MeasureLabGuide · 6 min read
Custom sizes on Shopify without a thousand variants
Variants are how Shopify handles choice: one per size, colour or material. They're perfect for a T-shirt in five sizes. They fall apart when the size is whatever the customer measures. Here's why, when variants are still the right answer, and what to use instead.
The variant maths
Every size combination needs its own variant, and every variant its own price. Count yours:
And after all that, a customer who needs a size between two of yours still can't order it.
Where a variant per size breaks
- The combinations multiply. Width × height × colour grows fast, and every one is a row to create and price.
- Three options is the ceiling. A product has at most three options, so width, height and colour use them all, with nothing left for lining or finish.
- Price changes are a project. A supplier increase means editing every variant, or a bulk edit you hope is right.
- The dropdown is unusable. Customers scroll through dozens of sizes to find theirs, or give up.
- It still isn't made to measure. The sizes are whatever you listed, not what the customer measured.
When variants are still right
Variants are the right tool when you sell a small set of fixed sizes that you stock: small, medium and large; pre-cut 1 m and 2 m pieces; three standard mattress sizes. Each gets its own stock count, SKU and barcode, and nothing needs calculating. Many shops do both: variants for the stocked sizes, a calculator for “made to your size”.
What to use instead
A size field with no price
A text box captures the size on the order, but the price stays the same, so you charge a placeholder and invoice the difference, or quote by email first.
Quotes and draft orders
Customers ask, you work out a price and send a draft order to pay. Accurate, but it costs you time on every sale and loses customers who wanted to buy now.
A price calculator
One product, one variant, and a rule for the price: per square metre, from a size grid, per metre of length, or any formula. The customer types their size, sees the price, and orders. Changing your price means changing one number.
With MeasureLab, the calculator app we make, that means a few inputs (width, height, any choices), your pricing rule, and a minimum and maximum for each size. The size and choices go onto the order line, and the price is checked again at checkout.
Questions
When are variants still the right choice?
When you sell a few fixed sizes that you stock, like S, M and L, or 1 m and 2 m pre-cut pieces. Variants give each one its own stock count and SKU.
Can a custom-size product still have colours?
Yes. Keep colour as a Shopify variant or make it a choice in the calculator; the size is typed in either way.
How do I keep track of stock without a variant per size?
Track what actually runs out, which is usually the material or colour rather than the size. MeasureLab, for example, keeps a stock count for each choice and shows it sold out at zero.
Will custom sizes show up in my order reports?
The order is for your product as usual, and the size and choices are listed next to the line, so they appear on the order, the packing slip and in your order exports.