Seeking Solutions for Integrating Separate Products as Variants on Shopify

Shopify Discussion

Topic summary

A merchant using the Prestige theme and SPY product management system faces challenges with product organization. Their frames and posters exist as separate Shopify products for each color/size combination (e.g., 3 colors × 17 sizes = 51 individual listings), preventing use of Shopify’s native variant picker.

Core Problem:

  • Cannot group related products as variants of a single master product
  • Customers must navigate between separate product pages instead of selecting options on one page
  • Manual maintenance becomes overwhelming when adding new designs or variations

Attempted Solution:
The merchant shared custom Liquid code attempting to create variant links by parsing product handles and generating size-based URLs, but reports it’s not functioning as intended.

Recommended Solutions:

  • Easify Product Options: Offers “Option URL” feature to create cross-product links that mimic variant switching while navigating between distinct products (includes visual examples)
  • Variant Robot: Specifically designed for SPY integration, automatically groups individual products using merge patterns based on organized title structures
  • Stamp – Collection Variants: Separates and displays variants on collection/home pages with customizable filtering
  • Alternative approaches: Product grouping apps (PickyStory), custom metafield logic, or automated tagging systems (Mechanic)

The discussion remains open with multiple app-based solutions proposed but no final implementation confirmed.

Summarized with AI on October 25. AI used: claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929.
1

Hello Shopify Community,

I’m encountering a challenge with managing product variations in my Shopify store, specifically within the context of using the Prestige theme (version 9.1) and my product management system, SPY. My products, particularly frames and posters, are listed as separate items based on color and size variations, leading to a significant number of individual product listings (e.g., frames in 3 colors and 17 sizes result in 51 separate listings).

This setup complicates the shopping experience as Shopify’s default variant picker cannot be utilized to navigate these as if they were variations of a single product. I’m seeking a solution to link these separate listings, allowing customers to select variations seamlessly on the product page, enhancing their shopping experience.

Additionally, with posters available in 6 sizes and frequent introductions of new designs, it’s crucial that this solution supports easy maintenance and automatic update capabilities. Ideally, it would automatically recognize and display new variations under a logic akin to /products/{product}/{sizes}, minimizing manual updates.

Is there an app, custom code, or Shopify feature that can help streamline this process, making it easier for customers to navigate product variations and for me to maintain these listings efficiently?

Thank you for any advice or suggestions you can provide!

2

{% assign frame-sizes = “13x18-cm,A5,22x22-cm,18x24-cm,A4,24x30-cm,30x40-cm,A3,40x40-cm,40x50-cm,40x60-cm,50x50-cm,A2,50x70-cm,60x80-cm,A1,70x100-cm,A0,100x100-cm,100x140-cm” | split: ‘,’ %}

{% if product %}
{% assign handle_parts = product.handle | split: ‘-’ %}
{% assign base_handle = ‘’ %}
{% for part in handle_parts %}
{% unless forloop.last %}
{% if base_handle == ‘’ %}
{% assign base_handle = part %}
{% else %}
{% assign base_handle = base_handle | append: ‘-’ | append: part %}
{% endif %}
{% endunless %}
{% endfor %}

{% endif %}

I have made this in liquid, but it is not working as intended.

3

Hi @henrynavntoft ,

I recommend exploring the Easify Product Options app, which offers the unique Option URL feature to establish cross-product links among your related items. This feature allows the storefront to display a seamless switch between different Shopify variants, while in reality, it’s navigating through distinct products. The example below illustrates this concept:

black 10.32.01.png
black 10.32.01.png2348×1939 345 KB

brown.png
brown.png2372×1941 359 KB

green 10.32.04.png
green 10.32.04.png2379×1930 358 KB

Please share detailed information about your requirements and the current state of your products. This will enable me to provide you with a step-by-step guide on how to seamlessly integrate them with the app :hugs: .

4

Hey, Thank you for the reply.

It is because we need to upload each variants as a separate product. So e.g. for each wooden frame with glass, we have 3 colors and 14 different sizes, that makes 42 different products, which could have been 1 master product. So what I am looking for is a solution that easily can bind these products together and also which is somewhat automated when I add new products. So that if i add another color of frame then i don’t have custom add all these new colors/sizes.

5

Third-party apps make it easy to separate variants. I own the Stamp – Collection Variants app , and we help merchants display variants separately on the collection page and home page. You can customize the settings per collection to show or hide specific variants, filter variants, or separate them by specific options. For example, you can create a “Gold” collection and display only gold-related variants.
https://youtu.be/Pdk4JmfJjqQ

6

By using a Product Grouping app such as PickyStory or Easify Product Options you are able to link separate Products together as Variants. You could also have a look into custom metafield logic or get creative with automated tagging like Mechanic to group sizes or colours together in a product catalog.

8

Hi Henry

At 8Kilo we built the app Variant Robot for this exact reason. We work with a number of brands using SPY and had to manually group these individual products to have them show as variants on the product page. The app does it automatically and is perfect for products coming from SPY as they work with a organised title structure making it easy to use a “merge pattern”.

Best, Nicolai