# Sibling product swatches

{% hint style="warning" %}
In Stiletto v3.0.0 (released Feb 2024), sibling product swatches can appear in the quick view popup and featured products section, as well as in product listings when hovered over. See our [Changelog](https://help.fluorescent.co/stiletto/readme/changelog) and [theme update guide](https://help.fluorescent.co/stiletto/general/theme-updates) to learn more.
{% endhint %}

**Sibling products** allow you to set up variants as individual products with their own images and product details.

On product pages, variant swatches link to other sibling product pages. In collections and product listings, sibling products are displayed as individual products.

After **setting up sibling products**, you can choose display either **product images or custom colors** for the swatches.

&#x20;

<p align="center"><a href="https://themes.shopify.com/themes/stiletto/presets/stiletto" class="button primary" data-icon="arrow-up-right">Try Stiletto for free</a></p>

&#x20;

{% embed url="<https://youtu.be/zrwX93EUSu8>" %}

## Set up sibling products

***

To set up sibling products you will need to add individual products to a new collection, then add and update two metafields for each sibling product.

* **Create products** with unique images and details
* **Add products to a collection** to group together as 'siblings'
* **Create two metafields** to show siblings as swatches and add option names to products

## **1. Add individual products to siblings collection**

***

To create a group of sibling products, you need to add **individual products** and add them to a new **collection**. The collection is used to group your sibling products together as variant options.

<details>

<summary><mark style="color:blue;"><strong>STEPS</strong></mark></summary>

In your **Shopify admin**:

1. Click **Products** in the side panel. Click **Add product** to create the individual products for your siblings collection.

   > We recommend using the same product title that includes the different option names (eg. color). For example: "Shoes - Green", "Shoes - Blue", etc.

   > **Tip**: Create the first product then duplicate it to keep them consistent and save time from having to re-write and set up the details for each product.

   ![](https://2417329470-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2Fhnqe0uck0ozZhJ77wGXt%2Fuploads%2FywlqgTFEJyCP1icG2mZf%2Fsibling-products.png?alt=media\&token=9b70b0d0-95e3-4c01-b115-bd646f8027ad)
2. Go to **Products > Collections** to **Create collection**. Add your products to the collection to group them together as "siblings".

   > You can name your collection anything you like.

   ![](https://2417329470-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2Fhnqe0uck0ozZhJ77wGXt%2Fuploads%2FnzbSyrHXWXnQHnQyPAK3%2Fsiblings-collection.png?alt=media\&token=a4aba527-7cb3-48fd-bb92-61d7b3e0e99d)

   > **Note**: By default, your sibling collection will appear on the Collections List page. To hide the sibling collection from the collection list page, you can choose **selected collections** to display in the theme editor.
3. Click **Save**.

</details>

## **2. Set up metafields for sibling products**

***

Once your sibling products are added to a collection, you need to add two metafields to your products.

Sibling products use metafields to **(a)** **display sibling products as swatches** and **(b)** **give each product a variant option name**.

{% hint style="success" %}
Metafields are custom fields added to your products in the Shopify admin. The steps below will cover all you need to know, but if you'd like to learn more, see [Shopify's guide to metafields](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/metafields).
{% endhint %}

### **2a. Define metafield for siblings collection**

***

Go to **Settings > Custom data** to create the first metafield for your **Products**. This metafield will be used to display sibling products as swatches.

The metafield requires the following fields:

<table data-header-hidden><thead><tr><th width="239"></th><th></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong>Name</strong></td><td>Siblings collection</td></tr><tr><td><strong>Namespace and key</strong></td><td><code>stiletto.siblings_collection</code><br><em>Must be exact to work. Note that 'siblings' is plural with an 's'. Do not add or modify words.</em></td></tr><tr><td><strong>Type</strong></td><td>Collection (Reference)</td></tr></tbody></table>

{% hint style="danger" %}
If you are creating multiple sibling collections, you only need to create **one** metafield.
{% endhint %}

<details>

<summary><mark style="color:blue;"><strong>STEPS</strong></mark></summary>

In your **Shopify admin**:

1. Go to **Settings > Custom data**. Click **Products**.

   ![](https://2417329470-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2Fhnqe0uck0ozZhJ77wGXt%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-68433f96b9bf4aa26d98e254f709442811d81496%2Fadmin-settings-metafields.jpeg?alt=media)
2. Click **Add definition** button in the top-right.
3. Enter "Siblings collection" in the **Name** field. Note that "Siblings" is plural.

