Variants and options: when to use them, when to make separate products, and the 2,048 limit

Variants vs. separate products: the call that affects everything else

Before you set up your first variant, decide whether the thing you're adding is one product with options, or two separate products. Getting this right affects your store navigation, your SEO, your URL structure, and how much work you'll do to maintain your catalog.

The decision rule, in one line:

• Same core product with choices = variants.
• Different enough to deserve its own page = separate products.