How to Split Shopify Variable Products: Step-by-Step Guide

If you're a Shopify store owner looking to offer greater customization and clarity to your shoppers, then splitting your Shopify variable products into separate, distinct items might be the game-changer you've been seeking.

With their numerous options and variants, Shopify variable products can be a powerful asset for your store. Still, they can also present organizational, SEO, and overall shopping experience challenges. This comprehensive guide will teach you how to split Shopify Variable Products. 

Before going into the details, make sure you have built an eCommerce store on Shopify!

What is a Shopify Variable Product?

Shopify Variable Products are different versions or options of a single product that share certain characteristics but vary in specific attributes such as size, color, material, or any other customizable feature. They allow you to offer a range of choices to your customers while keeping related products organized under one main product listing.

How to split Shopify Variable Product

Method 1: Manually Split Shopify Product Variants (Native Shopify)

To efficiently split products in Shopify, follow the straightforward steps outlined below. 

It's important to note that this method applies explicitly to owners of Premium Themes. If your 2.0 theme doesn't support this approach, we have an alternative solution outlined below.

Step 1: Sign in to your Shopify account 

• If you don't already own a Shopify store, you need to sign up for Shopify (free)
• Log in to your online store using your registered email and password.

Step 2: Import desired products into a list

• In the Shopify Dashboard, go to the Product tab and choose Import.

• Click Add File and choose Upload and Continue.

Afterward, select all the products you intend to split and generate an import list within Shopify. Ensure that you adhere to the specified format outlined in the CSV template.

Step 3: Choose specific products to be split

• Once you've compiled your list, determine which products you intend to separate. 
• Click the “...” button and select Split Product from the menu.

Step 4: Select splitting variants

Next, select the variant you want to split. In the example above, the variant selected would be “color”. 

Step 5: Click Split to Products in Shopify

Finally, click split to products. New products will be created, and unused variants will be disabled (not deleted) and can be enabled at any time. 

Step 6: Save 

Finally, before finishing editing, don't forget to save everything

Method 2: Use EComposer to Display Variants as Separate Products

By default, Shopify allows each product to have up to three options and 100 variants. This works well for simple products, but it becomes limiting when you want to show variants as individual items, give each option more visual emphasis, or work around Shopify’s variant constraints.

To solve this, you can use EComposer – Shopify Page Builder, a powerful no-code solution that lets you visually display product variants as separate products across your storefront, without duplicating products or touching Liquid code.

EComposer is one of the leading page builders on Shopify, allowing merchants to build and customize product pages, landing pages, homepages, collection pages, and more using a drag-and-drop interface. One of its advanced features, the Variable Product extension, is specifically designed to showcase variants as standalone product cards.

This approach improves product discovery, UX, and conversion rates, especially for stores with variant-heavy catalogs.

Step 1: Add Shopify Product Variants

Before using EComposer, make sure your product variants are properly set up in Shopify.

• Go to Shopify Admin → Products
• Select the product you want to work with
• In the product editor, click Add another option
• Define variant attributes such as Color, Size, Material, or Style
• Add values for each option and click Save

These variants will act as the data source for EComposer’s Variable Product extension.

Step 2: Install and Open the EComposer Editor

• Visit the Shopify App Store and search for EComposer – Landing Page Builder
• Click Add app and install it on your store

• Once installed, go to Apps → EComposer Landing Page Builder in your Shopify admin

From here, you can start building custom sections and pages that display your variants in a more flexible way.

Step 3: Add the Variable Product Extension to EComposer editor

This is the core step where variants are visually “split” into separate products.

• Click Start Building and choose Shopify Section

• Click Extension and Search for Variable Product

• Click Install

• Drag and drop the Variable Product extension into your desired location

   

Step 4: Customize the Variable Product Extension

Once added, you can fully control how variants appear and behave.

Content Settings

• Product Source: Choose products by Collection, specific Products, Vendor, or Product Type

   

• Condition:

   

• All – display all variants

   

• Specific option – display only selected variants (e.g. only “Red” or “Large”)

   

You can also customize:

• Product cards

   

• Product titles

   

• Add-to-cart actions

   

• Countdown promotions

   

• Text labels

   

• Product card layout and ordering

   

Design Settings

• Adjust spacing, colors, typography, borders, and layout

   

• Create visually distinct variant cards that feel like separate products

   

Advanced Settings

• Control visibility by device

   

• Add animations

   

• Customize background and advanced display rules

   

• Apply custom code if needed

   

Step 5: Save and Publish 

Once satisfied with your customization, you can save and publish in the right corner of the edit page. 

We would love to share you the full tutorial of this extension. Check it down.

Method 3: Split Shopify Product Variants Using Apps

How to Split Shopify Product Variants Using Apps

If you need a solution that goes beyond Shopify’s native variant limits or display behavior, third-party apps from the Shopify App Store can help you split product variants into separate products or show them as individual items on the storefront — without manually creating new products one by one.

