Product details

The details that you provide for a product affect the way that the product is displayed to customers. The details also make it easier for you to organize your products, and to help customers find products. You don't have to provide every detail for every product.

For products that don't have any variants, the Pricing, Inventory, and Shipping sections are displayed on the product details page. If you add variants, then those sections are no longer displayed on the product details page. To change the details for product variants, refer to Editing variants for an existing product.

If you want to save specialized information or files for your products, then you can add custom fields to your product pages by using metafields. If you have an Online Store 2.0 theme, such as Dawn, then you can use the theme editor to connect metafields to your theme and customize your pages according to the product or variant that's displayed.

This page describes the different types of content and information that you can add to product listings in your Shopify admin.

Note

Although you can change your product details at any time, the changes can affect your reports. For information on how the changes can affect the way that products display and are grouped in your reports, learn more about Changes to product details.

Title and Description

• Title - The name for your product that you want to display to your customers.
• Description - The description for your product. This area uses the rich text editor so that you can format your text. Describe your products in detail to inform and market to your potential customers. If you're a reseller, then don't use a manufacturer's exact description, because you want your products to be unique to search engines.

Tip

If you need help writing effective descriptions for your products, then consider using Shopify Magic or hiring a Shopify Partner to assist you.

Media

The images, 3D models, and video that provide a visual demonstration of your product. For information on adding product media, refer to Product media.

Category

A product's category is a label that describes the group or class that a product belongs to. The product category is selected from Shopify's Standard Product Taxonomy, which is a predefined and standardized list. The product category helps with the following tasks:

• Unlock product attributes, referred to as category metafields, that map to each product category.
• Manage your products better within Shopify, for example, using a product category as a condition for an automated collection or to help filter your product list.
• Make it easier to sell products on other channels that require a standardized product type, such as Facebook or Google.
• Determine the rate at which the product is taxed when you're using Shopify Tax. Your products might be subject to special rates or exemptions. When a product is categorized correctly, the most accurate tax rate is collected at checkout. Collecting too much or not enough sales tax can create financial or legal liability for your business.

A product can have only one category that applies to all its variants. When possible, a standard product category recommendation displays to help you select one for the first time. You can accept it or edit the recommendation. Learn more about Shopify's Standard Product Taxonomy and product categories.

Category metafields are pre-defined product attributes and default entries that are unlocked when you assign a product category. For example, if you add the product category Apparel & Accessories > Clothing > Clothing Tops > Shirts, then you can add category metafields for size, neckline, sleeve length type, top length type, age group, fabric, target gender, clothing features, and color. Default entries are available for each category metafield. For example, the color category metafield has default entries for colors such as red, black, and white. You can also customize your own entries for a category metafield.

You can edit the default entries to match your branding better and the entry automatically updates everywhere it's used. For example, color entry examples include red, black, and white. If you want to update black to graphite, then you can update the entry and it automatically updates where that entry is connected.

You can also connect category metafields to variants for your products. When you use color entries as variant options, you can display variant options as swatches for color options on your store's product pages.

Learn more about category metafields.

Pricing

• Price - The price that you're charging for the product. Review the following details:
  • You can set your store's currency in the Settings > General section of your Shopify admin.
  • If you sell in multiple currencies, then you need to use Shopify Payments and activate International.
  • You can manage currencies on the Products and pricing pages of the relevant Markets in your Shopify admin.
  • If the product is taxable, then set up location-based taxes.
• Compare-at price - Set a compare-at price to display the original price of a product when you lower the product price. The compare-at price displays together with the value you set for the product price. Learn more about setting sale prices.
• Tax code - For Shopify Plus plans, you can use a third-party tax service. If you use the service, then the tax code for the product is displayed here.
• Unit pricing - If you sell products in quantities or measurements, then you might need to display the price per unit for certain products. When you enter a unit price for a product, the unit price is displayed on product pages, collection pages, the cart page, checkout pages, and order confirmation notifications. Learn more about setting up unit pricing.
• Cost per item - This is the cost to you of the product or variant. For example, if you resell a product, then you can enter the price that you paid the manufacturer, excluding taxes, shipping, or other costs. If you create the product yourself, then you can enter a value that is based on your labor and material costs.

