About Product Modifiers
4 min
In this article
- Should I create modifiers or product options?
- What do modifiers look like on my site?
- FAQs
By adding modifiers to a product, you can offer customers different versions of a product without needing to track inventory separately for each one. Modifiers also make it possible to offer free additional extras, such as gift wrapping. Customers then select the modifiers they prefer on the product page.
Should I create modifiers or product options?
To decide whether it's best to create product options, modifiers, or both, for a specific product, ask yourself the following questions:
Do I need to track inventory?
The first and most important question is, do you need to track inventory for this product variation? Let's look at an example.
A merchant sells a ring and it comes in 2 sizes, small and large. They also offer free engraving. The merchant needs to stock separate inventory for the 2 ring sizes, so they'll create a product option called 'Size' with 2 variants, 'Small' and 'Large'.
The engraving is an embellishment added to the same product - no separate inventory is needed. As such, the merchant creates a modifier for this.
Is pricing for your variations the same?
Let's take another look the example we used above: a ring that comes in small and large sizes (sold at the same price) and with or without engraving. If this merchant decides to charge for engraving, they'd need to create 2 types of product options, one for size and one for engraving. This is because you cannot offer modifiers with varied pricing.
In this example, you'd end up with 2 product options (size and engraving) and 4 variants, as in the image below. Note that the 'Yes' variants cost more than the 'No' variants.
Additional considerations
Certain info and calculations are available only with product options, not modifiers.
For example, when you create a product, you can enter a product weight in the Shipping and fulfillment section. The weight is applied to the product. If you want to enter separate weights for each variation, you need to create product options, where you can do so.
The options listed below are available either per product or per variant, not per modifier. To use them, create product options.
- Pre-order
- Cost of goods
- Shipping weights
What do modifiers look like on my site?
When you create a modifier, you can choose one of 3 field types: drop-downs, color swatches, or text boxes where customers enter text.
Tip:
For your customer, a drop-down or color swatch for a product option or a modifier look the same.
In the example below, the size drop-down is a product option while the other selections are all modifiers.
FAQs
Click a question below to learn more.
How many modifiers can I create?
How can I connect an image or video to a modifier?
next to a modifier.
next to the first option.Can I make changes to multiple modifiers at once?
Do customers see the modifier name I enter?
Are modifiers always required fields?
