Overcome the Shopify Variant Limit by using Metafields
Shopify is pretty awesome, but even it, has it's limits. Currently, one of the most cumbersome limits is that of a maximum of 3 product options, with a maximum of 100 variant combinations.
That might sound like alot, but it's quickly exceeded. What if you want to have 20 sizes of engagement ring, with 3 colors of gold, and 4 band widths? 20 x 3 x 4 = 240 variant combinations! Shopify just can't do it.
The typical workaround has been to use a Product Options app, such as Bold Product Options or Infinite Options. These apps both work well as a workaround to Shopify's variant limitations. However, if you've used these apps (or others like them) for any length of time, you have likely found that:
That might sound like alot, but it's quickly exceeded. What if you want to have 20 sizes of engagement ring, with 3 colors of gold, and 4 band widths? 20 x 3 x 4 = 240 variant combinations! Shopify just can't do it.
The typical workaround has been to use a Product Options app, such as Bold Product Options or Infinite Options. These apps both work well as a workaround to Shopify's variant limitations. However, if you've used these apps (or others like them) for any length of time, you have likely found that:
- you can't report on sales of product options
- product options on orders don't always flow through properly to fulfillment services
- you can't track inventory on product options
- adding/removing options can be a hassle
Since the release of Shopify 2.0 and native metafields, there's a new workaround -- you can use metafields as additional variants! Stay tuned for more information on how, I've got some code built and will display a video soon.