How to Create Product Variants For Shopify in the CSV file

Why Use Variants
From an SEO and Google ranking perspective, 'minor' product variants should be listed as subordinate variant listings rather than individual standalone products. If Google spots the same information for multiple individual standalone products with only minor differences like color or price, your website could receive a strike against it. Conversely, variant differences that are considered to be sufficiently significant to justify multiple individual standalone listings are those that involve the following variables.

• Title
• Body (HTML)
• Vendor
• Tags

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The 2 Methods
This post will illustrate 2 ways to use a CSV file to create listings for color variants in a Shopify store. Below is what customers will see on an individual product page (for either method).

In the pictured example (above), a user will simply need to click the 'Color' drop down menu to view the variants 'blue', 'red' and so on. When customers select a different color, they will see unique stock keeping Unit (SKU) codes and prices for each variant.

The 2 methods are:

1) Shopify-generated CSV

2) Manual Way

1) Shopify-generated CSV

I prefer this method because provides a more reliable template (than the other method). It will not set you wrong, even if Shopify changes its settings and renders the details of method 2 outdated. 

This method involves first manually setting up variants in Shopify before downloading Shopify's automatically generated CSV file of those variants. 

• Within Shopify, go to 'Products'
• Select the 'Add a new product' button (in the top right corner of the screen)
• Create a page as usual for only the front / collection page display variant 
• Scroll to the bottom of the screen to see the options for creating variants. Name your variant, in this example 'color'. List the variants, along with their corresponding prices.
• Save that page. NB If you forget this part, you will be unable to add variant-specific images.
• After saving the page, continue by clicking the image icon that should now appear next to each variant to add corresponding variant images
• Save

2) Manual Method (in the CSV file)

2a - Collection Page Display Variant

In the CSV file, create the front / collection page display variant as any normal simple product without a variant with one exception.

• In column 'Option 1 Value', change 'Default Title' to 'Color' (your variant type)

2b - Each Variant Line

Make the following entries.

• Handle:      copy and paste from the collection page display variant above
• Title:      LEAVE BLANK
• Body (HTML):      LEAVE BLANK
• Vendor:      LEAVE BLANK
• Tags:      LEAVE BLANK
• Published:      LEAVE BLANK
• Option 1 Value:      Blue
• Variant SKU:      Create a variant form of the collection page display variant. In this case, the word 'blue' was used at the end of basic SKU (optional)

 

• Variant Grams:      Enter the appropriate data
• Inventory Variant Qty:      Enter the appropriate data
• Image Src:      Enter the URL of the image for the variant. You will be able to copy the URL from Shopify after having already uploaded the image file on the same Shopify page (via 'Settings', 'Files'). As above, this variant image will appear as a small thumbnail below the large image of the main option.
• ... all others:      Enter the appropriate data

RELATED TOPICS

• Formulas that make it easy to create CSV product files for Shopify