Non-existent variant combinations in a Shopify Dawn theme product are still clickable in the storefront.
Context: Product has two options (Lens: clear/grey; Frame: green/black) but only two valid variants: Clear/Green and Grey/Black. Backend reflects this correctly.
Observed behavior: On the customer view, the unavailable combination (e.g., Clear Lens + Black Frame) appears greyed out yet remains selectable. Inventory for all variants is set to 0 with “continue selling when out of stock” enabled, which affects stock but not variant existence.
Evidence: Multiple screenshots were shared and are central to understanding the issue.
Troubleshooting suggestions:
Verify product settings match the working store (paid theme) to rule out configuration differences.
Compare theme code (product files) between stores to detect logic differences handling unavailable combinations.
Test with a different theme to isolate whether the Dawn theme causes the behavior.
Status: No resolution yet; issue is likely theme or configuration-related. Key open question: whether Dawn’s variant selection logic is allowing selection of unavailable combinations despite being disabled.
I just opened a second store using the Dawn theme. I added a product (glasses) that has a couple of options:
Lens color: clear, grey
Frame color: green, black
I added the options and deleted the variants that don’t exist and was left with:
(1) Clear Lens with Green Frame
(2) Grey Lens with Black Frame
This shows up correctly on the backend product page, however, if I go to the customer view, it shows that if I select clear lens, the black frame is greyed out, but I can still select it for some reason. On my other site, variants that don’t exist aren’t clickable. Does anyone have any insight?
Compare the settings of your other store and this store to see if there’s something you might be missing or accidentally clicked that is causing this error.
If you have coding experience, compare the code of both product files to see if there’s an error in this theme’s code that is making this error appear.
Check the page where you create and edit products on both themes (which should be the same whether free or paid theme), and verify the settings just to make sure that everything is the same.
Since you mentioned that this is a new store, could you try using a different theme and see if you’re still facing that issue?
