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Variants vs. Separate Products: The Best Way to Organize Your Shopify Store

When setting up a Shopify store, one of the biggest decisions you'll face is how to display product variations—especially for products that come in multiple colors, sizes, or styles. Should you use variant swatches to let customers select options from a single product page, or should you group products together and link them with swatches?
Both approaches have their pros and cons, and the best solution depends on your business model, product catalog, and customer experience goals. Let’s break down both methods and explore the best way to implement them in Shopify.

Option 1: Using Variant Swatches

Variant swatches allow customers to choose between different product variations—like colors, sizes, or materials—directly on a single product page. Instead of using dropdown menus, swatches present these options visually, making the shopping experience faster and more intuitive.

Benefits of Variant Swatches

  • Better User Experience – Customers can quickly see all available options without clicking around.
  • Improved Conversion Rates – Seeing colors or materials visually reduces hesitation and increases add-to-cart rates.
  • Easier Inventory Management – All variations are managed under one product listing, simplifying stock tracking.
  • Works Great for Small Variations – Perfect for products where only the appearance changes (e.g., t-shirts in different colors).

When Variant Swatches May Not Be Ideal

  • If your different “variants” actually have different product descriptions, images, or SKUs, keeping them as a single product can be confusing.
  • If your store sells high-end, customizable, or premium products, individual product pages may be better for SEO and branding.
Best for: Clothing brands, accessories, and any products where only the color or material changes while everything else remains the same.

Option 2: Using Product Grouping (Separate Product Pages Linked by Swatches)

Instead of using variant swatches, you can group separate products together and link them using color swatches. With this setup, each product variation has its own unique page, but customers can easily switch between them using swatches.

Benefits of Product Grouping

  • Better for SEO – Each product variation gets its own page, allowing for unique keywords, descriptions, and metadata.
  • More Detailed Product Pages – If different variations have unique features, images, or marketing messages, this method allows for better customization.
  • Improved Analytics & Tracking – You can track which colors/styles perform best as separate products, rather than relying on variant selection data.
  • Great for High-Ticket Items – Best for products that require detailed descriptions or have significant differences between options (e.g., furniture, watches, or custom-designed products).

When Product Grouping May Not Be Ideal

  • If you have too many variations, separate product pages can clutter your store.
  • Customers may get frustrated if they have to navigate between multiple product pages instead of selecting from one page.
Best for: Furniture, luxury fashion, electronics, and any product where variations have unique content, descriptions, or branding.

The Best Solution? Use Supra Swatch Colors for Both!

The good news? You don’t have to choose just one method! Supra Swatch Colors is a Shopify app that lets you implement both variant swatches and product grouping, so you can decide which method works best for each product.

With Supra Swatch Colors, you can:

  • Convert variant options into swatches directly on the product page.
  • Link different product pages together using swatches, so customers can navigate between variations effortlessly.
  • Show swatches on collection pages, so customers can see available colors/styles at a glance.
  • Auto-detect colors used in your store for easy setup.
  • Fully customize the look and feel of swatches to match your brand.
🔗 Try Supra Swatch Colors today! Install it from the Shopify App Store: https://apps.shopify.com/swatch-colors-ultimator

Final Thoughts

Both variant swatches and product grouping are powerful ways to present product options in your Shopify store. The key is to choose the method that best fits your products and customers.
  • Use variant swatches when all variations are minor and share the same page.
  • Use product grouping when variations are unique enough to warrant separate pages.
  • Or, use both with Supra Swatch Colors to get the best of both worlds!
Which method do you prefer for your store? Let us know in the comments! 👇
This article balances education with promotion while providing real value to Shopify merchants. Let me know if you'd like any tweaks! 😊