How to Make Your Shopify Variant Picker Show Up on Custom Product Pages

I once embarked on the journey of customizing a Shopify store. Let’s call it "Project Unicorn." I imagined that I could whip up a flawless shopping experience where each product page was as unique as the items it showcased. But there I was, stuck in the quagmire of Shopify’s variant picker not appearing on my custom product template. It was like trying to find an elusive unicorn in a haystack of settings and code snippets.

This issue, my friends, is what we’re tackling today. I want to walk you through the steps to get that elusive variant picker up and running on your shiny custom product template. Together, we’ll demystify this process, one magical step at a time.

Step 1: Discover the Elusive Template

Our first stop? The mystical world of Liquid files. Likely, you’ve created a custom product template, but it seems to have vanished into thin air when it comes to displaying the variant picker. This is because creating a new template doesn’t automatically have Shopify link everything up for you. So, let's dive into our Shopify theme editor to find our custom template.

1. Head over to Online Store > Themes.
2. Click on the Actions dropdown, then select Edit code.
3. In the Templates section, look for a .liquid file named something like product.my-new-template.liquid.

Ah, there it is. The magical file where all our customization charms will cast their spell.

Step 2: Embrace the Code Magic

Now that we’ve located our template, it’s time to weave in the magic code that will conjure the variant picker. The default Shopify product page has the variant picker already in place, so we’ll take inspiration from the default product.liquid file.

1. Still in the Theme Editor, find and open product.liquid to see how Shopify integrates the variant picker.

2. Within this file, locate the section with the form tag that includes product object references, like so:

   <form action="/cart/add" method="post" id="add-to-cart-form">
     {{ product | form: 'product' }}
   

3. You’ll want to locate this or an equivalent snippet in your custom template.

4. Copy the relevant bits and bobs related to the variant picker from product.liquid to your custom template file. Pay attention to the sections of code that start with options because that’s often where variant data is entwined in the Liquid sorcery.

Step 3: Fine-Tune the Magical Details

At this stage, our hackish code-copying should have gotten the variant picker displaying on your custom page. Still, you might need to sprinkle a few bits of CSS and JavaScript magic to make it behave.

1. Check if any JavaScript is being used to enable the actual picking of variants in theme.js or similar. Ensure any JavaScript selectors are pointing at the right HTML elements of your newly customized form.

2. Add custom CSS styles, if necessary, in your theme.scss.liquid or equivalent stylesheet to make the variant picker look pretty. Who doesn’t want a pretty-picker, eh?

Step 4: Test and Refine

Now, here's where we don our QA hats. Let’s ensure everything functions as intended.

• Navigate to your newly crafted product page in the Shopify frontend.
• Select different product variants and make sure they reflect changes in price, availability, or other attributes you have set up.

If something doesn’t work as expected, retrace your steps – there might be some misplaced HTML tags or a missing JavaScript function call – and keep tweaking until it lives up to your creative vision.

Conclusion: Celebrate the Discovery!

And there you have it; our variant picker is no longer hiding in the code ether! By carefully tracking down our custom template and strategically inserting well-chosen snippets, our original vision of a unique product page doesn’t just remain a dream.

Remember, this is Shopify, and it likes to guard its secrets, but with a bit of persistence and a touch of curiosity, there’s nothing we can’t solve together. So grab a metaphorical mug of hot chocolate—because we deserve a treat after all that—and get ready for the next adventure. Let’s not just be problem solvers; let’s be pioneers on our entrepreneurial journey.