# Variant swatches

{% hint style="danger" %} <mark style="color:red;">Theme retirement</mark> Ira is no longer available on the Shopify theme store. **Theme support and updates for current users will end after May 18, 2024**. [Learn more here](/ira/readme/theme-retirement.md).
{% endhint %}

Display your product variants as **Swatches** to make it easy for customers to view your product options at a glance. Instead of a dropdown menu, swatches visually represent your variants as a row of clickable buttons.

You can add swatches using **default colors** or **custom colors** added to your theme settings. You can also **upload custom images** to represent your product variants more precisely.

<details>

<summary><mark style="color:blue;"><strong>Why are my swatches blank?</strong></mark></summary>

If your swatches appear blank, make sure that you are using an existing default color or that your image files and custom swatch names match your variant names. You may also need to add [custom swatches images for multiple languages](/ira/product-pages/variant-swatches/use-custom-images.md).

</details>

## **Set up swatches**

Swatches are enabled in your theme settings by adding the option name for your variants. You can add swatches using **default colors** or you can **upload custom images**.

\[***Required***] [Enable variant swatches](/ira/product-pages/variant-swatches/enable-swatches.md)

[Use default colors for swatches](/ira/product-pages/variant-swatches/use-default-colors.md)

[Upload custom images for swatches](/ira/product-pages/variant-swatches/use-custom-images.md)

{% hint style="info" %}
You can also enable **Variant chips** on product pages, which display product options as a row of clickable buttons with the variant name as the label. See the [variant chips guide](/ira/product-pages/variant-chips.md).
{% endhint %}

### **Appearance settings**

You can choose to show swatches on products cards when hovered over anywhere on your site.

[Show swatches on product listings](/ira/products/product-listings.md#change-product-card-styles)

<br>

***

> **Related links**
>
> [Product pages](/ira/product-pages/product-template.md)\
> [Product listings](/ira/products/product-listings.md)\
> [Variant chips](/ira/product-pages/variant-chips.md)


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