Wix Stores: About Product Options and Modifiers
6 min
In this article
- What product options and modifiers look like
- Should I create product options or modifiers?
- Do I need to track inventory?
- Is pricing for your variations the same?
- Additional considerations
- FAQs
Let customers customize their purchases with Product Options or Modifiers. While these look similar to customers, they work differently behind the scenes. Knowing the difference helps you use them effectively. Let's start by looking at a sample product that has both.
What product options and modifiers look like
In the product page below, the size drop-down is a product option while the other selections are all modifiers. Note that customers can't see the difference between drop-downs or color swatches that are product options or modiers.
You can create modifiers with any of the following field types:
- Modifiers: Drop-downs, color swatches, or text boxes
- Product options: Drop-downs or color swatches
Should I create product options or modifiers?
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 individually 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 required. 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: The 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 information 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 any of them, create product options:
- Pre-order
- Cost of goods
- Shipping weights
FAQs
How many modifiers can I create per product?
How many product options can I create per product?
How can I allow customers to send me a message about a product?
How can I connect images or videos to product options?
next to the relevant product option.
How can I connect images or videos to a modifier?
next to a modifier.
next to the first choice.Can I make changes to multiple modifiers at once?
Do customers see the modifier name I enter?
Are modifiers always required fields?
Can I add custom fields to the Checkout page instead of adding them to products?
I'm editing product options. Why don't I see some of the settings?
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