Top 7 Shopify Product Options Apps (Pros and Cons)

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If you ever considered creating a website for your store using a ready CMS, you probably have heard of Shopify. Moreover, you’ve probably heard that it’s one of the best content management systems for starting an online store for business owners.

Shopify or WordPress? No matter what kind of good things you’ve heard, there’s absolutely no doubt about it, you have heard the truth. Shopify is indeed a very flexible and accessible platform for creating online stores for your e-commerce business, regardless of what you sell.

Benefits of customizing Shopify product pages

With over 2 million businesses operating via this platform in 175 countries, this is by far the most popular CMS when it comes to online stores. As for Shopify Online Store 14.0, there are lots of benefits to using it indeed. Just take a look at some of them.

Simple to use

Shopify is pretty easy to use and has a pretty clear interface, allowing you to create and launch your store within hours. Still, some basic coding knowledge like website layout and the basics of HTML and CSS languages will be handy.

Customizable themes

Essentially, you can apply any visual theme imaginable to your store. Yet, there are only a dozen of Shopify default themes available for free. That’s why it’s good to create your own using customizing apps and some basics of CSS.

Constant support

The technical support team of Shopify is definitely among the greatest ones. No matter what kind of issue or question you have and when you have it, they are always glad to help. For instance, if the issue is not caused by the platform itself, a Shopify specialist will help forward the support ticket to the right third-party app developer.

A variety of product options apps

Shopify app store offers lots of utilities to improve your storefront or SEO services, so you’ve got everything covered either for free or at a relatively low cost. There are plenty of things to tinker with to perfect your store, for sure.

Why add extra product options to the Shopify product page?

Creating a custom store is more than just a good idea. It makes your business stand out and allows you to adjust to your customer’s needs and wants in a rather simple, friendly, and flexible manner.

With the essence of Shopify CMS being flexible and customization, they are a perfect choice for any business, big or small. As it was mentioned earlier, Shopify offers a great variety of tools to overcome its limitations improve your store in almost every possible way. And customization is one of the hottest categories on the Shopify app store.

While selecting a suitable app there might be a challenge, there are a couple of options that will almost certainly help you with whatever product variant customization issue you want to solve. Here they are.

1. Vario – Variation Swatches

Are you getting bored with Shopify’s current way of presenting the product variant options?

Well, Vario allows you to turn the Shopify dropdown select options into attractive swatches such as buttons, color swatches, custom image swatches, image thumbnail tooltip, hover effects, etc. With Vario swatch styles, you will have diversified styling options when it comes to selecting product variations.

variation swatch image hover effect

Therefore, the customers can visually observe and select product variants even when they are on collection pages. Especially, when your products have many options like material, size, partial color, design, and other details, you should use variant swatches instead of the dropdown selector.

Features:

  • Automatically populating existing variant images
  • Uploading custom image for each variant
  • Showing multiple variant options on the collection page
  • Customizing sold-out variant appearances
  • Multiple swatch hover effects
  • Compatible with all Shopify official themes including vintage themes and Online Store 2.0 themes
INSTALL APP

2. EXPO – Extra Product Options

EXPO ‑ Extra Product Options banner

Extra Product Options app provides 12+ different custom field types for your Shopify product pages. You can easily customize your product options and let your customers personalize their purchases. Add options, edit pricing, modify conditional display, and rearrange the product fields as you need to.

With this app, you can lift the Shopify limit to 100 variant options per product, and that’s simply great!

Features:

  • 12+ option types: checkbox, swatch, file upload, date/time picker, etc.
  • Drag-and-drop collapsible card interface
  • Extra cost and description per option
  • Bulk assign an option set to products
  • Multi-currency and multilingual settings
INSTALL APP

3. Infinite Options

As the name suggests, Infinite Options by ShopPad Inc. offers a wide variety of options to create the storefront of your dreams. Nearly everything, from the store’s theme to the order size, can be customized, compiled, and changed at any time without taking too much effort.

Undoubtedly, this is next to the best option if you need to customize your store in a rather simple and timely manner. However, the devil is always in the detail. As such, some users recently complained about the absence of pricing options for products and file uploading for the customers.

