What are Beautify's combined products?
Beautify allows you to create different variations of a product - such as different colors - as separate products instead of variants. To customers, these grouped products are presented as a single product, while in the Shopify admin they are, in fact, separate products. This feature is especially valuable for stores that showcase multiple color options. Each color appears as its own product card on collection pages, but customers can switch between colors using swatches on the product page.
This type of feature is sometimes known as sibling products, connected products or product groups. It offers functionality similar to the Combined Listings app without the need for Shopify Plus.
Video guide available
Why use Beautify combined products?
The Combined products feature in Beautify is perfect for color-focused stores that want to:
- Show each color as a separate product card for better browsing
- Let shoppers switch colors easily with swatches
- Help customers find the right shade quickly on the product page
Tip
What do combined products looks like?
On the product card:
- Looks like a normal product with variants
- Clicking a swatch changes the product image
- The color name (e.g. Dusty mauve, Classic red) appears under the main title
On the product page:
- Look and behaves like a product with variants
- Switching color changes to a different product page, but it feels seamless
- The color name isn't shown in the breadcrumbs - just the main product title.
How to set up Beautify combined products
In Beautify, products that are going to be combined or grouped in this way use metafields and/or metaobjects to manage the product grouping.
Note
At a high level there are 4 steps required:
High level steps
- Create the products to be combined - ideally with the special title format.
- The products should have at least one variant (e.g. color.)
- Decide what method to use: Metafield only or Metaobject.
- Create the metafield(s) and metaobject to contain the lists of products that are going to be combined and use these to connect the products together.
- Open the Theme Editor and configure the Combined products settings which can be found under Theme settings.
1. Create the products that will be combined
Steps
- In the Shopify Admin area, go to Products and create the products to be combined.
- The products to be combined as sibling products should have at least one variant (e.g. color)
- For each combined product, the first part of the product title should be the same. The second part should include the color name (if that is the differentiator).
Product titles must be split with a forward-slash with spaces around it. For example: 'Liquid lipstick / Classic Red', 'Liquid lipstick / Mulberry' or 'Liquid lipstick / Plum Berry'.
The color can then be shown on a separate line on the product card under the main title.
This special title format also ensures that the change between combined products is as seamless as changing variant. The second part (usually the color) won't be shown in the product page breadcrumbs. For example, the breadcrumbs can be Home/Lips/Liquid lipstick so there is no visible change to the breadcrumb trail when swapping to a different color.
2. Decide whether to use the Metafield only method or use a Metaobject and a metafield
To use Beautify's Combined products we need a product list to hold all the products that will be grouped together.
The theme supports two methods:
Metafield only method: A 'product list' metafield is added to the product. This contains a list of all the products to be combined.
We recommend this approach for a small catalogue with a small number of combined products. It is simpler to set up as it requires only one new metafield.
Metaobject method: A metaobject is created to contain multiple lists of products. A metafield reference to this metaobject is added to the product.
The metaobject method may be easier and quicker to manage in the long term, particularly if groups contain a large number of combined products. This method requires a new metaobject containing two metafields to hold the product list and its name, and a product metafield to refer to the metaobject.
Tip
3a. Metafield only method
The list of products to be linked together or combined is added to a metafield. Each product to be grouped together will need the product list to be added to this metafield.
Note
Create a product metafield to hold the list of combined products
Steps
- In the Shopify Admin area, go to Settings > Metafields and Metaobjects.
- In the Metafields section, click on Products and choose Add definition.
- Create a product list metafield for the Combined products list.
- Set the Type to be List of products.
- Save the definition and make a note of the namespace and key (For example: custom.connected_products).
- In the Shopify Admin area, go to Products and edit a product.
- Find the new product list metafield and add in the desired list of products.
3b. Metaobject and metafield method
The lists of products are held in a metaobject instead of in the product. Each product has a reference metafield which links to the correct list in the metaobject.
Note
Create a metaobject definition to hold the Combined products.
Steps
- In the Shopify Admin area, go to Settings > Metafields and Metaobjects, scroll down to choose Metaobjects click on Add definition.
- Create a new metaobject for holding the combined products.
- Add two fields to the metaobject
- a Text metafield of type "Single line text" to hold the name of the combined product group so it's easy to identify and find.
- a product metafield of type "List of products" to hold the list of combined products. - Save the new metaobject and make a note of the key for the list of products metafield (For example: products).
