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If you’re running or building an online store on Shopify, you’ve probably come across its product variant limitations. Shopify allows a maximum of 3 product options (like size, colour, etc.) and 100 product variants per product. For many businesses, especially those offering highly customised or technical products, this simply isn’t enough.
At Welch Marketing, we encountered this very issue while building a custom store for Protool Ltd, an independent precision tool supplier. Protool’s products often had hundreds of variants, like a specific type of drill bit available in 0.1mm increments from 0.1mm to 20mm. Here’s how we overcame Shopify’s restrictions and helped Protool launch a highly functional store. See photo below: Protool's custom 'parent product' page with hundreds of product variants.
The Solution: Grouping Products with Metafields - How to Have More Than 100 Variant Products in Shopify.
To get around Shopify’s 100-variant limitation, we treated each variant as a separate product. We then grouped these products using a metafield called "Parent No." All products that were variants of the same item were assigned the same "Parent No." in the backend.
Here’s how it worked:
Separate Products: Each variant was uploaded as its own product.
Metafield Grouping: We assigned all products within the same range the same "Parent No." For example, if Protool sold a Vortex End Mill with 34 different variants, all of them would have the same metafield value.
Custom Collections: Using Shopify collections, we created a custom collection page that displayed all products with the same "Parent No.".
Designing a Custom Product Collection Page
Once the products were grouped by metafield, we created a custom collection template named “Parent.” This template was designed to function like a product page, pulling in the first product image from the group and displaying a “From £X” price, based on the lowest-priced product in the collection.
Displaying Variants in a Table Format
To ensure customers could easily see all the variants in a single view, we custom-coded a table that listed each product variant. The table displayed essential details such as:
Product SKU
Live stock levels
Price
“View Product” button
This table provided a clear, organised way for customers to browse different variants, such as sizes and specifications, and quickly find the one that suited their needs.
The Final Touch: More Than 3 Product Options
Many of Protool’s products had more than three specification options (e.g., cutting diameter, shank diameter, drill depth). Shopify’s default settings didn’t allow for this, so we added another metafield named "Specification Options."
Here’s how it worked:
We imported the specifications into the metafield as string data.
We added extra columns to our variant table on the collection page to display these specifications, such as Cutter Diameter and Shank Diameter.
We also displayed these options on the product page itself, ensuring customers had all the information they needed to make a decision.
Key Takeaways
Group Variants with Metafields: Use metafields to group variants that exceed Shopify’s 100-variant limit. This allows you to display them together on a custom product collection page.
Custom Templates and Tables: A well-designed table can make it easy for customers to browse hundreds of product variations.
Work Around Shopify’s Limit of 3 Options: Use metafields to add more than three product options and display them clearly.
By implementing these custom solutions, Protool Ltd now has a Shopify store that caters to their unique product needs, offering a seamless shopping experience for both B2B and B2C customers.
Want to overcome Shopify’s limitations for your own store? Get in touch with us today, and let’s build something great.
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