For products that have a Cost per item entered, the projected Profit and Margin are displayed in the Pricing section on the product details page. The margin is calculated as ([price - cost] / price) × 100. For example, if your price is $50 USD and your cost is $30 USD, then the margin (calculated as ([50 - 30] / 50) × 100) is 40%. If you select Charge tax on this product, then the profit and margin details aren't displayed.

You can access reports to analyze your product costs and margins. You can also find your cost of goods sold (COGS).

Entering the cost per item is optional. If you choose to enter your costs, then add the amounts to all your existing products at the same time by using the bulk editor or a CSV import. By updating the information at the same time, you can get the most value out of your profit reports.

Cost per item doesn't apply to gift card products.

Learn more about pricing your products.

Inventory

• SKU (Stock Keeping Unit) - An optional code that identifies the product within your business. For effective tracking and sales reporting, each SKU needs to be unique. You can create your own SKU format. For more information about SKUs, refer to SKU formats.
• Barcode (ISBN, UPC, GTIN, etc.) - Barcodes are typically used by resellers. The identifier needs to be a new or existing Global Trade Item Number (GTIN). Some sales channels require a GTIN before a product can be published using the channel.

GTINs are unique identifiers used internationally to store and locate product information. Examples of GTINs are UPCs, EANs, and ISBNs, which can vary in length depending on the product type. You can find the GTIN above or below the barcode on the packaging for your product.

Barcodes scanned using Shopify POS can be used to publish products on the Google & YouTube channel.

If you don't have a GTIN for a product, then you can request it from the manufacturer. Learn how to get a GTIN for a product you manufacture at the GS1 standards website. Don't invent false GTIN information for your products.

For information on how to enter barcodes by using your smartphone, refer to Scan a barcode with your device's camera.

Quantity

If you manage your inventory across multiple locations, then the quantity for a product is displayed for each location.

• Unavailable - The number of units that aren't available for sale.
• Committed - The number of units that are part of an order but aren't yet fulfilled. Inventory units that are part of draft orders aren't counted as committed until the draft order becomes an order.
• Available - The number of units that can be sold.
• On hand - The total number of units you physically have at a location, which is everything Committed, Available, and Unavailable.
• Incoming - The number of incoming units to a location. Refer to Inventory transfers.

Shipping

• This is a physical product - Select this option for a physical product that you ship.
• Weight - The weight of the product. This field only displays when This is a physical product is selected. The product weight needs to be exact because it's used to calculate shipping rates. You can buy a shipping scale from the Shopify Hardware Store.
• Customs information - Selecting this allows you to save information that's required when shipping products internationally. This field only displays when This is a physical product is selected.
  • Country/Region of origin - The country where the product was manufactured or assembled. If the product consists of materials from different countries or regions, then the country or region where the product takes its final form is the country or region of origin. Different countries or regions and international treaties have different rules of origin.
  • Harmonized System (HS) code - If you ship the product internationally, then enter the Harmonized System (HS) tariff code. These codes provide customs with information so that the correct tariffs can be applied to the order. You can find the HS code for your product by searching using a keyword in the Harmonized System (HS) code field of the product details page. Learn more about HS codes from the World Customs Organization.

Variants

For a product that has variants, this section on the product details page displays the options for the product, such as color and size. For more information about variants, refer to Variants.

Purchase options

You can add purchase options to your products, such as Subscriptions, Try before you buy, and Preorders.

If a product or any of its variants have a purchase option applied, then the relevant purchase option settings are displayed in the Purchase options section of the product details page.

You can choose to limit a product to only having a purchase option available, or you can activate both the purchase option and one-time purchase.

Learn more about Purchase options.