So, to sum up, the app’s main pros are:

  • Wide customization options
  • Ease of installation and use

Some downsides, however, are:

  • Absence of multiple pricing options for the same product
  • No file uploading and previews
  • Make sure to read the reviews on the Shopify app store if any of that is critical to you

4. Variant Option Product Options (VOPO)

Another great choice for a customizer app, the VOPO is a professional tool that can help your business stand out, grow, and flourish. This app allows creating of different pricing options for one item (something not available in Infinite Options), a simple tool for item duplication, and an advanced system of the theme components compilation so that every element would look nice and smooth with your theme.

Variant product options page

Yet, again, there are some issues with this app as well, and they include insufficient customer support (available only via email) and some minor interface details that some users found confusing.

The advantages of this app draw down to the following:

  • User-friendly interface
  • Easy-to-use tools
  • Superior theme compilation system that allows creating any look imaginable for your store

Nothing is perfect, and VOPO has some flaws as well, which are:

  • Weak customer support
  • Confusing interface elements (e.g. the setting of options for products are placed under the settings for Shopify options)
  • So, make sure you learn how to use this app before you do it in order to avoid any unnecessary delays and lengthy solutions

5. Product Personalizer

This one is somewhat simpler than the previous two apps, yet it’s no less powerful. With lots of options to customize your store like multiple price tags for a single item, a user-friendly item page editor, and even a basic visual editing tool, this app has a lot to offer to fashion and accessory stores.

On top of that, you have a friendly and helpful support team at your disposal 24/7. Some of the troubles that the users have reported are the lack of customization for different store types, as well as a somewhat confusing interface.

The main advantages of Product Personalizer are drawn down to these:

  • Wide range of tools, many of which are easy to learn and use.
  • Strong support ready to answer any question

Some of the common issues that users have with this app are:

  • Lack of customization options
  • Some confusing details in the interface
  • Before using the app full-time, try practicing and tinkering with it first

6. Tshirt & Product Design Studio

This app can be used to allow product designing for T-shirts, mugs, bags, etc. with text, custom images, etc. If you need a serious app that can be considered almost synonymous with the product’s frontend customization, this one is for you. T-shirt & Product Design Studio goes far beyond regular store customization and allows your customers to design their own products.

As evident from the name, this app is perfect for clothing, accessories, and merch shops. With lots of tools to offer to you and your customers, this app will certainly help you stand out and create unique offers for your audience. While it’s all great and powerful, it has its cons, too. Some users have complained about the app crashing rather suddenly, with all the progress getting lost.

As a perfect tool for clothing and accessory store, this tool provides you with the following:

  • A wide array of customization tools
  • Almost perfect visualization and synchronization
  • Availability of custom images for customers

Some things in this app, however, require improvement, for example:

  • Critical bugs are still present in the app’s code, causing it to crash sometimes
  • Installation issues have also been reported
  • Make sure to save and back up your progress regularly to avoid such issues and disappointment

7. Zakeke Product Customizer

Zakeke is another great solution for customization. Designed for customization in 3D and AR, this app also allows customers to tinker with your products the way they see fit. Moreover, they can even take a look at those products in the real environment using the aforementioned AR technology.

Still, while it’s great for stores selling customizable goods, most of its major features might be useless for other kinds of businesses.

Being one of the best apps for Shopify store customization, Zakeke has these features in its arsenal:

  • State-of-the-art customization tools that enable editing in 3D and AR with a short render time
  • Plentiful options for customization and combination

Some downsides, however, are:

  • Rather high prices, mostly depending on the tool sets you purchase
  • Low usability for stores that don’t specialize in customizable goods
  • So, make sure you really need something like Zakeke before checking out their plans

Conclusion

While sales are an ultimate goal, for the most part, e-commerce can be more than just about them. If approached from a creative standpoint, an online store can be turned into a real work of art.

Although Shopify, like most other CMSs, offers a rather basic and generic arsenal of tools and aides, some of the most experienced developers have made lots of effort to fix that.

The apps provided in the list above are only the tip of the iceberg. The Shopify app store hosts hundreds, if not thousands, of apps for store and product customization that can add a lot of value to your business. With so many things to explore and tools to utilize, you can rest assured – your business will certainly not go unseen.

