Product variants are the different sizes, colors, and other options you offer under a single listing – for example, four shirt colors across five sizes, or a hoodie in three fits and six colors.
For print-on-demand sellers, offering product variants can help one design reach a wider audience without any inventory headaches. However, displaying too many combinations can also overwhelm customers and hurt your sales.
In this guide, we’ll explain what product variants are, how to set them up on Printify, plus tips to keep your listings converting.
What are product variants?
Product variants are different versions of the same product that share a base item but differ in specific attributes. The most common types are size and color, though they can also cover other characteristics such as material, pattern, scent, or fit.
With variants, you can provide consumers with multiple options of the same item in a single product page, keeping your catalog clean.
Say you sell a t-shirt design, and you want to offer it in four color options and three sizes. Instead of creating separate product detail pages for each specific version, you simply add variant selectors to the listing so customers can pick their desired combination.
Each unique product variant has its own SKU and may carry its own price based on its specific attributes.
Why add variants to your print-on-demand listings?
eCommerce product variants let print-on-demand (POD) sellers offer more choice from a single listing, which can lead to more sales without more work.
One listing, more buyers
Offering a design in multiple variants lets you capture buyers with varying preferences from a single product page. A shopper who wants a heather grey custom hoodie in medium and another who wants a black one in small can both check out from the same product page.
Better shopping experience
Adding multiple choices to a listing helps buyers compare different variant options side by side. They don’t need to switch between pages to see what’s available in their size, color, or other attributes – everything is right there, ready to click.
Built-in upsell and cross-sell moments
When a buyer sees that a custom t-shirt comes in different colors, it can nudge them into buying more than they planned. Someone shopping for a navy tee might add the black one to the cart too, or size up to the oversized fit – either way, one visit turns into a bigger sale.
How product variants work in Print on Demand
Inventory management works differently for POD sellers than for traditional online businesses.
On Printify, a single listing can support up to 100 variants (size and color options combined). Our Print Providers print each order after a customer purchases – you don’t need to track stock levels or worry about running out of blanks.
If a Print Provider runs low on a specific attribute, Printify sends you an out-of-stock alert. You can choose to route new orders to another Print Provider with stock so that the temporary shortage won’t cost you any sales.
Common problems with product variants and how to fix them
Offering multiple variants makes listings more shoppable, but it also introduces a few problems that can eat into sales if you don’t manage them well.
Confusing product pages
When variant options are hard to read or difficult to click, customers can’t tell what they’re buying – leading them to close the tab.
Solution: Keep product variant names consistent across all listings and use plain descriptors (“heather grey,” “small,” “medium”) rather than internal codes or numbers. Most sales channels also let you adjust how the variant selectors display on the product page – use those settings to make the selection easier to identify.
Mismatched images across variants
If a customer selects a red variant, they expect to see the design on a red shirt. Mismatched visuals make the listing feel careless and shake buyer confidence.
Solution: Use variant-specific mockups so each color displays correctly on the product page. Consider ordering samples of the different variants and photographing them yourself.
Return bracketing
Bracketing is when customers order the same item in multiple sizes with the plan of returning the rest. While this practice is common in apparel, it can eat into your margins.
Solution: Publish accurate size guides and clear fit descriptions on every product details page so buyers can pick the right size the first time. Note whether a t-shirt runs true to size, small, or oversized. If possible, include the model’s height and the size they’re wearing in your photos.
Decision fatigue at checkout
Too many different sizes, colors, patterns, and attributes in a single listing can overwhelm customers and cause them to leave.
Solution: Limit the range to what actually sells so that customers see a tighter set of product options. Start with three or four color choices and the core size range, then add new variants only if the data shows real demand.
Out-of-stock product variants
Print-on-demand stock can fluctuate, and a listing that shows unavailable options frustrates buyers who are ready to check out.
Solution: Adjust your sales channel’s variant visibility settings so out-of-stock product options show as “sold out.” That way, customers can still see the full range while knowing exactly which sizes or colors are ready to ship right now.
