Configuring versions of a particular product using the Product Variations feature is a two-step process. First, you must create the product items that will function as product variations. Second, you need to group them together so your customers can easily choose the item they require by switching the variations on the product listing page.

Product items can be created using any method that is convenient to you:

We will provide an example of manual configuration to show the process in detail.

Let us imagine that our store sells footwear, and we need to sell some sneakers. The sneakers are the same model, but they come in two colors: beige and blue. There are two pairs of beige sneakers in size 41 (SKU SNK-BG-41) and one pair of blue sneakers in size 43 (SKU SNK-BL-43). The best way to deal with this situation is by configuring product variations.

We will start by adding a new product item for beige sneakers:

"Sneakers, Color Beige, Size 41" (SKU SNK-BG-41)

Product name and SKU are the only required fields, but it is a good idea to enter the rest of the important information (images, quantity in stock, price, etc.)

It needs to be mentioned that we will also need to add a similar product item for blue sneakers. We can add it anytime (before or after creating the product item for beige sneakers). For the sake of our current example, we will add it later so as to make use of the beige sneakers attributes configuration for blue sneakers.

After entering and saving the necessary product details for beige sneakers, we will proceed to configuring the product attributes that we will use to configure product variations.

For the purpose of configuring the attributes, we will need to choose a property (or multiple properties) that will be essential to describing shoes/sneakers and which both of our product variations will have. The properties that usually matter to customers shopping for shoes/sneakers are usually "Size" and "Color". Size and color are exactly the kind of information that our customers will be looking to know when choosing their pair of sneakers, so they will be a good choice of attributes to describe the difference between our product variations.

In our X-Cart store, we will add a product class "Shoes" and configure the attributes we require at the level of this product class.

To do that, we will switch to the Attributes tab of the product details.

There, we will switch to the Global subtab.

Since "Sneakers, Color Beige, Size 41" (SKU SNK-BG-41) is a newly created product item, the Global subsection of this item's product details will state the absence of a product class assigned.

To change this, we click the Change button. Note that it is possible to either assign an existing product class (which can be added via Catalog > Classes & Attributes) or to create a new product class right here on the same page. Let us follow the latter route. We select the option "New product class", specify its name ("Shoes") and save the changes by clicking the button.

As a result, the product class information on the page should be updated to reflect that the product item now belongs to the product class "Shoes".

Note that after a product class has been assigned as described above, a new section appears on the page where you can add product attributes on the level of this class. The product class we added is titled "Shoes", so the section name is "Shoes Attributes"; if you specify a different product class, the section will be named differently.

We proceed to add attributes via this section. First, we click the Add attribute button at the top right of the product class level attributes section.

This reveals a drop-down list with the types of attributes that can be added. We choose to add a "Plain field" attribute. This is important, as only this option can be used for attributes involved in the creation of product variations.

This will add a blank new line in the product class level attributes section.

We will use this line to add our first attribute, "Color". At the same time, we will assign an option value to this attribute; since we are editing our beige sneakers product item, it will be "Beige". Please note that we will leave the multi value check box to the right of the Attribute option field not selected. This is important, as only single value attributes can be used to form product variations.

We will use the same method to add the other attribute we require ("Size" and its value "41").

After we're done adding information about the attributes we require, we will need to save the changes by clicking the Save changes button.

The attributes will be updated.

The above is about all that needs to be done to configure attributes for the "Product variations" feature. Next, we will need to switch to the Variations tab of the product details and continue the configuration there.

The Variations tab will contain, in part, the same information as the Attributes > Global subsection: There will be provided information about the product class assigned to the product item and the attributes we have configured via the Attributes > Global subsection. Please be aware that the list of class-level attributes on this page will only contain attributes that can be used to build product variations (i.e. attributes of the "Plain field" type configured to have a single value); any attributes of other types, as well as multi-value attributes, will not be included. In addition, the page will have a notable new feature: Next to the attribute fields we have configured in the previous step, there will be checkboxes titled "Use for variations".

We will use these checkboxes to select the attributes from which we want product variations to be created. In our example, we will need both the "Color" and "Size" attributes for our variations, so we will select both the checkboxes and save the changes by clicking the Save changes button.

After that, our work on product attributes is completed.

At the bottom of the page, we will now find a list of product variations (currently containing a single product item - the one we are editing). Shown above the list, there will be the attributes that we have selected to be used for building the variations (in our case, "color" and "size").

Our work configuring "Sneakers, Color Beige, Size 41" (SKU SNK-BG-41) is done.

Now we need to add and configure the rest of the product items that will serve as variations of the same product. In our case, we need to add just one more product item - the one for blue sneakers, size 43. Since it is a single product item to be created, it will be easiest to do it by cloning the product item "Sneakers, Color Beige, Size 41" (SKU SNK-BG-41) and modifying its details. So, we go back to the Info tab of the product details and use the button Clone this product to create a copy of the original product item.

We get a new product item that represents a clone of the original one.

By modifying the product details, including the product name, SKU, image, etc., we transform this clone into a product item "Sneakers, Color Blue, Size 43" (SKU SNK-BL-43).

After that, we switch to the Variations tab (or the Attributes tab - the same way as we did for beige sneakers.)

There we assign the "Shoes" product class:

And configure attributes similarly to how we configured them for beige sneakers, only this time we specify different attribute values (Color = Blue, Size = 43).

After saving the changes, we get access to the list of variations of this product item (currently containing just this single item) based on the selected attributes.

That is all about configuring attributes.

Now we can group the product items "Sneakers, Color Blue, Size 43" (SKU SNK-BL-43) and "Sneakers, Color Beige, Size 41" (SKU SNK-BG-41) together so they can be treated as variations. To do so, we will click the Add New button above the variations list (It does not matter the details of which of the two product items we are editing.)

This opens a popup with a list of products filtered based on the product class and attributes we have selected to be the basis of our variations.

We can review the list, select the product items that we want to be treated as variations of the item whose details we are currently viewing/editing and save our selection by clicking the Add products button below the list.

As a result, the selected product items will be added to the list in the Variations section.

(The product item whose details are currently being viewed/edited will be highlighted with light yellow color.)

Now we can click the names of the items on the variations list to switch between the items for fast and easy access to their details. Since every item that stands behind a variation is fully independent, we can adjust any of its product details independently of the other items on the variations list.

For details on the types of information that can be found on the Variations list, see Viewing and Managing the Variations List.

That is all there is that is involved in the configuration of product variations.

Now shoppers visiting our store will be able to find the beige and blue sneakers as separate product items in the store's catalog.

(If we do not want all the variations to appear on product list pages of your store's catalog separately, we can hide some of the variations / all the variations but one from view using the Variations list facilities. See Viewing and Managing the Variations List.)

At the same time, if viewing the page of a specific product variation, shoppers will be able to select a different variation by readjusting the options selection.

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