Guest Author

Jessica Fender is a copywriter and blogger at Edubirdie with a background in marketing and sales. She enjoys sharing her experience with like-minded professionals who aim to provide customers with high-quality services.

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Tools for Building and Editing Shopify Themes

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Selling online is the most popular and easiest way to generate additional income. Consumers these days prefer to buy products through e-commerce websites or special marketplaces. Many of them earn from the difference between the wholesale and retail prices. In any case, people who want to automate processes will need Shopify.

Even after people have spent a lot of time looking for the perfect theme for their online store, it may not quite fit their creative vision. This is because most drop-shippers and store owners want to make visual improvements. If you are a completely new user, it may seem daunting and overwhelming at first. But this is a misconception. Don’t let it slow you down. Here’s the curation of the advanced tools and visual editor apps to get you started.

Developer Tools

If you prefer creativity and have some initial HTML knowledge, use one of the following editors.

Shopify CLI

It’s a must-have tool that helps automate many routine tasks. With Shopify CLI for themes, developers can use dummy data when testing applications. By filling stores with fictional products marketers can customize all pages and test the effectiveness of a particular template. This is the backbone of any online business theme development for Online Store 2.0.

Shopify Cheat Sheet

At the heart of this e-commerce platform is Liquid, a programming language based on visual objects and different filters. Without this Liquid cheat sheet, effective analytics can hardly be obtained through this platform. It’s a database of all visual elements to load the content of your stores. Be sure to use this if you prefer an original style for every platform through which you sell products.

Theme Kit

It’s an editor that is understandable even for a beginner. That is why the number of downloads is in the hundreds of thousands. Once the theme pack is activated, people track changes and improve visual objects. This can be done in 2-3 clicks and even on mobile devices. Theme Kit editor is compatible with Windows, Linux, and OS X.

Visual Tools for Merchants

Ways to help you as merchants customize the content and appearance of your store.

Code Customizer

Code Customizer on Shopify app store

Code Customizer is a free-to-install app for custom HTML/CSS/JS bt Ecomfy. An easy-to-use app with many useful features allows online store owners to simplify their business. We are talking about suppliers of food, clothing, souvenirs, auto repair shops, and others. With universal tools, they can easily insert a predefined framework of code in seconds. The same goes for integrations with Google Analytics, FB Pixel, etc. This is especially useful for entrepreneurs who are involved in a variety of services, including repairs and delivery.

Plus, this app helps to validate custom HTML, JavaScript code by displaying an error in the code editor. This is a must-have for any beginner.

Custom Css Pro

Custom Css Pro on Shopify app store

For any store owner who mastered coding and wants to change liquid files, this editor is the best tool. Custom CSS Pro App is confirmed by dozens of reviews from marketers who supply a wide variety of goods. With this app developed by Heaven3000, users add CSS code to Shopify templates, that allows them to customize the page as they see fit. We’re talking about redesigning, hiding certain elements, and so on.

Other tools

Due to the launch of new section-based theme architecture, some previously helpful code editors are out of support. However, you can still fork the repo to suit your own needs.

If you are a completely new user, it may seem daunting and overwhelming for building a Shopify theme from scratch at first. But this is a misconception. Don’t let it slow you down. Here’s the curation of the advanced tools and visual editor apps to get you started.

Shopify Liquid code examples

This resource helps you see how different website elements can be written in Liquid.

Many developers prefer examples that allow them to see how to implement specific components. Of course, without such a strategy, users would always see errors on the pages of the website. Divided into 7 categories, this library contains the most important global templates and other sections/products examples. Such pre-defined code snippets help managers understand how the modular sections work. People can even add such examples directly to their Shopify themes.

Find out more: Add a clickable Call-to-Action Button to your Shopify Theme

Slate

Slate Shopify theme code editor

Slate guides developers by providing a tested workflow and opinionated development toolkit.

This editor is realized to help marketers with their workflow. People who want to speed up the process should choose it. The new general-purpose platform has an integrated guide. This editor is known for its ability to adapt to the needs of more experienced developers. With such a tool, the user adds CSS for different screen sizes and uploads themes in a few clicks.

