Troubleshooting

Something not working as expected? Don’t worry – we’ve got you covered. This guide walks through common issues and their solutions, helping you get your variations displaying perfectly.

Variations Not Showing At All

Symptom: You’ve enabled the plugin but no variations appear in your shop pages.

Quick Checklist

  1. Is the plugin activated?
  • Go to Plugins → Ensure “Better Product Variations” shows “Deactivate” (meaning it’s active)
  1. Is variation expansion enabled?
  • Navigate to WooCommerce → Settings → Products → Better Variations
  • Ensure “Enable variation expansion” is checked
  • Click “Save changes”
  1. Have you selected attributes?
  • In the same settings page, check “Expand variations by attributes”
  • Select at least one attribute from the dropdown
  • Save your changes
  1. Do your products use those attributes?
  • Edit a variable product
  • Check the Variations tab
  • Ensure variations use the attributes you selected in settings

Still Not Working?

Clear your cache:

  • WordPress caching plugins (W3 Total Cache, WP Super Cache, etc.)
  • Server-level caching (Cloudflare, Varnish)
  • Browser cache (Ctrl+F5 or Cmd+Shift+R)

Check theme compatibility:

  • Temporarily switch to Storefront theme
  • If variations appear, your theme may need minor adjustments
  • Contact support for theme-specific guidance

Only Some Products Show Variations

Symptom: Some variable products expand correctly, others don’t.

Common Causes

  1. Product doesn’t use selected attributes
  • Example: You selected “Color” but the product only has “Size” variations
  • Solution: Add more attributes to global settings or use per-product overrides
  1. Product has override settings
  • Edit the product → Product Data → Variation Display
  • Check if “Override global settings” is enabled
  • Verify the product-specific configuration
  1. All variations are out of stock
  • If “Hide out of stock items” is enabled in WooCommerce
  • Out-of-stock variations won’t display
  • Check variation stock levels
  1. Variations aren’t published
  • Ensure each variation is enabled in the Variations tab
  • Bulk action → “Toggle Enabled” if needed

Variations Can’t Be Added to Cart

Symptom: Variations display but the add-to-cart button doesn’t work.

Solutions

  1. Check variation prices
  • Each variation MUST have a price set
  • Even if using the same price as parent, enter it explicitly
  • Use bulk actions to set prices quickly
  1. Verify stock settings
  • If managing stock, ensure stock quantities are set
  • Check that variations aren’t marked as “Out of stock”
  • Verify WooCommerce → Settings → Products → Inventory settings
  1. Required attributes missing
  • Some themes require all attributes to be set
  • Edit variations and ensure no attribute dropdowns show “Any…”
  1. JavaScript conflicts
  • Open browser console (F12 → Console tab)
  • Look for red error messages
  • Common culprits: theme conflicts, plugin conflicts, jQuery issues

Display Issues

Variations Appear Unstyled

Symptom: Variations show but look different from regular products.

Fix:

  1. Your theme may need CSS adjustments
  2. Add custom CSS to match your theme’s product styling:
.bpv-product-variation {
    /* Match your theme's product item styling */
}

.bpv-variation-attributes {
    /* Style the variation details */
}Code language: CSS (css)
  1. Add CSS through Appearance → Customize → Additional CSS

Layout Breaks on Mobile

Symptom: Shop page looks wrong on mobile devices.

Solutions:

  • Reduce number of expanded attributes (mobile has less space)
  • Add responsive CSS for mobile displays
  • Consider using per-product overrides for complex products
  • Test with your theme’s mobile preview tools

Too Many Variations Showing

Symptom: Shop pages are overwhelmingly long.

Solutions:

  1. Be selective with attributes
  • Only expand visually distinct attributes
  • Use “Color” but maybe not “Size”
  1. Adjust pagination
  • WooCommerce → Settings → Products → Shop Page
  • Reduce products per page when showing variations
  1. Use strategic overrides
  • Disable expansion for products with many variations
  • Focus on hero products that benefit most

Performance Issues

Slow Page Load

Symptom: Shop pages load slowly after enabling variations.

Optimizations:

  1. Enable caching
  • Use a WordPress caching plugin
  • Enable object caching if available
  • Consider a CDN for images
  1. Optimize images
  • Ensure variation images are reasonably sized
  • Use image optimization plugins
  • Consider lazy loading
  1. Database optimization
  • Run database cleanup
  • Ensure WordPress and WooCommerce are updated
  • Check with hosting provider about MySQL optimization

Integration Conflicts

Plugin Conflicts

Common conflicting plugin types:

  • Other variation display plugins
  • Advanced product search plugins
  • Some page builders with custom shop layouts

How to identify:

  1. Deactivate all plugins except WooCommerce and Better Product Variations
  2. If it works, reactivate plugins one by one
  3. When issue returns, you’ve found the conflict

Theme Conflicts

Signs of theme issues:

  • Works with default themes (Storefront, Twenty Twenty-One)
  • Custom shop layouts not showing variations
  • JavaScript errors in console

Solutions:

  • Check theme documentation for WooCommerce compatibility
  • Contact theme developer with specific issue
  • Consider child theme modifications

Still need help?

If you’ve tried these solutions and still have issues:

  1. Gather information:
  • WordPress version
  • WooCommerce version
  • PHP version
  • Active theme name
  • Error messages (if any)
  1. Check resources:
  1. Contact support:
  • Include your gathered information
  • Describe what you expected vs. what happened
  • List troubleshooting steps already tried

Remember: Most issues have simple solutions. We’re here to help you succeed!

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