Configurable product
A configurable product displays as a single product with dropdown options for variations (like color or size). Each variation is a separate simple product with its own SKU, enabling individual inventory tracking—unlike simple products with custom options.
Best for: Products with multiple options (color, size, material, etc.) where you need to track inventory for each variation. Initial setup takes longer but provides better scalability.
Before you begin
Prerequisites checklist
Before creating a configurable product, ensure you have:
- Attribute Set - An attribute set that includes variation attributes (such as color and size)
- Variation Attributes Created - Attributes configured with the settings below
- Product Images - (Optional but recommended) Images for the parent product and each variation
Attribute requirements
Each attribute used for product variations must have these settings:
GlobalDropdown, Visual Swatch, or Text SwatchYesFor instructions on creating attributes, see Product Attributes.
Phase 1: Create the product foundation
Step 1: Choose the product type
-
On the Admin sidebar, go to Catalog > Products.
-
On the Add Product (
Step 2: Choose the attribute set
The attribute set determines which fields appear in the product form and which attributes are available for variations.
-
Click the attribute set field at the top of the page and do one of the following:
- For Search, enter the name of the attribute set.
- In the list, choose the attribute set that you want to use.
The form updates to reflect the selected attribute set.
-
If you need to add another attribute to the attribute set, click Add Attribute and follow the instructions in Adding an Attribute.
Step 3: Enter basic information
-
Enter the product Product Name.
-
Accept the default SKU based on the product name or enter a different value.
-
Enter the product Price.
note note NOTE This price is overridden by the child product prices. The actual price displayed to customers comes from the In Stock child products. -
Because the product is not yet ready to publish, set Enable Product to
No. -
Click Save and continue.
When the product is saved, the Store View chooser appears in the upper-left corner.
-
Choose the Store View where the product is to be available.
Step 4: Complete basic settings
-
Set Tax Class to one of the following:
NoneTaxable Goods
-
Leave Quantity blank. The quantity is determined by the product variations.
-
Leave Stock Status as set.
The stock status of a configurable product is determined by its associated variations. Because the product was saved without a quantity, the Stock Status is set to
Out of Stock.note note NOTE The Stock Status of a configurable product is a semi-manually controlled setting, partially based on the stock status of its child products. It is part of a multi-criteria stock status calculation. See Configure Stock Status for details. -
Enter the product Weight.
note note NOTE A configurable product must always have a weight. If you select This item has no weight from the dropdown, it automatically changes to This item has weight when you save the product. -
Accept the default Visibility setting of
Catalog, Search. -
To feature the product in the list of new products, select the Set Product as New checkbox.
-
To assign categories to the product, click the Select… box and do one of the following:
Choose an existing category:
-
Start typing in the box to find a match.
-
Select the checkbox of each category to be assigned.
Create a new category:
-
Click New Category.
-
Enter the Category Name and choose the Parent Category to determine its position in the menu structure.
-
Click Create Category.
-
-
Choose the Country of Manufacture.
Additional attributes may appear depending on the attribute set. You can complete them later.
Step 5: Save and continue
This is a good time to save your work. Click Save in the upper-right corner. In the next phase, you’ll set up the configurations for each variation.
Phase 2: Add product variations
The following steps show how to add configurations for multiple variations. The progress bar at the top of the page shows your current position in the process.
Example: For a shirt with 3 colors and 3 sizes, you’ll create 9 simple products with unique SKUs (one for each combination). By default, the product name and SKU for each variation is based on the attribute value and the parent product name or SKU.
Step 6: Choose variation attributes
-
Scroll down to the Configurations section and click Create Configurations.
-
Select the checkbox of each attribute to include as a variation.
For this example,
colorandsizeare selected.
The list includes all attributes from the attribute set that can be used in a configurable product.
-
If you need to add an attribute, click Create New Attribute and do the following:
-
Complete the attribute properties.
-
Click Save Attribute.
-
Select the checkbox for the attribute.
-
-
Click Next in the upper-right corner.
Step 7: Select attribute values
-
For each attribute, select the checkbox of the values that apply to the product.
-
To rearrange the attributes, grab the Reorder (
The order determines the position of the dropdown lists on the product page.
-
In the progress bar, click Next.
Step 8: Configure images, pricing, and inventory
This step determines the images, pricing, and quantity for each configuration. The available options are the same for each. You can apply the same setting to all SKUs, apply unique settings to each SKU, or skip the settings for now.
Configure images
Choose the configuration option that applies:
Option 1: Apply a single set of images to all SKUs
-
Select Apply single set of images to all SKUs.
-
Browse to each image to include in the product gallery, or drag images to the box.
Option 2: Apply unique images for each SKU
Because the parent product image is already uploaded, use this option to upload images for each variation. You can add different images that appear in the shopping cart when someone purchases a specific variation.
-
Select Apply unique images by attribute to each SKU.
