Creating Your First Products
Why This Tutorial Matters
Business Impact
- Launch products faster to capture revenue sooner
- Improve conversion with accurate pricing, stock, and attribute-driven options
- Reduce catalog maintenance and returns by centralizing variations in configurable products
Master the process of creating Simple and Configurable products in Magento 2, from setting up basic product information to managing inventory and variations. This tutorial covers the essential steps to get products live and purchasable on your storefront.
What You'll Achieve: Publish a Simple Product and a Configurable Product with accurate pricing, stock, visibility, and categories. Verify both appear on the storefront and are ready for customers to purchase.
Learning Journey Overview
Your Situation
You're onboarding Magento 2 and need to publish your first products today with accurate pricing and stock so customers can buy immediately.
What You'll Learn
By completing this tutorial, you will:
- Create a Simple Product from Admin (Catalog > Products)
- Create a Configurable Product using the configuration wizard
- Set price, tax class, stock, visibility, categories, and images
- Assign products to websites and categories
- Verify storefront visibility and troubleshoot common issues
Success Criteria
You'll know you've succeeded when:
- A Simple Product is visible on the storefront and can be added to cart
- A Configurable Product displays swatches/options and allows selection for all variations
- Stock status shows In Stock, products appear in assigned categories and search
Time Investment
- Estimated time: 20-30 minutes
- Skill level after completion: Confident with creating Simple and Configurable products
- Business value unlock: Faster go-live for new items and fewer catalog errors
Before We Start
Who This Is For
This tutorial is designed for:
- Catalog Managers and Merchandisers new to Magento 2
- Store Owners setting up their first products
- Anyone familiar with basic eCommerce concepts (SKU, price, stock)
What You Need
Make sure you have:
Admin Access
Admin access with Catalog permissions (Products, Categories, Attributes) to the target website/store view
Magento 2.4.x
Open Source or Adobe Commerce
Store Configuration
At least one Website/Store/View configured
Tax Classes
Tax Classes configured (Stores > Tax Rules)
Inventory Setup
Inventory setup decided: Single Source (Default) or defined Sources/Stocks
Product Images
Sample product images ready (JPG/PNG)
Preparation Checklist
Before starting, complete these preparation steps:
- Confirm you can create/edit attributes (Stores > Attributes > Product)
- For Configurable Products, ensure variation attributes (e.g., Color, Size) exist and are set to Use To Create Configurable Product = Yes with input type Dropdown, Visual Swatch, or Text Swatch
- Verify cron is running to process indexes (or set indexers to Update on Save during testing)
- Have sample product images ready (JPG/PNG)
Step-by-Step Learning Path
Create a Simple Product
- 1. Go to Admin sidebar > Catalog > Products and click Add Product > Simple Product
- 2. Set Attribute Set = Default (or your attribute set)
- 3. Enter Product Name and a unique SKU
- 4. Set Price and Tax Class (for example, Taxable Goods)
-
5.
Set Quantity and Stock:
- Single Source: Set Quantity and Stock Status = In Stock
- Multi-Source (MSI): