WooCommerce allows the addition of several different product types depending on your online shop’s requirements.
The common product types for most online shops is as follows:
- Simple Products
- Variable Products
A simple product is just one item and a variable product can be multiple items with different choices for your customer, usually displayed within a drop-down box.
Both of these product types can also be used for digital products, useful for downloads or digital tickets.
What's a simple product?
A simple product is the most common product within online stores and is usually just one item without any variations.
For example, a vinyl record would be a simple product, and you could sell multiple copies of the same record.
When creating a new simple product you will need the following information:
- Product Title
- Product Price
- Product Image
- Product Description
This is the basic information recommended for adding a new simple product to your online shop.
What's a variable product?
A variable product is typically the same item in a different variation.
For example, if your online shop intends to sell t-shirts in different colours and sizes, this would be classed as a variable product.
It’s best to imagine a clothing store and the physical t-shirt itself.
If you have five colours and 3 sizes, you would have 15 t-shirts in stock.
A variable product transitions this to an online drop-down for your customer to choose from, automatically calculating the price depending on the item selected.
You have one main product, for example the t-shirt, and then a variation for every size and colour, even different prices for these variations if needed.
To create a variable product you will need the following information:
- Product Title
- Product Prices
- Product Image
- Product Description
- Variable Attributes
While variable products are more flexible for a customer to choose an item, they do require more set-up and an understanding of how your online shop intends to function.