   The **Namespace and key** field will automatically update to `custom.siblings_collection`
4. In the **Namespace and key** field, replace the word "custom" with "stiletto".

   > The **Namespace** should now be `stiletto.siblings_collection`. This namespace must match exactly or the siblings swatches will not work.

   > Do not add additional words or multiple metafields for different sibling collections.
5. Click **+ Select content type** and select **Collection** under **Reference**.
6. Click **Save**.

</details>

### **2b. Define metafield for sibling option name**

***

Go to **Settings > Custom data** to create the second metafield for your **Products**. This metafield will be used to give individual products a variant option name (e.g. "Red" or "Wood").

The metafield requires the following fields:

<table data-header-hidden><thead><tr><th width="239"></th><th></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong>Name</strong></td><td>Sibling option name</td></tr><tr><td><strong>Namespace and key</strong></td><td><code>stiletto.sibling_option_name</code><br><em>Must be exact to work. Note that 'sibling' is singular with no 's'. Do not add or modify words.</em></td></tr><tr><td><strong>Type</strong></td><td>Single line text</td></tr></tbody></table>

<details>

<summary><mark style="color:blue;"><strong>STEPS</strong></mark></summary>

In your **Shopify admin**:

1. Go to **Settings > Custom data**. Click **Products**.

   ![](https://2417329470-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2Fhnqe0uck0ozZhJ77wGXt%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-68433f96b9bf4aa26d98e254f709442811d81496%2Fadmin-settings-metafields.jpeg?alt=media)
2. Click **Add definition** button in the top-right.
3. Enter "Sibling option name" in the **Name** field. Note that "Sibling" in the name is singular and not plural.

   > The **Namespace and key** field will automatically update to `custom.sibling_option_name`
4. In the **Namespace and key** field, replace the word "custom" with "stiletto".

   > The **Namespace** should now read as `stiletto.sibling_option_name`. Note that "sibling" is singular, not plural. <mark style="color:red;">This namespace must match exactly or the siblings swatches will not work.</mark>
5. Click **+ Select content type** and select **Single line text**.

   > This field will be used to label each sibling product with an option name (e.g. "Red" or "Wood").
6. Click **Save**.

</details>

## **3. Update metafields for each sibling product**

***

After creating the 2 metafields, go to **Products** in your Shopify admin to add content to the metafields.

* Select the related **sibling collection**
* Enter an **option name** for the sibling product

That's it! the sibling product swatches will now automatically display on the product pages.

<details>

<summary><mark style="color:blue;"><strong>STEPS</strong></mark></summary>

In your **Shopify admin**:

1. Click **Products** in the side panel and open the products in your sibling collection.
2. Click the **Siblings collection** metafield and select the collection with your sibling products.

   ![](https://2417329470-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2Fhnqe0uck0ozZhJ77wGXt%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-a9d772edcdbdac30f5448c485c55ed84dea0da11%2Fsibling-select-collection.jpeg?alt=media)
3. Click the **Sibling option name** metafield and enter text for the swatch label.

   > The option name will appear as a label above the swatch. It is also used to display custom swatch colors when product images are not enabled

   ![](https://2417329470-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2Fhnqe0uck0ozZhJ77wGXt%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-e1b41c593e7bc948e9e9eea5558e321a8a5f1acd%2Fsibling-add-name.jpeg?alt=media)
4. Update these metafields for each product. Click **Save**.

</details>

## Change option label

***

By default, the label above the sibling swatches is "Color". Go to **Theme settings > Products** to change the **Siblings label**.

{% hint style="info" %}
Custom styles are also available for the [size and shape of swatches](https://help.fluorescent.co/stiletto/product-pages/variant-options/variant-swatches/change-swatch-styles), which apply to *all* swatches in the theme.
{% endhint %}

## Use product image or color for swatches

***

Sibling products swatches can display product images or custom colors.

### &#x20;

### Use product images

***

By default, sibling swatches use the first product image of each sibling product. In your Shopify admin, go to **Products,** then click and drag the product image you want to the first position in the product media gallery.