Polaris

It is a design customization platform that includes the React library. Polaris helps developers craft the Shopify admin and optimize that space for merchant workflow.

This product is integrated with an HTML/CSS editor which allows users to improve interface elements. Polaris is more than just a toolkit for developers. This is due to the flexibility of being able to change almost any element.

Each of the listed editors is original in its own way, so you can choose any option. These nine programs are suitable for a beginner and a wholesale developer in different ways. Therefore, before loading a specific version, it is worthwhile to figure out what tasks will have to be performed.

Avoid common issues when editing Shopify themes

The task is difficult when it comes to making updates and people have not mastered HTML or Liquid. This is especially true when designers prefer complex ideas or when time is of the essence for them. In this case, business owners or managers can make a lot of mistakes and have to rebuild the template from scratch. If novice developers and designers can’t find a suitable theme for their store, they should follow our advice to tailor the current template to specific needs:

Inspect before deployment

If users have no experience with customizing websites, they should use additional tools and guides. This is the only way to figure out how certain HTML and CSS segments affect the way content is displayed. Of course, in this case, you cannot do without a detailed guide. In Chrome, novice developers can use the inspector for the main elements they should improve. Once checked, people can use this code to edit theme files.

Use backup files

Such a feature is integrated into every editor. Whenever people make changes, it takes effect after clicking the Save button. Since any minor mistake in theme customization can ruin the graphic design of your website, be sure to back up your theme files. Be especially careful so that you don’t have to constantly redo the template.

Try to make small updates

Shopify is usually designed for more than just making your templates visually appealing. In most cases, you will have to adapt the style to the needs of managers and customers. This means that the parameters of the objects affect the correctness of filling out forms and placing an order. E-commerce focused on mobile devices is also important. When people make a lot of changes, it affects the functionality significantly, which is undesirable. Avoid adding graphics that slow down page loading.

In Summary

Editing Shopify content gives people more control. We’re talking about customization and design of visual elements.

After spending some time mastered HTML or Liquid, store owners and novice developers can make changes in 2-3 clicks. Using effective tools also eliminates the need to spend extra time on design and programming. So, finding a good editor is considered a key challenge for business owners looking to launch their own store. If you take our advice into account, you will definitely not be disappointed.

Guest Author

David Walker economic writer and content creator. Strives to meet your requirements within your given deadline. David has acquired over ten years of work experience in finance and investing. Now he working for the company ICOholder.

Shopify Product Variants Explained

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The product page is one of the most important elements of an e-commerce site. Your responsibility as a merchant is to ensure that customers can easily select products and add them to the cart, especially those that are in high demand.

Since some product page traffic does not convert to a sale, the customer shopping effort should be reduced to just a few clicks to increase conversions. In most cases, clients prioritize particular product variants for better product page visibility.

Now let’s talk about Shopify product variants from the proximity of WooCommerce variable products.

Basics of product variations

The growth of online shopping has created the need to implement e-commerce marketing strategies to create excellent customer experiences. This must be integrated with the ability of customers to add products to the cart to reduce the chances of bounces. That is where the significance of the Shopify product variant comes in.

Any product that comes in several options requires variation. The option value combinations for products can represent its variant. For example, if you are selling wallets of different colors, the product option values which include orange, green, and brown are the variants.

Examples-of-Shopify-product-variants

According to leading assignment help, the variant list for a product appears on the product page. It is also possible to manage stock for every variant through the inventory page. Adding product variants requires an adjustment in inventory, shipping, and pricing settings on the details page of the product.

What to consider when adding variants

Every product that qualifies for a variant can have three options that differ from one product to another. This could be in terms of color, price, style, weight, size, and so on. The limits for variants and options can be increased by third-party apps from the Shopify App Store.

The sale of a product with more than 3 options or 100 variants may require you to customize the product’s theme code to obtain customers’ tailor-made requirements. If your store has so many variants, it may be subject to a regular limit for variant uploading using CSV file support or an app.

The module that we call meta box in WordPress/WooCommerce is considered a Polaris card in the Shopify admin dashboard. A freshly created product in Shopify is a simple product by default. It comes with some main cards including:

  • Media
  • Pricing
  • Inventory
  • Shipping
  • Variants

The moment when you enable the Variants card and save the product options successfully, the above info cards will be moved to each variant item.