Edit the metaobject to add the required Combined products
Steps
- In the Shopify Admin area, go to Content > Metaobjects and find your new metaobject definition.
- Click Add Entry.
- Give the new combined product group a name such as the main name of the product (e.g. Liquid lipstick)
- Select the products to be contained in the combined product group. (Remember, products are be added or removed here, rather than in each product, so it makes the list of grouped products easy to maintain.)
- Save the metaobject entry. Each metaobject entry / combined products group will then appear in a list in the metaobject.
Create a product reference metafield
Steps
- In the Shopify Admin area, go to Settings > Metafields and Metaobjects scroll down to choose Products click on Add definition.
- Create a new metafield of the type "Reference" to a Metaobject.
- Save the new metafield and make a note of the namespace and key (For example: custom.product_group ).
- In the Shopify Admin area, go to Products and edit a product.
- Find the new reference metafield for the metaobject and pick the correct product list using the name that you gave the list to identify it.
- Save the change.
4. How to switch on combined products in the theme settings
Steps
- Open the Theme Editor.
- Go to Theme Settings > Combined products and select Enable combined products.
- In Combined products metafield add the product metafield that was created.
3a) For the metafield only method this would be a product metafield that is a product list (For example: custom.connected_products)
3b) For the metaobject method, this would be the product metafield that is a reference pointing to the metaobject. (For example: custom.product_group). - The Combined products metaobject field is only required if using the Metaobject method. Add the key of the product list metafield that's in the metaobject. (For example: products)
- Choose whether to Show combined products as swatches in product cards.
- Add the Combined product selector label (e.g. Color). If the product has an option matching this name, it will be hidden, so that there is no duplication on the product page.
- Pick the Combined product selector size. This will be the swatch size.
- Set the Combined product selector shape to be a square or circle.
How to show swatches for combined products
Combined products can show Shopify swatches or product images as swatches. They can also use the Beautify dual swatch selector and shade picker filter on the product page to refine the shades available. Refer to our Swatches and shade picker guide for more information about these features.
How to video guide
FAQs
Can Beautify's combined products be grouped by shade?
To categorize Beautify's combined products into shades, create a product metafield with namespace and key 'theme.shade' and set this on the relevant products. This shade picker works in the same way as for standard products, but the metafield is at product level rather than variant level. Read more in our Swatches and shades article.
Can I also use variants as colors in other products?
Yes. There is no requirement to use combined products for all the products. Indeed, the theme also includes a feature called Multiple variant images for managing colors.
If product images are neatly arranged by color (e.g. selling the same top in different colors), the Show media only associated with the selected variant setting can be used to show images of only the selected color i.e. selecting the option 'Red' will only show the red images of the item. The Variant option label used for this can be chosen in the settings. Please refer to the multiple variant images guide for more detailed guidance.
Can I use Beautify's combined products in a Featured Product section?
Yes, but the behavior will differ from a standard product. While a combined product can be chosen in a Featured product section, clicking on a different color will take the customer away from the Featured product section to the full product page.
Can I show the product image instead of a Shopify swatch?
Yes, if a combined product doesn't have a color option linked to Shopify color metafields/swatches set up, then it will display the product image as a swatch on the product card and product page instead. Refer to our Swatches and shade picker guide for more information.
How do I control the swatches on the product card?
To show one swatch on the product card, set up Shopify swatches and choose Shopify in Theme settings > Swatches > Swatches to display. To show up to five of the colors of combined products on the product card select Show combined products as swatches in product cards in the Combined products theme settings. Refer to our Swatches and shade picker guide for more information.
What happens when I click a combined product card swatch?
If multiple swatches are shown, because the setting Show combined products as swatches in product cards has been selected, then clicking on a different color will change the main image shown on the product card. If the plus icon is shown then clicking this icon will open the quick buy or product page to show the full color range available. Refer to our Swatches and shade picker guide for more information.
Does Beautify support Shopify's combined listings app?
Versions of the Beautify theme after 1.1.0 support Shopify's combined listings app.
Is Beautify's combined products the same as Shopify's combined listings?
No. Shopify combined listings is currently only available to Shopify Plus customers using the combined listings app and involves the creation of parent and child products. Beautify's combined products can be used on any plan and is a way of linking together products.
Other themes may use a different name for a feature similar to Beautify's combined products, such as sibling products, product groups or connected products. All these methods are designed to make it possible for the merchant to create a separate product for each color and display all of these on a collection page but for the customer to change color without leaving the product page.
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