Magento product variations are a powerful feature that help online stores offer a wide range of options within a single product listing. However, it’s not always clear how these variations interact with the front end of a Magento store. One of the most common questions store owners ask is:
Can Magento product variations be made visible on the storefront individually including in search results and layered navigation filters?
The answer depends on how the products are configured. By default, Magento hides these variations from search and filters to keep things tidy. But with some adjustments, each variation can be made visible, which can help customers find exactly what they’re looking for faster.
Table of Contents
What Are Magento Product Variations?
In Magento, a configurable product is essentially a parent product that allows customers to choose from different options, such as size, colour, or material. Each option is tied to a simple product, which has its own unique SKU and inventory.
These simple products are referred to as Magento product variations.
For example:
- Product: Classic Cotton T-Shirt (configurable)
- Variation 1: Red, Medium (simple)
- Variation 2: Red, Large (simple)
- Variation 3: Blue, Medium (simple)
- Variation 4: Blue, Large (simple)
All four variations are tied to a single configurable product. Customers interact with the configurable product and select their variation from dropdowns or swatches.
Why Product Variations Are Hidden By Default
Magento hides simple products associated with configurable products to prevent clutter. Without this, search results and category pages could become overwhelming, especially for stores selling items with dozens of size or colour combinations.
This default behaviour helps:
- Avoid duplicate listings
- Keep category and search pages cleaner
- Make product navigation easier for users
However, in some industries, such as fashion, automotive, or B2B, store owners want individual variations to appear in search results or filters. For example, a user searching for a “blue large T-shirt” might expect to land directly on that specific variant, not the main configurable product.
How to Make Magento Product Variations Appear in Search
To enable visibility of Magento product variations in search, each associated simple product needs to be adjusted.
Step 1: Change Visibility Settings
Magento gives every product a “Visibility” setting. By default, variations are set to “Not Visible Individually.”
To change this:
- Go to Catalog > Products in the Magento Admin Panel.
- Find and click on a variation (simple product).
- Under the Product Details, locate the Visibility setting.
- Change it from Not Visible Individually to Catalog, Search.
Do this for each variation you want to appear in search results.
💡 Tip: Use Magento’s mass action feature to update visibility for many products at once.
Step 2: Enable Attributes in Layered Navigation
To make variations appear in filters on category pages, ensure the product attributes (e.g., size, colour) are set to be used in layered navigation.
- Go to Stores > Attributes > Product.
- Select the relevant attribute, such as “Colour.”
- Under Storefront Properties, set:
- Use in Layered Navigation to Filterable (with results)
- Use in Search Results Layered Navigation to Yes
Repeat this for each attribute you want visible in filters.
A Realistic Example
Let’s take a store that sells hiking boots. A configurable product might be “Waterproof Hiking Boot,” with size and colour variations.
- Size options: 7, 8, 9
- Colour options: Brown, Black
This gives 6 total simple products. By default, Magento only shows the main product “Waterproof Hiking Boot.” Customers need to click into the product, then select their size and colour.
But suppose a shopper types “black hiking boot size 9” into the search bar.
If all variations are still hidden, the user lands on the configurable product and needs to search again manually inside the product page.
However, if the “Black, Size 9” variation is set to Catalog, Search, the search result can point directly to that variation which improves user experience and increases conversion rates.
Optional: Use a Magento Extension for Better Results
Magento’s built-in setup can be limited when it comes to indexing and filtering product variations. For more control, many merchants turn to third-party extensions.
Here are two popular options:
- Hyvä Theme Filter for Layered Navigation: Built specifically for Hyvä stores, this extension makes layered navigation fast, clean, and more flexible — with improved filtering UX and performance.
- Mirasvit Layered Navigation: Helps display product variations in filters, improves attribute filtering, and reduces load times with AJAX.
Both allow store owners to decide how and where variations should appear, making the shopping experience smoother for users.
SEO Considerations
Making Magento product variations visible individually can help with long-tail SEO. Instead of having one product page ranking for “cotton shirt,” multiple variations can target “blue cotton shirt,” “large cotton shirt,” and so on.
However, beware of duplicate content issues. Magento doesn’t automatically canonicalize variation URLs. To avoid SEO penalties:
- Use canonical tags to point variations back to the configurable product
- Set proper meta titles and descriptions for each variation
- Use a layered navigation extension that supports SEO-friendly URLs
Summary
Magento product variations offer flexibility for managing different options under one product, but they are hidden from search and filters by default. For stores that want each variation to appear individually on the front end, the following steps are essential:
- Set visibility for each simple product to Catalog, Search
- Configure relevant attributes to be filterable in layered navigation
- Consider using a third-party extension for enhanced filtering, control, and SEO management
Depending on your store’s goals, exposing product variations in this way can improve searchability, make filtering more accurate, and potentially lead to better conversion rates, especially for customers who already know exactly what they’re looking for.