Managing product variations and pricing

BySupport Admin

Variable products allow your customers to choose specific options—like size, color, or material—from a single product page. Instead of listing five different shirts for five different colors, you can manage them all in one place with unique prices and stock levels for each combination.

How to create a variable product

Follow these steps to set up your product options.

  1. Change the product type
    In your WordPress dashboard, go to Products and click on the item you want to edit. Scroll down to the Product Data box and change the dropdown menu from "Simple product" to Variable product.

  2. Add Attributes
    Attributes are the categories of your options (e.g., Size or Color).

    • Click the Attributes tab on the left.

    • Select "Custom product attribute" and click Add.

    • Name your attribute (e.g., "Size").

    • In the Value(s) box, type your options separated by a pipe character | (e.g., Small | Medium | Large).

    • Check the box Used for variations and click Save attributes.

  3. Generate Variations
    Now that you’ve defined the categories, you need to create the actual items customers can buy.

    • Click the Variations tab.

    • Select Generate variations from the dropdown menu and click Go.

    • WooCommerce will create every possible combination of the attributes you just saved.

  4. Set Prices
    A variation will not appear on your website until it has a price.

    • Click on a specific variation to expand it.

    • Enter the Regular Price.

    • If you want to set the same price for every variation at once, use the dropdown menu at the top of the Variations tab, select Set regular prices, and click Go.

Practical Examples

Clothing Store
You sell a hoodie in Blue, Black, and Grey, across Small, Medium, and Large. By setting these as variations, the customer selects their color and size from two dropdown menus. You can charge $45 for the Small and Medium, but $50 for the Large if the material costs are higher.

Coffee Roaster
You sell a signature blend. You can create a "Bag Size" attribute with values: 250g, 500g, and 1kg. You can then add a "Grind" attribute: Whole Bean, Espresso, or Filter. Each bag size can have its own price and unique SKU for inventory tracking.

Troubleshooting

The variation is not appearing on the shop page
This is usually caused by one of three things:

  • Missing Price: If the price field is empty, the variation is considered "unavailable." Ensure every option has a price.

  • Out of Stock: If you are managing stock and the quantity is 0, the option may be hidden.

  • Attribute box unchecked: Go back to the Attributes tab and ensure "Used for variations" is checked for every attribute you’re using.

Bulk editing isn’t working
If you have more than 50 variations, the "Generate variations" tool might time out. It is often easier to create your attributes first, then manually add the specific combinations you actually stock.

Recap

Managing variations is about defining your Attributes (the labels) and then creating Variations (the actual products). Always remember to add a price to each variation to make it live on your store.

Next steps to consider:

  • Setting up [Inventory and Stock Management]

  • Adding [Product Shipping Classes] for heavy variations

  • Customizing your product layout with [Kadence Shop Kit]

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