How to Add Products to Shopify: Manually, as Duplicates, or via Import

Shopify products encompass everything an online store can sell, from physical goods and digital downloads to services and gift cards. If you’re new to Shopify, understanding how to manage and add products is essential for building your storefront and driving sales.

In this guide, we’ll walk you through the Shopify products page, including all related screens and processes. You’ll learn how to add products to Shopify step-by-step, including creating variants for different options like size, color, or material. For merchants looking to streamline their inventory setup, we’ll also cover how to bulk import products into Shopify admin with just a few clicks.

From browsing and managing your inventory to editing product details, this article provides detailed descriptions and illustrations for each admin screen. Whether you’re manually adding items or using Shopify’s import tools, you’ll find everything you need to efficiently organize your products and variants. Let’s dive into the ultimate guide on how to add products to Shopify and take your store to the next level!

Shopify Products Page: Your Starting Point

The Shopify Products Page is your go-to section for managing all the products in your store. This page displays your products in a grid format, with each page showing up to 50 records for easy organization. Here, you can sort, search, and filter your product list to quickly find and manage specific items.

By default, the product list is sorted alphabetically (A to Z) by product name, but you can easily adjust this order to suit your needs. Keep in mind, however, that the sorting or filtering you apply in the Shopify Products section does not affect how products are displayed in your online store. If you want to customize the product order on your storefront, you’ll need to adjust the sort settings for the specific collection they belong to.

With powerful tools for sorting and filtering, the Shopify Products Page gives you full control over your inventory, ensuring you can efficiently manage and update your product catalog as your business grows..

How to Add Products to Shopify: Step-by-Step Guide

Adding products to Shopify is a straightforward process that allows you to customize essential details like pricing, variants, and availability directly from the Shopify Products Page in your admin panel. Here’s how you can set up your products in just a few steps::

1. Visit the Shopify Products page. It’s your store’s main selection of products in the admin area.
2. Click the Add product button at the top to add a new product to Shopify.
   
3. Name your new Shopify product and add its description.
   
4. Now, you can work on the visual representation of a new product and add media files. Shopify accepts images, videos, and 3D models. You can even add files from URL.
   
5. Specify a product price: add a regular price and compare at price.
   Enable/disable taxe charging for the product and show/hide the product’s unit price.
   Specify cost per item if necessary.
   
6. Add the product quantity per warehouse with other inventory information, such as SKU and barcode.
   You can enable/disable quantity tracking and selling when the product is out of stock.
   
7. Specify shipping details, such as product weight and origin.
   
8. Add product options if applicable.
   
9. Next, you can proceed to editing product variants.
   
10. Edit search engine listing: specify an SEO-friendly page title, description, and handle.
    
11. Choose a product status and select channels to add your product to. That’s how you control the product availability settings in Shopify.
    
12. Configure product organization parameters, such as category, type, vendor, collections, and tags.
    
13. Select a theme template for your new Shopify product.
    
14. Click Save. That’s how to add products to Shopify from scratch.
    

This is the simplest and most straightforward way to add products to Shopify. However, several more options are available.

How to Add Products to Shopify by Duplicating Them

Duplicating products in Shopify is a quick way to create new listings based on existing ones, saving time and effort. However, in some cases—such as when adding new options like color or size—it may be better to create variants within the same product instead of duplicating it.

When duplicating a product, you can choose to retain specific details, including:

• Product images
• Product SKU
• Product barcode
• Inventory information

If you don’t select these options, the corresponding fields in the duplicate product will remain blank, while all other details will carry over from the original product.

By default, the duplicated product’s status is set to Draft and hidden across all sales channels. This means customers won’t see the duplicate until you manually activate it. If needed, the duplicate can be made available on the same channels and apps as the original product. Depending on your sales channel settings, it may even be published immediately after activation.

Here’s how to add products to Shopify by duplicating them:

1. Go to your Shopify Products page in your admin.
2. Open a product details page of the item that you want to duplicate.
3. Click Duplicate.
   
4. Name your clone, select details to copy, choose its status and click Duplicate product.
   
5. Edit product details as described above.
6. Save your product.

Now, you know how to add products to Shopify by duplicating the existing items.

Editing Products in Shopify: What You Need to Know

Updating products in Shopify is quick and flexible, allowing you to make changes to names, prices, descriptions, and other essential details at any time. Whether you’re optimizing for a seasonal sale or refining product descriptions, Shopify makes it easy to keep your store up-to-date.