How to set up product variants in Printify
Here’s a quick breakdown:
1. Choose a base product from the Printify Catalog
Open the Printify Catalog and browse for a product to customize. Filter by decoration method, price, print areas, material, Print Provider, or available product options like sizes and colors. Then, click Start designing.
The item you pick becomes the main product template – every new variant you add later will inherit its blank type, print method, and available option range.
2. Select variants in the Product Creator
In the Product Creator, click Select variants and choose the colors you want to sell. Then, switch to the Size tab to pick the sizes.
All sizes for a selected color are added automatically unless you manually deselect them. When you’re offering more than one option – say, four colors across five sizes – the Product Creator combines them into 20 individual product variants for you, no manual pairing required.
Click Save product when you’re done. To add product variants later, return to this menu and select or deselect any size or color.
3. Generate or upload variant-specific images
Head to the Mockup Library – you’ll find mockups already created for the variants you selected. Simply choose which ones to use for your listing.
You can also add extra mockups from Placeit or upload your own product photos – helpful if you’ve ordered samples and want to show real garments.
Click Save selection.
4. Set your retail prices
Each variant carries its own base cost from the Print Provider. In the Pricing section, you can apply a profit margin across the board or adjust the public price of each specific product option.
In the Detailed table view, select one or multiple product variants, then update the price. Larger sizes usually cost more to make, which is why the lowest variant price on a t-shirt listing is often XS, while 2XL and up sit a few dollars higher.
Click Save product, then publish to your integrated sales channel. Any inventory management updates or price changes made later automatically sync to your store.
Quick tip
Want to sell multiple designs of the same product in one listing? Use Printify’s Migration Tool to connect multiple Printify products to a single listing on Shopify, Etsy, or TikTok Shop.
What is Printify’s best-selling color variant?
Based on Printify’s data, our top-selling product variant is black. Here’s the full ranking:
- Black
- White
- Navy
- Pepper (a soft, washed dark gray)
- Ivory (a warm, light beige)
- Natural (an unbleached off-white)
- Blue Jean (a muted medium blue)
- Moss (a soft olive green)
- Military Green
- Sport Grey (a heathered gray)
What do these different colors have in common? They’re mostly neutral, muted, and easy to wear – colors that let a design do the talking without competing with it. If you’re deciding which colors to offer on a new listing, starting with a few of these is a safe bet.
Tips to manage Printify product variants
Track product variant performance
Printify’s Product Performance dashboard shows how each color and size is selling for a given item. Sort the data by units sold or revenue to identify which product variants and combinations continue to sell well, and which are sitting idle.
Prune underperformers, double down on winners, and keep your catalog focused on what customers actually buy.
Handle out-of-stock variants with Order Routing
Print Provider inventory shifts from time to time. Enable Order Routing so that when a customer orders an out-of-stock variant, Printify automatically sends the order to another Print Provider with stock – no manual work on your end, and no lost sales.
If Order Routing isn’t an option, you have two other choices:
- Use the Find a replacement feature to swap the variant for a similar product option with stock.
- Adjust your variant visibility settings so out-of-stock options display as “sold out” or disappear from the listing entirely.
Do product variants affect SEO?
Yes – putting multiple variants under a single product page is better for search than creating a separate listing for each version. That’s because the page collects all your visits, links, and search rankings.
Most sales channels like Shopify, Etsy, and TikTok Shop include variant selectors in the product page by default, so the size, color, and other styles a shopper selects all live under a single URL.
On the Printify side, the main thing you can do to help your SEO is to use accurate mockups for each color. Both feed into how search engines and image results surface your listings.
FAQ
Boost your sales with product variants
Offering product variants lets you cover almost every customer preference – whether they like their t-shirt in small and navy or their hoodie oversized in green.
When starting with variants, don’t add too many combinations. They can overwhelm shoppers and cause decision fatigue. The trick is finding the mix that works for your store.
So take a look at your data and see which items could use a few more product variants. Sometimes adding one or two options is all it takes to turn a good listing into a great one.
