Variation Converter for WooCommerce

Lots of WooCommerce stores start out with one simple product per color or size: “Classic Tee Black”, “Classic Tee Blue”, “Classic Tee Red”. Shoppers see three listings where there should be one, and you have three products to keep in sync.

Fixing that by hand means building a variable product, re-entering every SKU, price, stock level and image, and then hiding the old products. Variation Converter does it for you.

It scans your catalog, finds the simple products that are really one product in several variants, and shows you each group. You check it, adjust anything you like, and click once. You get one variable product with a variation for each original. The originals are hidden, not deleted, and Undo puts everything back the way it was.

It works the other way too. If a variable product would sell better as separate listings, or you’re moving to a setup that needs one product per variant, Variation Converter splits it into simple products the same way: preview, one click, and Undo.

How it works

1. Go to Products > Variation Converter. The plugin scans your published simple products.
2. Each proposed group shows its members, the variant label it read from each name (“Black”, “Blue”, “Red”), a guessed attribute (Color, Size, Flavor, Scent or Volume) and a suggested parent SKU.
3. Untick any product that doesn’t belong, and edit the product name, attribute or labels.
4. Click Create variable product. Or click Not a collection to dismiss the group so it stops appearing.
5. Changed your mind? The History tab has an Undo button for every product the plugin made.

Features

• Both directions. Merge simple products into a variable product, or split a variable product into simple products.
• Finds the groups for you. Products are grouped when their SKUs share a family (SE1421-01, SE1421-03) and their names share a beginning. You don’t have to pick products one by one.
• Review before anything changes. Nothing is created until you approve a group. You can rename it, change the attribute, fix labels and leave products out.
• Flags the things worth a second look: different prices, different categories, duplicate labels, or labels long enough to suggest these aren’t really variants.
• Keeps your data. Each variation takes its original’s SKU, regular and sale price, sale dates, stock settings, weight, dimensions and image. The variable product takes the first member’s description, images, categories, tags, tax and shipping class, plus every member’s image in its gallery.
• Non-destructive. The products you convert from are hidden from your shop and search, never deleted. Their orders, reviews and links stay as they were.
• One-click Undo. Undo removes what the plugin made and brings the originals back with the visibility they had before.
• All or nothing. If WooCommerce fails to save any part of a new product, the partial product is removed and your catalog is untouched.
• Lightweight. No settings page, no front-end code, no external services, and nothing stored beyond a few product meta fields.

Splitting a variable product

Going the other way works too. On the Split tab, or from the Split into simple products link under any variable product in Products > All Products, pick a variable product. You get one row per variation with a suggested name (“Classic Tee Black”), which you can edit. Click Split and each checked variation becomes a simple product with its SKU, prices, stock, weight, dimensions and image, plus the variable product’s descriptions, categories, tags and other attributes. The variable product is hidden, not deleted, and Undo in History brings it back and removes the simple products.

A variable product the plugin made by merging offers Undo instead of a split, so you get your original products back rather than new copies.

Who it’s for

• Stores imported from a supplier feed or another platform that created one product per variant.
• Shops that grew one product at a time and now want a tidier catalog.
• Developers cleaning up a client’s catalog who want a safe, reversible tool instead of a spreadsheet.