Five sizes and eight colors make 40 variants. Shopify builds the grid for you in seconds. The time goes into everything after that: prices, SKUs, stock and photos for 40 rows. This is the order we walk merchants through so it takes minutes, not an afternoon.
Setup order matters
In the product editor, scroll to Variants and add your first option, Size, with values XS, S, M, L, XL. Then add Color with your eight colors. Shopify generates every combination.
The order you add options decides how the picker shows them and how the variant list is grouped in the admin. Most apparel stores put Color first on the product page, because shoppers pick the look before the fit, and group the admin list by color so all sizes of one color sit together for photos and stock checks.
If you get it wrong, you don't need to start over. You can drag options and their values into a new order in the Variants section. Our guide to reordering variants shows how. Value order matters too: list sizes from small to large, not alphabetically, or L lands before M.
Bulk edit
Don't open 40 variants one by one. From the product page, select all variants and choose Bulk edit. You get a spreadsheet-style grid where you can add columns for Price, Compare-at price, SKU, Weight and Inventory, then type or paste down each column.
Prepare the values in a spreadsheet first, in the same row order as the grid, and paste a whole column at once. If you're setting up many products at a time, a file upload is faster still; see our CSV import guide for variants.
Pricing sizes and colors
Most stores price by size, not color. Larger sizes use more fabric, and many blank suppliers charge more for 2XL and up. A typical pattern:
| Size | Example price | Why |
|---|---|---|
| XS to L | $25 | Base blank cost |
| XL | $25 | Often same cost as L |
| 2XL | $27 | Higher blank cost |
| 3XL | $29 | Higher blank cost again |
Check your own supplier's price list. Charging extra for a premium color like heather is fine, but say so on the swatch so it doesn't surprise anyone at checkout.
SKUs that make sense
Give every variant a SKU that tells you what it is at a glance: TEE-BLK-M, TEE-NVY-XL. Keep the same order of parts across all products. That makes picking, reordering and spreadsheet sorting much easier. Our SKU naming strategy has a full template.
Per-color image
Upload one main photo per color to the product's media. Then assign it to every variant of that color: Small Red, Medium Red and Large Red all get the red photo. In bulk edit this is quick, or open a variant and click the image placeholder.
When a shopper taps Red, the theme swaps the main image. Without this step they pick Red and still see the black shirt, which leads to returns and support emails. Our variant images setup guide covers galleries with several photos per color.
Inventory strategy
Don't stock every combination evenly. A common pattern is deep stock of core colors (black, white, navy) in the middle sizes, and thin stock of niche colors and edge sizes. Track quantity on every variant so Shopify marks sold-out combinations correctly.
If you sell print-on-demand, your partner holds the blanks and you usually don't track stock in Shopify at all. Then the main job is making sure every Shopify variant maps to a real blank in the partner's catalog.
Make the picker easy on mobile
Eight color names in a dropdown are hard to scan on a phone. Show colors as swatches and sizes as buttons. Most current themes support both in the variant picker settings. Our guide to the mobile variant picker covers tap target sizes and layout.
Adding personalization on top
Size and color belong in variants because you stock and price them. A name on the back or a custom number does not. Adding those as more variants multiplies your grid for no reason. Keep them as personalization fields instead. With PIMW Product Personalizer, a "Name on back" text field with a live preview sits under your size and color pickers and saves to the order as a line-item property, so your 40 variants stay at 40.
Common mistakes
- Sizes sorted alphabetically (L, M, S, XL) instead of small to large.
- No color image assigned, so the photo never changes.
- Inconsistent color names across products ("Navy" on one, "Dark blue" on another), which breaks collection filters.
- Leaving weight blank, so shipping rates come out wrong.
Frequently asked questions
How to set up multiple sizes and colors on Shopify?
Add a Size option and a Color option in the product's Variants section, and Shopify creates every combination. Then use Bulk edit to fill prices, SKUs and stock for all variants at once.
Should Size or Color be the first option?
Most apparel stores put Color first on the product page because shoppers choose the look before the fit. You can drag options into a different order later, so this isn't permanent.
How to bulk edit 40+ variant prices?
Select all variants on the product page and choose Bulk edit. Add the Price column, then paste the prices from a spreadsheet in the same row order.
How many variants for 5 sizes × 8 colors?
Forty variants, one for each combination. That's well inside Shopify's per-product variant limit.
How to assign image to color?
Upload a photo for each color, then assign it to every variant of that color. The product page swaps the main image when the shopper picks the color.
How to hide sold-out size+color combinations?
Some themes have a setting to hide sold-out variants. For temporary stockouts, a crossed-out option with a restock alert is usually better because the shopper knows it will come back.
How to import 40 variants via CSV?
Export an existing product to get the template, add one row per variant in a spreadsheet, and import it under Products → Import.
Does adding 40 variants slow the product page?
Not noticeably for most themes. The variant data is small, and images load as they're needed.
Related reading
Sources & further reading
Primary sources referenced in this article. We link to official platform documentation and standards bodies rather than secondary summaries so you can verify claims directly.
- Shopify Help Center: Product variants
- Shopify Help Center: Line item properties (customization)
- Shopify.dev: Theme app extensions (how storefront apps render)
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