These apps generally work in two ways:

1. Back-end Splitting: The app creates new standalone products in Shopify for each variant you choose. This means each variant gets its own product record, with its own URL, title, inventory, and SEO settings.

    

2. Front-end Display: The app simulates separate products in your storefront listings (collections, search, home page) by showing variant cards as if they were products, even though Shopify still treats them as variants in the backend.

    

Both approaches improve product visibility, make variants easier to browse, and help customers find exactly what they want, especially useful for stores with many color, size, or option combinations.

Here are five Shopify apps that help you manage and convert variants into stand-alone product experiences:

How These Apps Typically Work

• Select Variant Rules: You choose which variant attributes (like color, size, style) should be treated as separate items.

   

• Automatic Conversion or Display:

   

• For back-end splitting apps, the app duplicates variants into new products, copying key data and creating separate URLs for each.

   

• For display apps, the app renders variants as individual cards on the storefront while keeping the original product structure intact.

   

• Control Visibility: Most apps let you hide out-of-stock variants, rename titles, or tune how they appear in lists and search results.

   

• SEO & Discovery Boosts: By creating unique URLs or better filtering displays, these apps help your variant offerings rank higher in search and be easier to find, especially valuable for stores with large catalogs.

   

Shopify Variants vs Separate Products: What’s the Difference?

When selling products with multiple options (such as size, color, material, or style), Shopify merchants usually choose between variants under one product or split each option into separate products. While variants are easier to manage, separate products often perform better for SEO, merchandising, and advanced conversion strategies. Understanding how these two structures differ will help you decide which setup delivers the best user experience and business results for your store.

When Should You Split Shopify Variable Products?

Splitting Shopify variable products into separate products is not always necessary, but in the right scenarios, it can significantly improve SEO performance, user experience, inventory control, and conversion rates. Below are the most common cases where separating variants into individual products delivers better results than keeping everything under one product page.

• Color-based products with big visual differences: When color variants look visually distinct (for example, clothing, furniture, or accessories), shoppers often search and decide based on color first. Creating separate products allows each color to have its own images, URL, and SEO keywords, making it easier for customers to land directly on the exact variant they want.

   

• Fashion, apparel, and lifestyle stores: In fashion-related niches, product perception matters. Separate products make each variant feel like a unique item rather than a minor option. This improves browsing experience, simplifies decision-making, and often leads to higher conversions, especially when collections rely heavily on visual merchandising.

   

• Print-on-demand and custom products: For POD or customizable items, each variant may have different pricing, production time, or personalization rules. Splitting variants into individual products allows clearer product descriptions, more accurate pricing, and better communication of customization options, reducing confusion and cart abandonment.

   

• Large catalogs or marketplace-style stores: Stores with hundreds or thousands of SKUs benefit from separate products because they enable better filtering, sorting, and collection management. Variant-heavy products can quickly become cluttered, while individual products make large catalogs easier to scale and optimize.

   

• Shopify variant limits: Shopify limits products to 100 variants and 3 option types. If your product exceeds these limits or is close to them, splitting variants into separate products is often the only practical solution to maintain flexibility and future growth.

   

You should split Shopify variable products when visual differences are significant, SEO targeting matters, variant complexity grows, or Shopify’s native limits become restrictive. While variants work well for simple products, separating them into individual products gives you greater control over performance, scalability, and long-term store optimization.

Shopify Multiple Variants Dropdowns: UX Best Practices

When a product has multiple options (size, color, material, style), the way you present those choices directly impacts usability, conversion rate, and mobile experience. Dropdowns are still widely used in Shopify, but they must be applied thoughtfully. Below are UX best practices to help you decide when dropdowns make sense, how they compare to other UI patterns, and how to reduce friction during variant selection.

• When dropdowns are still the best UX choice: Dropdowns work best when variants are text-based, numerous, or low in visual importance, such as measurements, technical specs, or compatibility options. They help keep the product page clean and prevent clutter when displaying dozens of choices. Dropdowns are also familiar UI elements, which reduces cognitive load for users who expect a standard selection flow.

   

• Dropdowns vs swatches vs buttons: Each variant UI serves a different purpose. Dropdowns are ideal for long lists (e.g., sizes from XS to 6XL), while swatches perform better for visual attributes like color or pattern. Buttons are effective for small sets of high-intent options because they surface choices immediately without extra clicks. A hybrid approach, using swatches for color and dropdowns for size, is often the most user-friendly setup.

   

• Improving variant selection on mobile: On mobile devices, dropdowns can become frustrating if they are too small, deeply nested, or stacked excessively. Use large tap targets, clear labels, and logical ordering. Where possible, replace dropdowns with swipeable buttons or expandable panels. Reducing the number of required taps before “Add to Cart” is critical for mobile conversion.

