# Product Variants

Variants let you sell different versions of the same product — sizes, colors, volumes, or materials — from a single listing. Each variant carries its own price, stock, SKU, and images, and customers pick one before adding to basket.

## When to use variants

Use variants when a product comes in options that affect price or inventory. A T-shirt sold in Small, Medium, and Large is a great fit; so is a candle sold in 200ml and 500ml, or a pair of shoes in S, M, L, and XL.

If the options don't affect price or stock, a plain product with characteristics is usually simpler.

## Step 1 — Open a product

Open **Products** in the admin sidebar, pick a product, and scroll down to the **Variants** section at the bottom of the form.

![Variants section on a product without variants](/features/product-variants/variants-empty.png)

On a product with no variants, you'll see a short description and a single **Add Variant** button. The product itself keeps its own price, stock, and SKU as long as no variants exist.

## Step 2 — Add a variant

Click **Add Variant** to open the **Create Variant** form. The title, description, collection, tax rule, and characteristics are pre-filled from the parent product so you only have to fill in what's different.

![Create Variant form](/features/product-variants/create-variant.png)

| Field             | Required | Notes                                                                                |
| ----------------- | -------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| Variant Label     | Yes      | Short label shown to customers in the options list (e.g. `Small`, `Red`, `500ml`)    |
| Title             | Yes      | Pre-filled from the parent; edit if this variant needs a different name              |
| Slug              | Yes      | URL-friendly identifier, auto-generated from the title                               |
| Short Description | No       | Appears on product cards and search results                                          |
| Description       | Yes      | Full description; can differ from the parent                                         |
| Price             | Yes      | Price for this specific variant                                                      |
| Previous Price    | No       | Optional sale price crossed out on the storefront                                    |
| Stock             | Yes      | Inventory tracked independently from other variants                                  |
| SKU               | No       | Optional stock-keeping unit unique to this variant                                   |
| Active            | No       | Only active variants appear on the storefront                                        |
| Media             | No       | Upload images specific to this variant; falls back to the parent's images if omitted |

> **Tip:** Set **Active** once the variant is ready to sell. Inactive variants stay in the admin for later but never show up to customers.

Click **Create Variant** to save. You'll be returned to the parent product's edit page with the new variant listed.

## Step 3 — Manage variants

Once a product has variants, the **Variants** section shows them in a table with their label, price, stock, SKU, and status.

![Variants list with active and inactive rows](/features/product-variants/variants-list.png)

| Column        | Description                                                                      |
| ------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Variant Label | The label shown to customers                                                     |
| Price         | Variant price in the store's currency                                            |
| Stock         | Independent stock for this variant                                               |
| SKU           | Variant SKU, or `—` if empty                                                     |
| Status        | **Active** or **Inactive** badge                                                 |
| Actions       | Move up, move down, edit, and delete buttons on each row                         |

Use the up and down arrows to reorder variants — the order in this table is the order customers see on the storefront. Click the pencil to edit a variant (the edit form is identical to create) and the trash icon to delete one. Deleting a variant permanently removes it; there's no soft-delete.

> **Important:** Once a product has at least one variant, the parent's own **Price**, **Stock**, and **SKU** are no longer used. Those values live on each variant instead. The i18n hint under those fields will tell you the same when you're editing the parent.

## How customers see it

On the storefront, a product with variants displays an **Options** block with one chip per active variant.

![Product page showing variant chips and a disabled checkout button](/features/product-variants/storefront-parent.png)

The **Add to Basket** button is disabled on the parent page and reads **Select an Option** until the customer clicks a chip. Out-of-stock variants render grayed out with a strike-through and aren't clickable.

Clicking a chip takes the customer to that variant's own page, where the chip is highlighted, the price and media update, and the button becomes a real **Add to Basket**.

![Variant page with the M size selected](/features/product-variants/storefront-variant.png)

From here, customers can switch between siblings by clicking another chip or add the selected variant straight to their basket.

## Orders and stock

Every cart item, order item, and stock decrement happens against the specific variant the customer picked — not the parent. That means:

- Stock on `Large` can sell out while `Small` is still available, with no manual bookkeeping.
- Orders record the variant's own price at the time of purchase, so raising a variant's price later doesn't retroactively change past orders.
- Reports and exports show each variant as its own line item, identified by its variant label.