How to Create a Product

Think of it this way: A Product is like a billboard for your item—it tells the story, shows the pictures, and helps customers find it. The actual things people can buy (with prices and inventory) are called Variants, which you'll create inside the product.

The Big Picture

Product (The Story)
├── Name & Description (What customers see)
├── Organization (How it's found)
│   ├── Product Type ← REQUIRED (determines catalog placement)
│   ├── Brand (optional)
│   ├── Collections (optional)
│   └── Tags (optional)
└── Variants (The Purchasable Items)
    ├── Variant 1: Small, Blue ($25, SKU: TSH-SM-BLU)
    ├── Variant 2: Medium, Blue ($25, SKU: TSH-MD-BLU)
    └── Variant 3: Large, Blue ($25, SKU: TSH-LG-BLU)

Step 1: Name Your Product

Product Name

What customers see everywhere—on grids, product pages, and search results.

Good Examples:

"Classic Cotton T-Shirt"
"Organic Fair Trade Coffee Beans"
"Wireless Noise-Cancelling Headphones"

Avoid:

"Shirt 1" (too vague)
"Classic Cotton T-Shirt - Small Blue" (that's variant info, not product name)
"classic-cotton-tshirt" (use proper capitalization and spacing)

Naming Conventions:

Capitalize Important Words: "Classic Cotton T-Shirt" not "classic cotton t-shirt"
Use Hyphens Sparingly: Only for compound adjectives like "Noise-Cancelling"
Keep It Marketing-Friendly: This appears in customer-facing areas
Don't Include Variant Details: Size, color, quantity go in variant names

Slug

Auto-generated from your product name to create the URL (e.g., "classic-cotton-t-shirt").

When to customize:

You need specific SEO keywords
The auto-generated slug is too long

Otherwise: Leave it alone—the system handles it perfectly.

Step 2: Tell the Story

Short Description

A quick preview (1-2 sentences) shown in product grids. Customers scan this first.

Example: "Soft, breathable cotton tee with a relaxed fit. Perfect for everyday wear."

Avoid: Long paragraphs or technical specs.

Body (Full Description)

The complete product story with rich text formatting. Sell the benefits, not just features.

Structure it like this:

Opening hook: What makes this special?
Benefits: How does it improve the customer's life?
Features: Material, construction, unique details
Use cases: When/where to use it

Highlights

Key selling points as bullet points. Customers skim these before reading the full description.

Example:

100% organic cotton
Machine washable
Pre-shrunk for lasting fit
Reinforced seams

Step 3: Organize for Discovery

This is critical—it determines where your product appears and how customers find it.

Product Type (REQUIRED)

The most important organizational decision. This controls:

Which filters include your product
Which collections can feature it
How customers browse to find it

Choose based on how customers shop, NOT how you warehouse items.

Example: A denim jacket should be "Outerwear" (product type) even if you physically store it with jeans.

The Hierarchy:

Category → Product Type → Your Product
   ↓           ↓              ↓
Apparel → Outerwear → "Classic Denim Jacket"

Brand (Optional)

Associate with a brand for filtering. Only set this if your product has a recognized brand.

Collections (Optional)

Add to curated groups like "New Arrivals," "Summer Collection," or "Staff Picks."

Note: Collections can only include products whose Product Types share the same Category.

Tags (Optional)

Flexible keywords for search and internal organization. Use lowercase, hyphenated phrases.

Examples: "eco-friendly", "bestseller", "gift-idea"

Step 4: Physical Details (Optional)

Base Dimensions

Set default measurements (width, height, depth, weight) if all variants share the same dimensions.

When to set:

All variants have identical physical measurements
Shipping calculations need dimensions

When NOT to set:

Variants have different sizes/weights (e.g., Small vs. Large)
Dimensions don't matter for this product

Important: If a variant overrides dimensions, it must provide ALL four values (width, height, depth, weight).

Product Notes (Internal Only)

Notes for your team—customers never see this. Use for vendor info, merchandising plans, or coordination.

Step 5: Create Variants

Every product needs at least one variant to be purchasable.

Each variant represents a specific purchasable item with its own:

SKU (unique identifier)
Price
Inventory quantity
Attributes (size, color, etc.)
Optional variant-specific images

Variant Naming: The Critical Difference

There are TWO name fields for variants, and understanding the difference is essential:

1. Name (Required)

Short, descriptive label focusing on what differentiates this variant.

