Hide a Variant Option From the Dropdown (but still keep the variant active)

Shopify does not offer a built-in toggle to “hide” specific variants. But here’s how you can hide them using custom code (e.g., hide the “XXL” option):

Steps:

  1. Go to Online Store > Themes > Edit Code
  2. Open product-form.liquid or main-product.liquid (depends on your theme)
  3. Find this section:
    liquid
    {% for value in option.values %}
  4. Add a conditional:
    liquid
    {% unless value == 'XXL' %}

    {% endunless %}

That will hide XXL from being shown in the dropdown, while keeping it live in your backend.

2. Hide Sold-Out Variants Automatically

Some themes (like Dawn) already do this. But if yours doesn’t:

In the theme code:

liquid
{% if variant.available %}

{% endif %}

This skips variants that are out of stock.

3. Use an App to Hide Variant Options by Rules

If you’re trying to hide variants based on logic (like “if color is red, hide size L”), then you need:

  • Variant Option Product Options
  • Globo Product Options
  • Shopify Functions (for custom storefronts)

These apps let you control visibility rules without editing code.

Quick Warnings:

  • Don’t delete variants unless you want to lose order history and inventory links.
  • Hiding variants can confuse Google if URLs exist but are no longer linked from the product page.
Key Takeaways
1
Consider your theme first and access Shopify admin to manage product images. Use theme customization in Shopify options to hide variant images from the store. Implement code changes for advanced customization then hide variant images in Shopify with the Variant Image Automator.

How to Hide Variant Images in Shopify

It is actually very easy for any Shopify store owner to hide the variant images from the store to show only the best images on your website. The first thing is to consider your theme. Most Shopify themes can be adjusted, so this change is made for you. Speak to the Shopify Basic plan support team and see what they can offer you.

If you’re using a third-party theme, then you might need to contact your theme’s developer. They can often help with actions like this and then make it available for everyone. However, not everyone can do this, so you might need to take additional steps.

One option is to hire a Shopify developer expert to help you change the coding of your theme and add this to your website. A Shopify developer expert can be very expensive, but it can be worth the investment.

Or you can add the code to your product page yourself. However, most people who are reading this article won’t have the experience to complete this task and risk damaging their Shopify website, which would cost more to fix.

Hiding Variants with an App

The final option to hide variant images in Shopify is to use an app. The Variant Image Automator allows you to organize your product page and displays only the images that you would like to showcase on your product page.

This can allow you to remove all variant images on your product pages or show multiple product images for a variant to improve the user’s experience and the conversion rate. We also recommend that you explore what you can do with products on Shopify.

The Variant Image Automator app has been tested across all themes and works with product pages on every store. There are no manual changes that have to be made to your website’s theme files. The app will just auto-assign images to certain products. The app is also compatible with many different third-party apps like color swatches, product image zoom and more.