Enable variation for Shopify product

Adding variants during product creation

If you want to create a product, it is possible to add variants simultaneously. You can bulk add variants very easily in the product option expanded card.

You will then enter an option’s name, such as color or size, under the option name. Enter the option value and then a comma, and the option values will look like tags.

If your variants are different in many ways, click on “Add another option.” Every product can have a maximum of 3 options. As you continue adding product options, the variant list appears titled, “Modify the variants to be created.”

After adding product variants, you can edit the variant image, pricing, inventory, and other details per variant. If you have added a bunch of media files in the simple product creation, those images also show up in its variants’ info cards.

Shopify product variants panel

 

When it comes to product variation, we call it “Product option” in Shopify for what we call “Attributes” in WooCommerce.

Drag and drop in Shopify variants

Despite its known limitations of product hierarchy, Shopify presents a very user-friendly setup interface. Which comes with drag and drop possibility in the product setup cards.

  • In the Media card, you can drag and drop to reorder the images. The first big one would become the featured image that shows up at the prominent spot of your product page.

Drag and drop product images

  • From the Variants card, go to More options > Reorder variants to drag and drop the product options and option values. Please note that the new variant order doesn’t make changes to your previously chosen featured image. This arrangement of option and variant only affects the organization of variant swatches on your storefront.

Drag and drop to reorder variants in Shopify product page

Creating an additional variant

You may want to save time by duplicating a variant instead of entering similar details again. The details of a duplicate variant are similar to those of the existing variant, but in saving a duplicate variant, it is important to edit option values. However, it is difficult to save a “real” duplicate.

Go to the products category option of your Shopify admin and select the product that requires an additional variant. Edit a preferred option value to ensure the uniqueness of the variant. You can include a new value option or an existing one for the variants.

Duplicate Shopify variation has an option for duplicating or copying the product in one click. Therefore, you can quickly create many variations with similar properties such as variation image, variation price, or stock.

Variant image swatches

Depending upon the store’s theme, the product variant image swatches can be seen in dropdown lists or buttons. Some premium themes have the ability to display your product color variants as circular swatches instead of text.

If you make changes to the original code in a theme, update your theme to a newer version, or switch to another theme in the future, it will override past variant swatches.

In order to bring the assigned variants images to the storefront’s image swatches, you will need a swatch automator app like Vario.

It is a free-to-use app that helps you put up good-looking variation swatches such as buttons, custom colors, patterns, and custom images.

For instance, if you want to set the product variant images as variant image swatches, it’s just a click away. By enabling Automated variant image swatch, each product variant will show its own image and you don’t have to upload new images all over again.


automated-Shopify-product-variant-image-swatches

 

If you’re using a not-so-popular theme, custom theme, or unlisted on the Shopify theme store, you can reach out to Vario developers. The support team offers free support on custom code changes. You can reach them easily by visiting the Shopify variation swatches > go to Support section > click Get support.

Deep linking on product page

For every product variant built on Shopify, there is a unique variant ID. You can create a deep link to a given variant by including a query string on the URL of a product page. The best way to do this is by appending an ideal parameter to the product’s URL along with the variant’s ID.

When the customers click on the defined URL, the product page will automatically load. This will have all the information connected with the variant with a deep link. The product image, price, and drop-down option should be selected in advance when the page loads. The control-flow tags and liquid attributes can help you to output the features of the deep-linked variant to various product page elements.

Shopify variable product linking requires you to visit the variation product and add the variation to the cart. You can then open the cart and review the item by confirming the link in the status bar.

Conclusion

You can create a functional product page for your Shopify eCommerce by prioritizing product variant options. Understanding the basics of Shopify variants and how to create and link them can allow clients to reduce the clicks when shopping. They will be able to find their desired products faster and conveniently.

If you don’t know where to start, installing Variation Swatches app for free is a great idea.

 

Guest Author

John Peterson is a journalist and a college paper writer with four years of experience working in London magazine “Shop&buy” and some academic writing sites as a freelancer. He has written a novel, “His heart,” and has also made a name for himself in the mini-tennis arena. You can find him on FB.