Add Variable products in woocommerce

Variable products are a great feature of WooCommerce for offering variations of a product with different prices, stock and more. They can be used for offering variations of a product e.g. a large t-shirt vs a small t-shirt. Each variation can have different properties and prices.

Adding attributes for variations

Set the product type

To add a variable product first selection the type ‘variable’ from the product type dropdown. The interface will change to reflect your selection.

Choose the variation type

Define variation attributes

On the attributes tab add some attributes to your product – you can use global attributes (see Managing Product Categories, Tags and Attributes) or define some custom ones specific for your product.

Add your attribute to the product

Make sure to assign all values of the attribute to the variable product which will become options and check the ‘variation’ checkbox on each attribute to tell WooCommerce its for your variations:

Add attributes and ensure the variations checkbox is checked

At this point you need to save your product

Add variations↑ Back to Top

After saving your product you can now begin to add variations, or link all possible variations. To add a variation, click the ‘add variation’ button. A new blank row will appear ready for you to input the data.

A new variation

Each variation of a product may be assigned the following data:

• An image – click the icon to see the image uploader. After you choose an image click ‘insert into post’.
• SKU – Set the SKU for the variation, or leave blank to use the variable products SKU.
• Stock quantity - Stock for the particular variation, or left blank to use the variable product’s stock settings.
• Weight - The weight for the variation, or left blank to use the variable product’s weight.
• Dimensions – The dimensions for the variation, or left blank to use the variable product’s dimensions.
• Price - The variations price. Required.
• Sale price - The variations sale price.
• Downloadable - If this variation is a downloadable product, check the box. You can then input file URL and download limits.
• Virtual - If the variation is virtual, check the box.
• Enabled – Uncheck the box to disable the variation. It will no longer be available.
• Shipping class – Shipping class can affect shipping. Set this if it differs from the variable product.
• Tax class – A tax class for this variation. Useful if you are offering variations spanning different tax bands.

If the sku, weight, dimension, and stock fields are not set then it simply inherits the values assigned to the  variable product. Price fields must be set per product.