Product Attributes allow you to create reusable product details such as size, color, vendor, material, brand, or other product-specific information.
Attributes can be used in two ways:
- As descriptive attributes, which describe information that is true about a product
- As variant options, which customers select before purchasing a product
Attributes can also be used for storefront filtering, whether they are used as descriptive attributes or variant options.
This article will focus on creating and managing attributes. Assigning them to products will be covered in the Product Descriptive Attributes article and the Product Variants article.
To get started, navigate to Products → Attributes from the left sidebar menu.
First, a more in-depth explanation of Descriptive Attributes and Variant Options.
Descriptive Attributes vs. Variant Options
Attributes can be used as either descriptive attributes or variant options on a product.
Descriptive Attributes
Descriptive attributes are facts about the product.
They are not selected by the customer before purchase.
Examples include:
- Vendor
- Material
- Brand
- Activity
These attributes can help customers filter products on the storefront.
Variant Options
Variant options are attributes that customers choose before purchasing.
Examples include:
- Size
- Color
If a product is available in multiple sizes and colors, those attributes can be used as variant options to generate the product's variants.
Note: The same attribute cannot be applied as both a descriptive attribute and a variant option on the same product.
Viewing Product Attributes
The Attributes page displays a list of the attributes that have been created for the store.
The list includes:
- Name
- Text Value
- Visual Swatch
- Products
If an attribute has multiple values, the Text Value column will show Multiple Values with a dropdown arrow.
Click the dropdown arrow to view the attribute's values.
If visual swatches have been added, they will appear in the Visual Swatch column for the applicable values.
The Products column shows the number of products currently using the attribute.
Click the number in the Products column to view a modal with the products that use that attribute.
From this modal, you can open a product to view or edit its details.
Searching Attributes
Use the Search bar to search the attributes list.
This is useful when the store has many attributes and you need to quickly find a specific attribute.
Creating a New Attribute
To create a new attribute, click Add Attribute in the upper-right corner of the page.
The attribute form includes two main sections:
- Attribute Name
- Attribute Values
Attribute Name
Enter the name of the attribute in the Attribute Name field.
The attribute name should describe the type of information being stored.
Examples include:
- Vendor
- Material
- Size
- Color
- Brand
- Activity
Attribute Values
Attribute values are the possible values that can be assigned to the attribute.
For example:
-
Attribute: Vendor
Values: SanMar, PCNA, Gemline -
Attribute: Material
Values: Cotton, Polyester, Organic Cotton -
Attribute: Color
Values: Black, Blue, Red, White
You can add multiple values to a single attribute before saving.
Default Value
The default value is the value that will be selected by default when the attribute is added to a product as a descriptive attribute or variant option. Attributes don't need to have default values, but each attribute can have one default value. To set a value as the default, click the select circle next to the value's name. To set a value as a default, click the selection circle to the left of the value's name.
For example, if 95% percent of your products are made from Cotton, setting Cotton as a default value would be smart, since every time you add that attribute to a product, it will automatically add Cotton as a value, which of course you can remove for the few products that aren't made from cotton.
Visual Swatches
You can enable visual swatches by selecting Add Visual Swatch.
When visual swatches are enabled, each attribute value must have a swatch assigned.
Visual swatches are most useful for variant options where customers are selecting something visual, such as color or pattern.
For each value, you can choose a swatch by selecting:
- Choose a Color
- Upload a File
When you click Choose a Color, you will see a color select tool.
If a swatch already exists, you can also clear it with the X on the right hand side.
Note: Visual swatches are useful for customer-selectable variant options. If the attribute is used only as a descriptive attribute, such as Material or Vendor, the swatch may not appear in customer-facing filters.
Editing an Attribute
To edit an attribute, click the attribute name from the Attributes list.
You can update the attribute name, add or edit values, set a default value, and manage visual swatches.
When you are finished, save the updated attribute.
Deleting Attributes
To delete attributes, select one or more attributes using the checkboxes on the Attributes list.
Then click Delete selected attribute(s).
Deleting an attribute removes it from the store and from any products where it is currently used, but it will not delete any of the products to which it applies.
That's everything you need to know about Product Attributes. In the next article, we will cover Product General Details.