Create individual product then later make this product sku a variant of another product

Store Design
1

I have a vendor that has multiple products and each year will add a new color. I will be taking pre-orders for the new color. Is it best to create a new product for each style with the new color then later add that color as a variant to the existing products? Or just add it as a variant to begin with. I want to be able to display all of the products with the new color as a collection on a page to make it easier to order.

Example: plate with a variant red, blue, yellow, bowl with a variant red, blue, yellow. Do I just add a new variant of green to the plate and bowl or should I create a new product plate-green, bowl-green for the pre-order then later add the variant to the product with variants already.

Thanks

2

Remember the audit trail for separate variant vs merged variants

Keeping a sku separate then putting it into another product may complicate long term reporting.

It may lower SEO a bit when you delete the original product and don’t properly setup redirects etc. Also customers bookmarks, social media posts,etc will become invalid without proper redirects. Same for any internal links.

How your managing pre-orders may dictate things. Customizing a theme so one variant can be pre-order but others options are not preorder is more complicated than a products variant(s) all being preorder (one or many).

If you already have a theme that has a collection template that shows , or can show through settings, the options(colors,size,etc) and images of the first variant.

In which case add the variant and reorder the variants on the product so it’s the first variant, remember to also probably having to update the products featured image.

Otherwise do standalone products IF:

  • online sales channel theme - these new options need to completely free of the UI & messaging clutter of the other options; i.e. you only want the green color to show on the product page no other colors that would be a distraction.
  • the store is multi-channel(instagram, google shopping, etc) and the variants MUST be stand alone.
  • there is an SEO or marketing related reason
  • contractual obligation
  • your not going to invest in advanced theme customizations to present 1 variant inside another product as if it’s own product in collection template or a product template (i.e. custom theme behavior, custom landing pages,etc)

If you do need further consult or advanced customizations you can contact me for services, please provide context: Store url, theme name, post url , issue detail,etc. Contact info in signature.

Good Hunting.

3

Thank you,

After much thought I am going to create each product as a standalone product. The biggest reason is, I can create each product now and schedule a date for it to go live. Later after the pre-order and stock is available I’ll change to a variant of an existing product. Making sure to set up URL redirects.

You answer was very helpful.