Here are a few key points to keep in mind when editing products:

• Real-Time Updates: Any changes you make are instantly reflected on your storefront once saved, ensuring customers see the latest information.
• Impact on Reports: Modifying product details like names or prices may affect historical reports and analytics. Be sure to track changes for consistency in your data.

Follow these steps to edit products on Shopify:

1. Go to the Shopify Products page in your admin.
2. Open a product view page of the product that you want to edit.
3. Edit product details as described above.
4. Click Save.

Use the bulk editor to edit several products at once:

1. Go to the Shopify Products page in your admin.
2. Open a product view page of the product that you want to duplicate.
3. Go to the product’s Variants section.
4. Click the Edit button.
5. Select Open bulk editor.
   
6. Apply changes to several products in bulk.
   
7. Click the Columns button and activate more columns to apply more changes to the selected products.
   
8. Save changes.

Editing products in Shopify is a seamless way to keep your inventory accurate, improve customer experience, and adapt your store to changing business needs. Keep your products polished and relevant with just a few clicks!

How to Archive Products in Shopify: A Quick Guide

Archiving products in Shopify is a great way to remove items from your online catalog without permanently deleting them. This feature is especially useful for products you might want to bring back later, such as seasonal items or temporarily discontinued stock.

Here’s what you need to know about archiving products:

• Archiving vs. Deleting: Archiving moves a product to the Archived tab on the Products page, keeping it hidden from customers while retaining all its details. Unlike deletion, archived products can be restored anytime.
• Bulk Actions: You can archive products individually or in bulk using Shopify’s intuitive bulk action tools, making it easy to manage your catalog efficiently.

How to Archive Products in Shopify: A Quick GuideFollow these steps to archive a product on Shopify:

1. Visit your Shopify Products screen.
2. Find a product that should be archived and proceed to its product details page.
3. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click Archive product.
   
4. Confirm your intent.

You can find archived products under Admin -> Products -> Archive tab in the grid. To unarchive a product, find the product that you want to unarchive in the Archived tab. Open its product details page and then click Unarchive product either on the right or at the bottom of the page.

Once archived, the product is no longer visible in your storefront but remains accessible for review and potential reactivation in the future. This simple process ensures your catalog stays organized while giving you flexibility in product management.

How to Delete Products in Shopify: Step-by-Step Guide

Deleting products in Shopify is a straightforward process, whether you’re removing a single item or performing a bulk deletion. However, keep in mind that once a product is deleted, it cannot be restored directly from Shopify. To safeguard your data, it’s a good idea to export the product before deletion, allowing you to re-import it later if needed.

Pro Tip: Whenever possible, consider archiving products instead of deleting them permanently. Archiving keeps products hidden but retains all their details for future use.

If you’re sure you want to permanently remove a product, the following options are under your disposal:

• Delete a Single Product. Navigate to the Products page in your Shopify admin, select the product, and click Delete. Confirm your action to finalize the removal.
• Bulk Delete Multiple Products. Use the bulk action tool to select multiple products for deletion. This is ideal for cleaning up outdated inventory quickly.
• Export Before Deleting (Optional but Recommended). Export your product data to a CSV file as a backup. This file can be re-imported later if you decide to restore the deleted products.

If you still need to eliminate a Shopify product permanently, follow these steps:

1. Go to the Shopify Products page in your admin.
2. Open the product you want to delete.
3. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click Delete product.
   
4. Confirm your intent.

Deleting products permanently is a powerful tool for maintaining a clean and efficient catalog, but always double-check before taking this irreversible step!

How to Add Variants to a Shopify Product: A Complete Guide

Product variants are essential for offering customers a range of options for the same product, such as different sizes, colors, materials, or other customizable features. In Shopify, adding variants is a seamless process that allows you to create a more personalized shopping experience while efficiently managing inventory and pricing for each option.

Whether you’re launching a new product with multiple configurations or updating an existing one, Shopify gives you the tools to easily set up variants during the product creation process. This guide will walk you through the steps of adding variants to a product, ensuring that your store is ready to cater to a variety of customer preferences.

By understanding how to create and manage variants in Shopify, you’ll unlock the ability to showcase all your product options in one place, simplify the buying process for your customers, and keep your inventory organized. Let’s dive into the step-by-step process to add variants to a Shopify product and optimize your store for success:

1. Go to the Options section of the Add product page.
2. Check This product has options.
   
3. Next, provide an option name in the Option name field, e.g., Color. The system provides suggestions. Note that the option name is displayed to customers.
   