-
Select the Attribute that the images illustrate, such as
color. -
For each attribute value, browse to the images to use for that configuration or drag them to the box.
If you drag an image to a value box, it also appears in the sections for other values. To delete an image, click the Trash can (
Configure pricing
Choose the configuration option that applies:
Option 1: Apply the same price to all SKUs
-
If the price is the same for all variations, select Apply single price to all SKUs.
-
Enter the Price.
Option 2: Apply a different price for each SKU
-
If the price differs for each or some variations, select Apply unique prices by attribute to each SKU.
-
Select the Attribute that is the basis of the price difference.
-
Enter the Price for each attribute value.
In this example, the XL size costs more.
Configure inventory
Choose the configuration option that applies:
Option 1: Apply the same quantity to all SKUs
If the quantity is the same for all SKUs, select Apply single quantity to each SKU and specify the quantity.
Single Source merchants:
Enter the Quantity.
Multi Source merchants using Inventory Management:
Assign sources and add quantities for all generated product variants:
-
Select the Apply single quantity to each SKU option.
-
To add a source, click Assign Sources.
-
Browse or search for a source to add. Select the checkbox next to the sources for the product.
-
Enter an on-hand inventory amount per source.
Option 2: Apply different quantity by attribute
Single Source merchants:
Enter the Quantity for each attribute value.
Multi Source merchants using Inventory Management:
Assign sources and add quantities for all generated product variants:
-
Select Apply unique quantity by attribute to each SKU.
-
Enter the Quantity for each variation.
When configuration for images, price, and quantity is complete, click Next in the upper-right corner.
Step 9: Generate product configurations
Wait a moment for the list of products to appear and do one of the following:
-
If you are satisfied with the configurations, click Generate Products.
-
To make corrections, click Back.
The current product variations appear at the bottom of the Configuration section.
Step 10: Add product images
-
Scroll down and expand
-
Click the Camera tile and browse to the main image to use for the configurable product.
For more information, see Images and Video.
Step 11: Complete product information
Scroll down and complete the information in the following sections as needed:
Phase 3: Publish the product
Step 12: Publish the product
-
If you are ready to publish the product in the catalog, set Enable Product to
Yes. -
Do one of the following:
Method 1: Save and preview
-
In the upper-right corner, click Save.
-
To view the product in your store, choose Customer View on the Admin (
The store opens in a new browser tab.
Method 2: Save and close
On the Save (
-
Configure stock status
Configurable product stock status differs from simple product stock status. For a configurable product, stock status is part of a multi-criteria calculation.
How stock status works
The key principles of stock status behavior:
Out of Stock (manual)Out of Stock in Admin and StorefrontIn StockIn Stock (manual)When set to “In Stock”
When you manually set the configurable product stock status to In Stock, it behaves differently depending on your inventory setup:
With default source/stock only:
- Admin and Storefront: Stock status automatically reflects child product availability
With at least one custom source/stock:
- Storefront: Stock status automatically reflects child product availability
- Admin: Remains as
In Stockuntil manually changed (not controlled by child products)
CatalogInventory module, which is now deprecated.Manual stock status changes
If you manually set the stock status to Out of Stock (via Admin user action, file import, or API call), it remains Out of Stock on both the Admin and Storefront until you manually change it back to In Stock. It is not affected by child product stock status.
System configuration (optional)
Display variation images in cart thumbnails
If you have different images for each variation, you can configure the system to display the correct image for the shopping cart thumbnail.
-
On the Admin sidebar, go to Stores > Settings > Configuration.
-
In the left panel, expand Sales and choose Checkout.
-
Expand
-
Set Configurable Product Image to
Product Thumbnail Itself. -
Click Save Config.
Key considerations
-
Variation types: Shoppers can select options from dropdown, multiple select, visual swatch, and text swatch input types. Each option is a separate, simple product.
-
Inventory tracking: Unlike simple products with custom options, configurable products track inventory for each variation independently.
-
Child product types: Child products can be simple or virtual products without custom options. To make child products virtual, select
Тhis item has no weightfor the Weight setting for each child. -
Global assignment: Child products are assigned and unassigned from the configurable product globally across all websites, stores, and store views simultaneously.
-
Pricing: A configurable product does not have its own price in the catalog. The displayed price comes from its In Stock child products.
-
Attributes: Variation attributes must have a global scope, and customers must be required to choose a value. The attributes must be included in the attribute set used for the configurable product.
-
Cart thumbnails: The shopping cart thumbnail can display the image from either the configurable product record or the product variation. See System Configuration above.
-
Swatch behavior: Swatch attributes can be configured to not display corresponding simple product images when the swatch is selected by setting Update Product Preview Image to
Noon the attribute edit page. -
Image gallery behavior: The theme controls how the Image Gallery behaves when users switch between product configurations. The default behavior for the Blank theme overrides the parent configurable product images with the selected variation. For the Luma theme, the default behavior is to prepend the selected variation images to the parent configurable product images.