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Product choice variants

Product choice variants are needed when the buyer must choose a size, color, packaging type, bundle, or similar parameter before adding the product to the cart. This is not just a characteristic to read: the selected value is saved in the cart and in the order.

Example: a T-shirt can have a Size group with S, M, L, and XL values. A gift set can have a Packaging group with No packaging, Gift box, and Card values.

Where options are configured​

The cabinet has two configuration levels.

  1. Category templates. They help prepare future products in this category faster.
  2. Options in the product card. These are the options buyers see on the storefront and add to the cart.

Main rule: the public product card uses the options saved on that specific product. A category template does not change existing products by itself.

Category templates​

Open Product categories, choose a category, and go to the Choice variants tab.

A category template is a starting point. It suggests which options are usually needed for products in this category, for example Size, Color, or Packaging.

When you create a new product and choose a category with templates, the cabinet may add those groups to the product. After saving, they become separate options of that specific product.

If you edit a category template later, the change affects future new products and future manual additions from the category. Existing products are not synchronized automatically.

If the category is nested inside another category, the cabinet may show templates inherited from the parent category. Check whether that starting point fits the specific products in the child category.

Options in the product card​

Open a product and go to the Choice variants tab.

Here you can:

  1. add an option group, for example Size;
  2. choose the group type: Single choice or Multiple choices;
  3. make the choice required or optional;
  4. add values, for example S, M, L;
  5. change the order of groups and values;
  6. add missing groups from the selected category, if available.

If you add groups from the category to an existing product, the cabinet adds only missing groups. Existing product options are not changed.

What the buyer sees​

The buyer sees active options in the public product card. If a choice is required, the product cannot be added to the cart without a selected value.

In the cart and checkout, selected values are shown next to the product. The same product with different selected options may appear as separate cart rows.

Deletion and history​

If you delete a group or value on the product Choice variants tab, it affects only that product. The category template and other existing products do not change.

After deletion, the value disappears from the public product card so new buyers cannot choose an unavailable option. FastyShop still keeps the history of selected values for already created carts and orders, so buyers and sellers can understand what was selected earlier.

If a buyer already added a product to the cart and then the seller deleted the selected option, the cart row may become unavailable for checkout. The buyer needs to remove that row or open the product and choose an available option again.

Orders that have already been placed keep selected values as a snapshot from the purchase moment. If the seller later renames or deletes an option on the product, the order history should not lose the old label.

When to use a category field instead​

Use a category field if the value is a characteristic the buyer only reads: material, composition, country of origin, volume, or brand.

Use a choice variant if the buyer must choose a value before purchase: size, color, packaging, bundle, or a similar order parameter.

In the current version, choice variants do not change the price and do not track separate stock per value. If price or availability differs by size or color, check the product card manually and do not promise the buyer something you cannot fulfill.