Good Examples:

"Small, Blue"
"12oz"
"2-Pack"
"Large"

Avoid:

"Classic Cotton T-Shirt Small Blue" (too long, repeats product name)
"small-blue" (use proper capitalization)

2. Variant Name (Optional)

An alternative full name, often used for unique variant identities or when combined names make sense.

Good Examples:

"Executive Ergonomic Green"
"Natural Wood Stand"
"Midnight Black Edition"

When to use: When variants have distinct identities beyond size/color.

When to skip: For simple size/color variants where "Name" is sufficient.

SKU (Required, Globally Unique)

Must be unique across ALL products and ALL variants in your entire catalog.

Examples:

"TSH-SM-BLU" (T-Shirt, Small, Blue)
"COF-12OZ-ORG" (Coffee, 12oz, Organic)
"HDN-BLK-NC" (Headphones, Black, Noise-Cancelling)

Avoid:

Reusing SKUs (system prevents this)
Generic numbers like "001", "002" (hard to track)

Naming Conventions:

Use Uppercase: "TSH-SM-BLU" not "tsh-sm-blu"
Use Hyphens or Underscores: "TSH-SM-BLU" or "TSH_SM_BLU"
Keep It Consistent: Pick a pattern and stick to it
Make It Descriptive: Should tell you what it is at a glance

Pricing

Price (required): Base price for this variant
On Sale (toggle): Mark if currently discounted
Sale Price (conditional): Only shown when "On Sale" is enabled

Inventory

Set the initial quantity. This is managed separately via Inventory Levels once the product is created.

Advanced Inventory Management (optional):

Reorder Point: When to flag for restocking
Reorder Quantity: How much to order
Max Stock Level: Prevents overstocking

Attributes (Size, Color, Material, etc.)

Define what makes variants different from each other.

Critical Rule: Each attribute TYPE can only be used ONCE per variant.

Correct:

Size: Large
Color: Blue
Material: Cotton

Wrong:

Size: Large
Size: Extra Large ← ERROR! Can't have two sizes

Attribute setup happens in two places:

Create Attributes First: Define your attribute types (Size, Color, Material) in the Attributes section
Apply to Variants: Select attribute values when creating variants

Images (Optional)

Upload variant-specific images. If no variant images exist, the system can fall back to product-level images.

Store-Specific Variants (Optional)

Toggle "Store Specific Product" to make a variant available only in select stores.

Featured Variant

Mark one variant as "Featured"—this will be shown by default on product grids.

Visibility Control

Hidden Toggle

Removes the entire product from your storefront while keeping it in the catalog.

Use for:

Preparing products before launch
Temporarily removing items without losing data
Testing product setups

Don't use for:

Managing individual variant availability (control that at the variant level)
Permanently removing products (just delete them)

Common Questions

"Should this be one product or multiple products?"

One Product with Multiple Variants:

Items share the same story/description
Customers choose options on one page
Example: "Classic T-Shirt" with Small/Medium/Large variants in Blue/Red/Green

Separate Products:

Items have different purposes or stories
Marketing messages differ
Example: "Classic T-Shirt" vs. "V-Neck T-Shirt" (different styles, different descriptions)

"What's the difference between Product Name and Variant Name?"

Product Name: The overall item ("Classic Cotton T-Shirt")
Variant Name: Short differentiator ("Small, Blue" or "12oz")
Variant variantName: Alternative full name ("Executive Ergonomic Blue Large")

"How do Collections work with Product Types?"

Collections can only include products whose Product Types belong to the same Category.

Example:

Category: Apparel
├── Product Type: T-Shirts
├── Product Type: Outerwear
└── Collection: "Summer Essentials" ← Can include both T-Shirts and Outerwear

But you CAN'T mix categories:

Collection: "Gift Ideas"
   ├── Product Type: T-Shirts (Category: Apparel)
   └── Product Type: Coffee (Category: Food & Beverage) ← ERROR!

Naming Best Practices Summary

Product Names

Capitalize important words
Use hyphens only for compound adjectives
Keep it marketing-friendly
Don't include size/color/variant details

Variant Names

Short and descriptive ("Small, Blue")
Capitalize properly
Don't repeat the product name

SKUs

Uppercase letters and hyphens/underscores
Descriptive and consistent pattern
Globally unique
Avoid generic numbers

Slugs

Auto-generated (lowercase, hyphenated)
Customize only for SEO
Don't manually create unless necessary

Quick Checklist

Before publishing a product, verify:

Need Help?

Product Variants: See the Product Variants guide for detailed variant creation
Attributes: Learn how to create and manage Size, Color, Material, etc.
Collections: Understand how to curate product groups
Product Types: Learn about the catalog hierarchy