When setting up products in your store, it’s important to understand the difference between product variants created in your eCommerce platform (like Shopify, WooCommerce, Etsy, Shoplazza, etc.) and Option Sets created in Customily. While both let you offer multiple choices to shoppers, they work differently and have different purposes.

What Are Product Variants?

Product variants are defined directly in your eCommerce platform. They represent different versions of the same product — for example, a T-shirt available in multiple sizes or colors.

With variants, you can:

• Assign different prices for each variant.

• Set a unique SKU (stock-keeping unit).

• Track inventory for each variant individually.

• Use platform features like showing “X colors available” in category pages.

• Leverage SEO benefits for variant-specific URLs (in platforms that support it).

On most eCommerce platforms, variant selection is displayed to shoppers as dropdown menus by default, unless your store’s theme or an app customizes them into other formats like swatches or buttons.

There are limitations to variants, where each platform has its own restrictions — such as how many options you can add and how many variant combinations are allowed. For example, Shopify allows a maximum of 3 options and 100 combinations per product.

What Are Customily Option Sets?

Option Sets are created entirely within Customily and are not tied to your eCommerce platform’s inventory or pricing system. They’re used to add personalization options to your products, such as:

• Choosing a hair style in an illustration.

• Entering a name or custom text.

• Selecting background patterns.

Option Sets:

• Do not affect stock, SKU, or price directly.

• Have no limits on the number of options or combinations you can create.

• Work seamlessly with personalization previews, functions, and conditional logic.

While standard variants are limited by your platform, Customily gives you access to a wide range of option types for personalization — from swatches and image uploads to color pickers, text inputs, calendars, and more — allowing you to go far beyond what’s possible with native variants.

Using Variants and Option Sets Together

Both variants (created on your eCommerce platform) and Customily Option Sets are powerful tools for giving shoppers choices — but they serve different purposes. Using them strategically will help you manage your catalog efficiently and deliver the best personalization experience.

When to Use Variants

Create variants for attributes that:

• Affect the overall product (size, material, shape, base color, etc.).

• Need to be tracked for inventory.

• Require different SKUs or pricing.

• Play a role in SEO (e.g., you want each color or style to have its own product page).

• Should be visible in category pages or product listings (e.g., “Available in 5 colors”).

Most eCommerce platforms have some limitations for variants — such as the number of options or combinations you can create — so keep that in mind when planning your catalog.

When publishing a product using a Product Base and a design in Customily, variants are defined within the product base. This means:

• Any variant options you select in the product base will automatically be created as variants for your product.

• This follows our best practice: use variants for broad product attributes (size, shape, material, base color) and Customily options for personalized details.

When to Use Customily Option Sets

Use Customily options for attributes that:

• Are personal to each shopper (e.g., name, custom text, uploaded image).

• Don’t need inventory tracking.

• Don’t require different SKUs or pricing.

• Control purely visual or decorative personalization on the preview (e.g., background pattern, font choice, design element).

Customily options have no limit to the number of choices you can add, so they’re ideal for personalization beyond your platform’s variant limits.