4. Now, enter each option value in Option values, e.g., Black, White, Green. Use a separate field per option value. Note that they are displayed to customers.
   
5. You can add up to 3 options per product. Click Add another option to add more.
   
6. Click Save.

A list of variants appears simultaneously with the product options. Shopify displays all possible combinations of options as variants. If you don’t want to sell any, uncheck the boxes next to them. Add prices, SKUs, images, and barcodes for individual variants. At the same time, you can use the default options based on the product details.

You can also duplicate and edit a Shopify product variant to save time when adding similar variants. Do it as follows:

1. Go to the Shopify Products page in your admin.
2. Proceed to the product details page of the item that requires another variant.
3. Scroll down to the Variants section, select the variant you want to duplicate, and click Duplicate.
4. Edit at least one option value. This will create a unique variant.
5. Click Save.

Understanding Shopify Product Details

If you’re wondering about product information and specific fields in Shopify, this section has you covered. Here, we break down the key details you can include for each product and explain their significance. The information you provide not only helps you manage and locate products in the admin but also improves how customers discover them on your storefront.

Do you need to include every detail? Not necessarily. While it’s important to provide accurate and relevant information, not all fields are mandatory. Focus on the details that enhance product management and customer experience.

Key Note on Variants: For products without variants, sections like Pricing, Inventory, and Shipping are visible on the product details page. However, if you add variants, these sections are replaced with fields specific to the variants, allowing you to manage each option individually.

Title and description

• Title: The name you want shoppers to see next to your product.
• Description: You can format the product’s description using the rich text editor. To educate and persuade your potential buyers, describe your offerings in great detail. If you’re a reseller, avoid using a manufacturer’s exact description because you want search engines to recognize your products as being unique.

Media

This section lets you add images, 3D models, and videos to provide your customers with an understanding of how your product looks.

Pricing

• Price: The cost of the goods that you are selling. On the page for general settings, you can change the currency. Click Available in other currencies if you are selling in different currencies. To examine your currency settings, go to Manage Currencies. If the product is taxable, select Charge taxes on this product.
• Compare at price: The original cost of a product that is currently on sale. The product shows a sale price when you enter a compare at pricing.
• Tax code: If you utilize a third-party tax solution for Shopify Plus plans, the product’s tax code is displayed here.
• Cost per item: It is the price you pay for a given product or variant. You can input the amount you paid the manufacturer, minus taxes, shipping, and other expenses, for instance, if you resell a product. You can input a value based on your labor and material costs if you make the product yourself.
  Unless you add taxes to your prices, the predicted margin for products with product costs provided is displayed below the Price field on the product details page. ([price – cost] / price) * 100 is the formula for calculating the margin. For instance, the margin (calculated as ([500 – 300] / 500)*100) is 40% if your price is $500 and your cost is $300.
  You can get reports to examine the expenses and profit margins of your products if your store is on the Shopify plan or a higher tier. Your cost of goods sold is also accessible (COGS).
  However, it’s not necessary to enter the price per item. If you decide to enter your expenses, use the bulk editor or a CSV import to add the numbers to each of your current goods at once. You may maximize the value of your profit reports by updating the data simultaneously.
  It is also worth mentioning that gift card products don’t have a cost per item.

Inventory

• SKU (stock keeping unit): the product’s internal product identification code. Each SKU must be unique to provide effective tracking and sales reporting. However, SKUs are not required. Your own SKU format is possible. See SKU formats for additional details below.
• Barcode (ISBN, UPC, GTIN, etc.): a new or current Global Trade Item Number must be used as the identifier (GTIN). Before a product can be published on some sales platforms, a GTIN must be provided.
  GTINs are distinctive identifiers that are used globally to store and find product data, such as UPC, EAN, and ISBN (read our SKU vs UPC comparison for further information). On the product package, the GTIN can be seen either above or below the barcode.
  Shopify POS uses the barcode in a store to publish products via the Google channel. You can ask the manufacturer for a GTIN if you don’t already have one for a given product. Visit the GS1 standards website to find out how to acquire a GTIN for a product you make. Avoid creating phony GTINs for your items.
• Inventory policy: Shopify provides this setting for inventory tracking.
• Available: This field shows the number of units in stock. For businesses based on multiple locations, the quantity is shown per location.
• Incoming: you can specify incoming units are about to be transferred. You can record incoming inventory after submitting a purchase order (PO) to your supplier or use this parameter to keep track of your inventory while moving it between various locations.
• Committed: this parameter indicates the number of units that are part of an order that should be yet fulfilled. Inventory units of draft orders aren’t counted as such.