Metafields

You can add custom fields to your product pages by using metafields. Metafields let you save specialized information that isn't usually captured on your product pages. For example, a candle seller might want to display a burn time for candles on their product pages, whereas a grocery store might want to display a product expiration date for canned goods. The following are other examples of specialized information:

• part numbers
• color swatches
• launch dates
• related products
• blog post summaries
• files for download

Metafields are displayed in an editable table on the product details pages in your Shopify admin. Each metafield displays the name that you select when you create your metafield definition. You can click in each table row to display the metafield type and its description, and then enter a value.

If you have an Online Store 2.0 theme, such as Dawn, then you can use the theme editor to connect metafields to your theme and customize your pages according to the product or variant that's displayed. If you're using a vintage theme, or if you want to add metafield types that your theme doesn't support, then you can edit your theme code or hire a Shopify Partner to help you.

Search engine listing

This section contains a preview of how your product might display in search engine results, such as on Google. The preview consists of the product title, its URL on your online store, and part of the product description.

To learn about making changes to how your product is displayed on search engines, refer to Edit the search engine listing for a product.

Product status

A product's status determines if a product is ready to be sold.

When you create a new product, the product status is set as Active by default. Products that you create by duplicating an existing product, or products that you unarchive, are set to Draft status by default.

You can set the following statuses:

• Active: the product details are complete and the product is ready to be sold.
• Draft: the product details need to be completed before the product can be sold.
• Archived: the product details are complete, but the product is no longer for sale. When you archive a product, it's hidden from your storefront and from the main product list in your Shopify admin.

You can change the status of a product or products.

Steps:

1. From your Shopify admin, go to Products.

2. Use the checkboxes to select a product or multiple products.

3. Do one of the following:

   • To change the status of a product or products to Active, click Set as active.
   • To change the status of a product or products to Draft, click Set as draft.
   • To change the status of a product or products to Archived, click … > Archive products.

Note

Based on Shopify's Terms of Service and Acceptable Use Policy, an alternative status might be displayed if your store is subject to an intellectual property notice. The following statuses are managed by Shopify directly:

• Suspended: the product is no longer for sale and the product details can't be modified.
• Pending suspension: the current product status (Active, Draft, or Archived) is maintained until this status is either removed or changed to Suspended.

Publishing

The Publishing section on the product details page displays a list of your sales channels and markets. For stores on the Shopify Plus plan, this is where your B2B catalogs are listed as well. All sales channels and markets are selected by default. Learn about setting product availability in your sales channels.

Note

With sales channels, you can't include or exclude individual product variants.

Insights

This section displays how many units of a product you've sold and to how many customers, and the net sales amount.

You can click View details to find out more sales insights for a product.

Product organization

• Product type - A way to create a custom category for a product. The product type lets you define product categories other than the ones that are available in Shopify's standard product categories. A product can have only one custom product type. To learn more, refer to Product types.
• Vendor - The manufacturer, wholesaler, or other vendor for the product. You can filter your product list by vendor, which can speed up ordering inventory.
• Collections - The collections that a product is included in. You can use this field to add the product directly to a manual collection. Automated collections include a product when it matches the collection conditions.
• Tags - Tags are searchable keywords that you can associate with your product. Tags can help customers to find your product through your online store search, and you can also use them to create automated collections. For more information about tags, refer to Tag formats.

Theme template

This drop-down menu displays the current product template that the product uses on your online store.

By default, products are assigned the Default product template. If you've created any other product templates in your live theme, then those options display in the drop-down menu as template options.

For more information about theme templates, refer to Templates.

Finding a product ID

Product IDs are sometimes needed to make theme code customizations that target specific products. If you need to find a product ID, then you can do so from your Shopify admin.

Steps:

1. From your Shopify admin, go to Products.

2. Click the product that you want to view the product ID for.

3. Examine the URL in your browser's address bar. Your URL should be similar to the following URL example:

https://admin.shopify.com/store/shopname/products/1234567

The number after /products/ is the product ID number. In the example above, the product ID number is 1234567.

In this section

• Shopify's Standard Product Taxonomy

• Product prices

• Product descriptions

• Product types

• Product insights

• SKU formats

• Tag formats

• Cart permalinks