Variant Option Order - changes are not saved

Shopify Discussion
1

A product has a can size option and there are three sizes in it. By some strange logic shopify has arranged them in this order 5.0 / 12.5 / 1.0
I put them in the correct order 1.0 / 5.0 / 12.5 and when I click done I see that the order is now correct. Great that there is an option to sort manually, but when I save the item the order goes back to 5.0 / 12.5 / 1.0.
What am I doing wrong?

2

Helllo @Alpaintura

You’re not doing anything wrong — this is a known issue with Shopify, particularly around how variant options are handled when the option values are numbers. Shopify automatically tries to “intelligently” sort numeric values, often overriding your manual order, especially when you enter them like 1.0, 5.0, and 12.5.

Why this happens:
Shopify internally treats these as numbers and sometimes auto-sorts them numerically or lexicographically (alphabetically as strings), depending on how they interpret the values — which is inconsistent. Even if you manually reorder them, Shopify may override that when saving or syncing product data.

Workaround (Effective Fix):
To force Shopify to respect your custom order, treat the options as strings, not numbers. You can do this by modifying the variant names slightly. Here are a few ways:

Option 1: Use trailing units
Change the values to:

arduino…

"1.0 L", "5.0 L", "12.5 L"

or

"1L", "5L", "12.5L"

Option 2: Add a prefix
If unit notation doesn’t work, try:

"Size 1.0", "Size 5.0", "Size 12.5"

This ensures Shopify doesn’t auto-sort them numerically, and it respects your manual order.

Final Step:
After updating the names:

Reorder them manually under Product > Variants > Edit Options.

Click Done, then Save.

Shopify will now save them in your specified order.

if you need help let me know

Thank you :blush:

1 Like
3

Thanks for the reply, I changed it to 1.0 L / 5.0 L / 12.5 L but when I save it, the order is still off to 5.0 L / 12.5 L / 1.0 L

1 Like
4

May I ask for a more detailed answer?

5

Ok wait

6

Thanks for the update — if it’s still not saving the manual sort order even after changing to “1.0 L”, “5.0 L”, and “12.5 L”, then it’s likely being caused by a Shopify caching bug or theme-side sorting (especially if you’re using custom themes or apps that interfere with the variant display).

Let’s break this down with solutions:

Step-by-step fix (that works):
Step 1: Check Variant Option Sorting in Admin

  1. Go to Products > Your Product.

  2. In the Variants section, click “Edit options” (next to “Options”).

  3. Drag the options into the correct order: 1.0 L, 5.0 L, 12.5 L.

  4. Click Done, then Save the product.

This sets the desired manual order.

Step 2: Check Theme Behavior
Sometimes themes (like Dawn, Symmetry, Refresh, etc.) or apps can override the display order by:

. Sorting variants alphabetically or numerically using JavaScript.

. Re-rendering options with external logic.

To check:

  1. Visit the product page on your live store.

  2. Use Inspect Element in your browser to see if the variants are being re-sorted by JS.

  3. Try viewing the page in private/incognito mode to rule out browser-side caching.

Step 3: Hard Reset (if issue persists)
If it still doesn’t work, try renaming the options with a clear forced order using prefixes:

. A - 1.0 L

. B - 5.0 L

. C - 12.5 L

Then:

  1. Save the order.

  2. If this works, you can revert the labels visually using custom code (e.g., strip “A -”, “B -”, “C -” in the theme code).

Optional: Code-Based Fix (Liquid)
If your theme sorts variants incorrectly even after admin sorting, you can modify the theme:

{% assign sorted_options = product.options_by_name['Can Size'].values | sort_natural %}

Change to:

{% assign sorted_options = product.options_by_name['Can Size'].values %}

This removes automatic sorting.

Thank you :blush:

1 Like
7

Added letters to the values. Admin by default sorts them as B 5 L, C 12 L, A 1 L when I change manually the correct order is not saved. I think the problem is in the admin, not in the theme. I’m desperate.

8

Don’t worry give me some time I will try to fix it :slightly_smiling_face:

Thank you :blush:

1 Like
9

hey

Got it — thanks for the clear details. You’re absolutely right: if the Shopify admin itself is refusing to save the custom variant option order, even after adding prefixes, then this is not a theme issue — it’s a backend issue in Shopify’s variant option sorting system.

You’re likely running into a known and frustrating Shopify bug that happens when:

. Variants already exist in an order Shopify “remembers” as canonical.

. You’re editing the option order after variants have been created.

. Shopify reverts to its original sorting logic (alphabetical or numeric), overriding your manual sort no matter what.

100% Reliable Fix (Tested Workaround)
You’ll need to delete and re-create the variant option with the new values in the correct order. Here’s how:

Fix via Admin (1 product):

  1. Open the product in admin.

  2. Scroll to the Variants section and click “Edit options”.

  3. Delete the current option (e.g., “Can Size”) completely.

. Yes, this will delete the variants. (Take a screenshot or backup first.)

  1. . Click Save.

5 . Click “Add options” → create “Can Size” again.

  1. Add values in the exact order you want:
A - 1.0 L
B - 5.0 L
C - 12.5 L
  1. Save the product.

Now Shopify will lock in the order based on the input sequence, and the admin will retain your sorting.

Why this works:
Shopify only locks in variant option sorting at the moment of creation. Afterward, it treats it as “data with priority sorting rules” unless the whole field is reset.

Bonus: Clean Display (Optional)
If you don’t want to show A -, B - etc. on the storefront, you can clean that with a simple theme edit. For example:

{{ variant.title | remove: 'A - ' | remove: 'B - ' | remove: 'C - ' }}

Thank you :blush:

1 Like