Shopify provides the ability to use any custom format for product SKUs. But here’s the kicker:

• Characters: Any combination of numbers and letters is acceptable. Avoid using a format where the letters O and I can be mistaken for the digits 0 and 1. Avoid using special characters, symbols, or spaces because searching for products in Shopify by SKU or in other software applications like spreadsheet tools may be associated with issues. Remember that dashes or underscores are helpful to differentiate between sets of numbers and letters that stand in for characteristics of a product, such as style, color, size, pattern, or even a storage area.
• Length: Make sure your SKUs are as brief as you can afford, with no more than 16 characters. You might be able to employ an SKU format with only 4 to 8 characters, depending on how many and what kinds of products you offer.
• Simplicity: Use an SKU structure that your personnel can understand and that will assist in picking and packing orders. In an SKU, each letter and number must serve a specific function.
• Uniqueness: SKUs within your Shopify admin should be distinct, and no two product versions should have the same SKU listed in their information for tracking and sales reporting purposes. The SKU for each variant should be different if you sell an item available in various options represented by a different variant each.

Shipping

• This is a physical product: Uncheck this setting for digital products or services since it indicates whether a product needs to be shipped. Products that you never ship don’t require it.
• Weight: Specify the product’s actual weight here. Note that this field is linked to This is a physical product. If the latter is checked, the product weight needs to be specified.
• Country/Region of origin: This field indicates the country where the item was made or assembled. Specify the country or region where the product takes its essential form if it is made up of components from various other countries or locations.
• HS code: Enter the harmonized system (HS) tariff code if you want to send the item abroad. Customs receives information from these codes so that the appropriate tariffs can be applied to the order. By conducting a keyword search in the HS code section of the product details page, you can discover the HS code for your item.
• Fulfillment service: This field lets you select one of the utilized fulfillment services. If you don’t use any, select Shopify.

Variants

A product with multiple options, such as size or color, exists in several versions called variants in Shopify. A variant for a product can be created from any combination of option values.

Consider that you provide T-shirts in two variations: size and color. Three options are available for size: small, medium, and large. There are two values for the color option: black and white. So, the possible variants are:

• Black S;
• Black M;
• Black L
• White S;
• White M;
• White L.

On a product details page, you can see a list of all these variants. Additionally, using the Inventory section, you can control inventory per variant. Also, Shopify lets you hide variants that you don’t sell. The corresponding section on the product details page lists the available options for a product that includes variants, such as color and size.

Purchase options

You can configure your store to offer your consumers more purchasing options in addition to the standard buy-pay-ship paradigm. Your clients may subscribe to receive an item every month or order a product before its release date. Pre-orders, subscriptions, and try-before-you-buy features are just a few purchase alternatives you can add to your products.

If a purchase option has been applied to a product or any of its variants, the appropriate purchase option settings are displayed in the Purchase options section of the product page.

You can enable both the alternative purchase options and the standard one-time purchase or restrict a product’s availability to alternative options only.

These are three common purchase options:

• Subscriptions: This option lets you sell products and charge your customers for them repeatedly according to a schedule. E.g., cat food.
• Pre-orders: In this situation, your clients get the ability to purchase items that are not ready for fulfillment yet. They pay for an item, and you fulfill it later. E.g., an upcoming record by your band.
• Try before you buy: With this purchase option, you provide customers with the ability to order items without paying right away. Although you fulfill a TBYB order like a regular one, customers pay at a future specified date. E.g., a musical instrument.

Note that these purchase options are not available in your Shopify admin by default. They require installing third-party software, such as Subscriptions by Yotpo.

Search engine listing preview

This section illustrates a sample of your product’s appearance in search engine results. However, you can edit it, improving the SEO of your Shopify product pages. The product title, the item’s online store URL and a portion of the description make up the preview, and you can freely change them here.

Product availability

You may manage the state of your product and the sales channels in which it appears due to product availability determined by its status.

The product status for recently generated products is, by default, set to active. The default setting for the product status for duplicated and unarchived products is draft.

The following states are at your service:

• Active: This product is displayed in the sales channels.
• Draft: You still need to provide additional product details before the product can be displayed in the sales channels.
• Archived: Although the product details are complete, such a product is no longer available in the sales channels.

The Sales channels and apps area illustrates a list of active sales channels where you can make your product available. Since all channels are selected by default, you may need to click Manage to edit sales channel availability.

Note that you set sales channel availability per product, including all its variants.