### Use custom colors

***

To use **custom swatch colors,** go to **Theme settings > Product** and uncheck **Use product images as swatches.**

<details>

<summary><mark style="color:blue;"><strong>Add custom swatch colors</strong></mark></summary>

In your theme editor (**Customize**):

1. Go to **Theme settings > Products.**
2. Under **Swatches**, find the **Custom swatch colors** field.
3. Add the exact **Variant name** used for your sibling product ("Green") followed by a colon and your hex code color (`#00b300`). For example: `Green: #00b300`

   > To add custom colors for multiple options, press return to enter them on separate lines.
   >
   > <img src="https://2417329470-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2Fhnqe0uck0ozZhJ77wGXt%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-065af7e34a50899e1952e2ef9be849be523cc6d2%2Fsibling-custom-color.jpeg?alt=media" alt="" data-size="original">

{% hint style="info" %}
You can use a [HTML color picker like this one](https://htmlcolorcodes.com/) to find the hexcode for your color. Select and copy the six-character hex code, including the hashtag symbol.
{% endhint %}

4. Click **Save**.

</details>

{% hint style="info" %}
**Version update**

[Stiletto v5.1.0](https://help.fluorescent.co/stiletto/readme/changelog#id-5.1.0-latest-release) added support for Shopify’s built-in swatches feature. To show custom colors or images using Shopify’s category metafields, go to **Theme settings > Product** and uncheck **Use product images as swatches.**

Learn more about [adding swatches with category metafields](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/custom-data/metafields/category-metafields/using-category-metafields).
{% endhint %}

## Show sibling swatches on product listings

***

By default, sibling swatches appear on product listings found in collection pages and theme sections. When hovered over, sibling products will display the image or color swatch.

To disable sibling swatches on product listings, go to **Theme settings > Product listing** and toggle off **Show sibling swatches**.

{% hint style="info" %}
When enabled, sibling swatches will also appear in the [Quick view popup](https://help.fluorescent.co/stiletto/products/quick-view) and [Featured product section](https://github.com/fluorescent/kb-stiletto/blob/main/theme-sections/featured-product/README.md). Selecting a sibling swatch in the Featured product section will update the product media and details. Selecting a sibling swatch in the Quick view will redirect to the sibling product page.
{% endhint %}

## Hide sibling collections

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By default, all published collections appear on the **Collections list page** and in **Search results**. Follow the steps below to hide sibling collections on your store.

### Hide from collections list page

***

To hide a sibling collection from the Collections list page, you can choose to show only **selected collections,** instead of all collections.

<details>

<summary><mark style="color:blue;"><strong>STEPS</strong></mark></summary>

In your theme editor (**Customize**):

1. Use the template selector to open the **Collections list** template.
2. Click to open the **Collections list** section in the side panel.
3. Under **Select collections to show,** choose **Custom list**.
4. Click **Select collections** and choose only those collections that you want to show.
5. Click **Save**.

</details>

### Hide from search results

***

While Shopify doesn't provide an option to hide collections, you can use **metafields** as a workaround to remove specific collections from search results.

<details>

<summary><mark style="color:blue;"><strong>STEPS</strong></mark></summary>

From your Shopify admin:

1. Go to **Settings** > **Custom Data** > **Collections** > **Add definition**.
2. Enter `Hide collection` in the **Name** field.
3. Enter `seo.hidden` in the **Namespace and key** field.
4. Click **(+) Select type** and select **Integer**.
5. Make sure that **One value** is selected.
6. Click **Save**.

Return to your Shopify admin:

1. Go to **Products** > **Collections** and select the collection you want to hide.
2. Scroll down to the **Metafields** area.
3. Enter the number `1` in the **Hide collection** metafield.
4. Click **Save**.

</details>

<div><figure><img src="https://2417329470-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2Fhnqe0uck0ozZhJ77wGXt%2Fuploads%2Fx4jJBPDpXMbAFBORiPZb%2Fsibling-collection-metafield.png?alt=media&#x26;token=e5c9e17d-96a9-4674-b3d9-b7258aded045" alt=""><figcaption><p>Add a collection metafield with a <code>seo.hidden</code> key.</p></figcaption></figure> <figure><img src="https://2417329470-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2Fhnqe0uck0ozZhJ77wGXt%2Fuploads%2FmwOJyN2s41magMJ1dB5S%2Fsibling-collection-hide.png?alt=media&#x26;token=c427a306-9de0-4a68-9959-639f620e6112" alt=""><figcaption><p>Enter <code>1</code> in the hide collection metafield.</p></figcaption></figure></div>

***

> **Related links**
>
> [Product pages](https://help.fluorescent.co/stiletto/product-pages/product-template)\
> [Variant swatches](https://help.fluorescent.co/stiletto/product-pages/variant-options/variant-swatches)
