A variable product in WooCommerce is a single product listing with multiple options – a t-shirt available in S, M, L, XL and in three colours, for example. Each combination (Medium / Blue) is a separate variation with its own price, stock level, SKU, and optionally its own image. This guide covers the complete setup from creating attributes to configuring every variation.
Step 1: Create the Product as Variable
Create a new product or edit an existing one. In the Product Data section below the editor, change the product type dropdown from “Simple product” to Variable product. The product data tabs change to show Attributes and Variations tabs instead of the simple product’s General and Shipping tabs.
Step 2: Add Attributes
Go to the Attributes tab. Click Add. You can use:
- Custom product attribute – create an attribute specific to this product only. Useful for one-off attributes.
- Global attribute – created in Products -> Attributes and reusable across products. Better for attributes like Size and Colour that apply to many products – customers can filter by them in the shop.
Name the attribute (e.g., “Size”) and enter the values separated by pipe characters: Small | Medium | Large | X-Large. Check “Used for variations” – this is essential. Without it, the attribute does not generate variation options. Click Save attributes.
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Step 3: Generate Variations
Go to the Variations tab. In the “Add variation” dropdown, select “Create variations from all attributes” and click Go. WooCommerce generates one variation for every possible combination. For a product with 4 sizes and 3 colours, this generates 12 variations automatically. WooCommerce allows up to 50 variations per generation batch – for products with more combinations, generate in batches.
Step 4: Configure Each Variation
Click the arrow on each variation to expand it. Configure:
- SKU – unique identifier per variation (e.g., TSHIRT-M-BLUE)
- Price – regular price and optional sale price. If all variations have the same price, set it on the first one and use “Set regular price” from the bulk actions dropdown.
- Stock – enable stock management per variation and enter stock quantity
- Weight and dimensions – if variations differ in shipping weight (important for accurate shipping rates)
- Image – optional per-variation image. When a customer selects this variation, this image displays as the main product image.
Step 5: Set a Default Variation
In the Variations tab, find Default Form Values at the bottom. Set the default selected values for each attribute. Most stores set the most popular or most available option as the default. When the product page loads, it shows this variation’s price and image by default rather than showing no selection.
Bulk Editing Variations
For products with many variations, configuring each individually is slow. Use the bulk actions dropdown above the variation list. Select all variations (checkbox) and choose actions like: “Set regular prices”, “Set stock status”, “Delete all”. This applies the value to all selected variations simultaneously.