Organization

Product category is a label that indicates a class that a product belongs to. It is selected from a predefined, standardized list. As a store administrator, you can use product categories for various purposes, such as automated tax rate selection, better product management, easier integration with other channels, etc.

Note that it is possible to set only one category per product, which is applied to all its variants. Shopify often displays product category recommendations to help you select one that fits your product. Since product categories are optional, you can save your product without assigning a category to it.

Product type is a custom label that describes a product category. This parameter provides the ability to use custom product categories. Just like in the case of categories, a product can be associated with only one custom product type.

Vendor shows an organization that provided or produced the product, such as a manufacturer or wholesaler.

Collections is a field that shows the collections a product is included in. Use it to add a product directly to a manual collection. As for automated collections, a product appears in them only if it matches the collection conditions.

Tags is used to add searchable keywords associated with your product. Tags have a few purposes. Firstly, they can help customers find your product through the store search. Secondly, you can use them to create automated collections.

Metafields

Use Shopify metafields to add unique fields to your product pages. You can save customized data that is typically missed by your product pages with their help. For instance, a retailer of candles could wish to include the burn time for their candles on a product page. In addition to placing this information in a product description, it is possible to display it on the storefronts via metafields. The following are additional examples of specialized information:

• Part Numbers;
• Expiration Date;
• Color Swatches;
• Related Products;
• Launch Dates;
• Blog Post Summaries;
• Files For Download.

On a product details page, metafields appear in an editable table. A metafield name specified upon its creation is displayed next to it. The metafield type and its description can be seen by clicking on each table row. After that, you can add value. Furthermore, it is possible to attach metafields to your theme and tailor your pages to the product or variant displayed.

Understanding and optimizing product details is crucial for adding products to Shopify. This information will help you streamline your inventory management and create a more seamless shopping experience for your customers.

How to Add Products to Shopify by Importing Them

Importing products to Shopify is a powerful way to efficiently move large amounts of product information between Shopify and other systems. By using a properly formatted CSV (comma-separated value) file, you can seamlessly add or update products in bulk without relying on third-party tools. Whether you’re migrating from another platform or updating your inventory, Shopify’s import feature is here to save time and effort.

Why Import Products to Shopify?

1. Platform Migration: If you’re transitioning from another platform, importing products via CSV is the fastest way to replicate your existing product catalog on your new Shopify store.
2. Inventory Updates: Importing allows you to update your product line or inventory in bulk. By exporting your current product data to a CSV file, making changes, and re-importing the updated file, you can streamline inventory management.

Important Tips Before Importing

• Backup Your Data: Always create a backup of your current product data to avoid accidental loss. Export your catalog to keep a safe copy before making any changes.
• Format for Shopify: If you’re importing a CSV file from another platform, ensure it’s formatted to Shopify’s specifications. Incorrect headers or formatting will cause the import to fail.
• File Size Limit: Shopify only accepts CSV files up to 15MB. Split larger files into smaller parts if necessary.

How to Import Products into Shopify

Importing products is a straightforward process. Follow these steps to ensure success:

1. Visit the Shopify Products page in your admin and hit the Import button.
   
2. The system displays the Import products by CSV file window. Click Choose File.
   
3. Now, you need to locate your product CSV and click Open.
4. Click Upload and continue to initiate the data update.
   

That’s it. When the procedure is complete, you receive a confirmation email. You can find more information on the topic here: How to import products to Shopify.

If you need to exceed the default limit or want to automate product uploads to Shopify, you can replace the standard data importer with the Shopify Improved Import & Export application. It not only supports huge files and multiple data formats but also lets you create update schedules and apply presets to automatically match third-party data to Shopify’s requirements so that products are imported smoothly. Contact us for more information about the tool.

Conclusion: Mastering Shopify Product Management

Managing products in Shopify is designed to be straightforward, intuitive, and accessible to everyone — even those without coding skills or prior experience with content management systems. Shopify’s admin interface is user-friendly, making it easy to navigate and manage your store. And when you need guidance, resources like this guide are here to help.

Now you have a clear understanding of:

• What Shopify products are, including the differences between physical and digital items.
• How to add products to Shopify, whether they have variants or not.
• How to streamline product management, from editing and organizing to importing and exporting.

If you have any questions about importing or exporting Shopify products — or need assistance with complex data transfers — don’t hesitate to reach out. Our Import & Export Tool is designed to handle even the most challenging tasks, ensuring your Shopify store runs smoothly. Let us help you simplify your workflow and focus on growing your business!

Shopify Product FAQ