually heavy on the site and kill the load time. We found this problem coming up with a few of our merchants that needed a solution that made it easy for the customer’s to build out their product selection with ease and speed, they also needed to connect the inventory to each product so didn’t want duplicates causing inventory management issues.
The solution:
We created a custom workaround solution that allows all of the above to be solved:
- Single product use for inventory management
- Unlimited variant options
- No product builder app
- Easy to use for merchants and customers
The bulk of this was done via the combination of javascript, product management and the addition of metafields. Firstly, we introduce the metafields to a product – this will house and be our “backend’ for the variants.
The client or data team will then populate this with all possible combinations of variants that are available to customers. Now we’ve got that sorted, the data team or client will then create separate products in the backend of Shopify.
Once done, we can then output this to the consumer either using swatches or a select field, along with some javascript that redirects a user to that product on selection.
Bygge Bo is a baby concept store, offering exclusive brands, high-quality products, and unique baby gifts. They specialise in Pushchairs, Nursery Furniture and baby essentials across care, play and clothing. The biggest problem was allowing customers to build out their pushchair sets – whilst keeping inventory managed and exceeding the Shopify variant limits.
Klum House is a one-stop bag making shop and school in Portland, Oregon. Their women-owned and powered company offers bag making kits, patterns, tools, supplies, and workshops to help makers create heavy-duty bags on a home sewing machine. On their site, they have seven hero bag products, within each bag comes a recommended online class plus a list of essential tools needed to create the products – with a similar issue to Bygge Bo we created them the option of building out their products to exceed the variants in Shopify and allow customers to create their bag with all of the items they need to succeed.