   

• Reducing choice overload: Too many variant combinations can overwhelm shoppers and lead to decision paralysis. To avoid this, group related options, preselect the most popular variant, or dynamically disable unavailable combinations. Progressive disclosure, showing only relevant options after a prior selection, helps guide users through complex configurations without making the page feel overwhelming.

   

SEO Considerations for Shopify Variable Products & Split Variants

Splitting Shopify variants into separate products can unlock SEO opportunities, but if done incorrectly, it can also create duplicate content, indexing issues, and diluted rankings. The following best practices help you maximize search visibility while keeping your store technically clean and scalable.

• Duplicate content risks: When multiple variant pages share the same title, description, and images, search engines may struggle to determine which page to rank. To avoid this, ensure each split variant has unique elements, such as a variant-specific product title, short description, or image set, especially for color, style, or edition-based products.

   

• Product URLs, handles, and canonical tags: Each split variant should have a clean, keyword-focused URL handle that reflects the specific option (e.g.,/tshirt-blue instead of /tshirt). If variants are very similar, use canonical tags to point secondary pages to the primary version and consolidate ranking signals where appropriate.

   

• Indexing strategy for similar products: Not all variants need to be indexed. Index variants that have search demand or clear intent (such as popular colors or models), and consider noindexing low-value or rarely searched combinations. This keeps your index lean and helps search engines prioritize your most valuable product pages.

   

• Internal linking best practices: Strengthen discoverability by linking between related variants using contextual links (e.g., “Available in Blue, Black, and Red”). Use collections, “related products,” or variant navigation blocks to pass internal link equity and help both users and search engines understand product relationships.

   

+4 Mistakes to Avoid when Adding Shopify Product Variants

Don't create multiple listings for variants

When you have products with multiple variants, creating separate listings for each variant might be tempting. However, this can quickly lead to an overwhelming number of listings that are difficult to manage and can confuse both you and your customers. Instead, aim to keep all product variants under a single product listing.

Why? Because your store visitors shouldn't have to scour your entire site to find the specific size, color, or style of a product they're looking for. Once they've found the product they want, all available options should be laid out for them.

Be mindful of limits on Shopify product variants

Shopify sets specific limits on product variants to ensure efficient performance. If your store has over 50,000 variants, you'll encounter a limitation in the number of variants you can upload daily through third-party apps, allowing only 1,000 new versions daily. To bypass this restriction, consider a Shopify Plus membership.

Additionally, Shopify limits individual products to three options, each with up to 100 variants. If your products require more than three options or exceed 100 variants, you can explore third-party apps to help manage and display these additional variations effectively.

Name your Shopify product variants consistently

Consistency is vital when it comes to naming your product variants. Whether you sell candles with various scents or flavors or any other customizable feature, choose a clear and consistent nomenclature like "fragrance" or "flavor" for your product variants. 

This adds a professional and organized look to your site and makes it easier for your customers to filter and find products within your catalog.

Always link your images to their Shopify product variants

Visual consistency is crucial in e-commerce. Ensure that your product images are connected correctly to their respective variants. If a customer selects a different color or option, you want the corresponding image to change. 

This way, if a customer looks at a picture of a blue shirt, they won't mistakenly purchase a red one due to a mismatched image. Linking images to Shopify variants minimizes confusion and enhances the overall shopping experience. 

FAQs

1. How do I group variants in Shopify? 

In Shopify, you can group variants based on your product's attributes and options. Each product can have up to three different features: size, color, and material. However, there's a maximum limit of 100 variants per product.

But if you need more than 100 variants or more than three attributes, you have two options:

- Use Third-Party Apps

- Customize Your Theme Code

These options allow you to group variants or manage products with extensive variant compelling needs in your Shopify store.

2. How do I show multiple products on Shopify?

You can easily display multiple products on your Shopify store's collection pages. Adjust the number of products shown using the theme editor or theme code. Customize it to your liking while staying within Shopify's 50 product-per-page limit.

3. How to Find Your Product Variant ID

If you ever need to locate the variant ID for a specific SKU, perhaps for theme code customizations or other purposes, follow these steps:

- Visit the live product page on your Shopify storefront.

- Choose the variant for which you need the ID.

- Observe the URL format, which will look like this:

https://www.storename.com/products/product-name?variant=XXXXXXXX

- The numbers represented by the "X's" at the end of the URL are the variant ID you're looking for.

This method lets you quickly identify the variant ID associated with a particular product variant on your Shopify store.

Final Thought

You've just learned how to master splitting Shopify variable products. This guide equips you with the skills to organize, customize, and optimize your store for an enhanced shopping experience.

Shopify provides the necessary flexibility, whether using Premium Themes or third-party apps. It's time to take action, split those products, and watch your Shopify store thrive. Happy selling!