How to show different size charts for different Shopify products
Choose a store-wide default, group products that share a sizing system, define exceptions, and test which chart wins when assignments overlap.
One chart works until the catalog includes a second sizing system. Then a unisex sweatshirt, a fitted blouse, and a pair of shoes can all carry an M while describing entirely different dimensions.
The cleanest setup is not one chart per product. It is a small set of charts, each attached to the products for which its measurements are actually true.
Map sizing systems before creating assignments
List the distinct measurement sources in the catalog: a supplier specification, an in-house pattern, a footwear scale, a unisex cut, or a product with dimensions instead of apparel sizes. Two collections do not necessarily need two charts if they use the same underlying measurements. One collection may need several when it mixes brands or fits.
Give every chart a merchant-facing name that identifies the source and use, such as “Vendor A — womenswear — 2026 pattern.” The shopper-facing title can stay simple. Internal names are for preventing the team from assigning two almost identical tables by mistake.
Choose the least fragile grouping
An exact product assignment is clear, but it does not cover the next product added to the catalog. A collection works well when membership already follows the sizing system. Tags, product types, or vendors can support automatic rules when those fields are governed consistently.
Avoid using a marketing collection as a sizing rule merely because the right products happen to be there today. “Summer picks” can change weekly; “Vendor A footwear” is more likely to remain meaningful to sizing.
Use the broadest assignment whose name still explains why every included product shares the chart. Add exceptions only where the measurements truly change.
Write the precedence down
Overlap cannot always be eliminated. A product may belong to several collections, carry several tags, and share a vendor with other fits. Decide the order before the conflict appears. A practical hierarchy is:
- An explicit product exception.
- A deliberately ordered collection assignment.
- The first matching catalog rule.
- A store-wide default for everything left over.
Whatever system you use, make the order visible to the people maintaining it. “First match wins” is predictable only when the rule list itself is reviewed.
Do not clone a product template just to change the data
Shopify product templates control the arrangement of sections and blocks, and changes to a template apply to every product assigned to it. Create a separate template when the whole product-page layout needs to differ. If only the chart data changes, product-, collection-, or field-based assignment is usually easier to maintain than several copies of the same page structure.
Test one product at every boundary
Preview a straightforward product from each group, then choose the awkward cases: a product in two assigned collections, a tagged exception from a vendor rule, a newly added item, and a product that should show no chart. Record which assignment won and why.
Repeat that small boundary set after reorganizing collections, changing tags, or launching a new product template. You do not need to inspect the whole catalog every time. You do need to inspect the products most likely to reveal a collision.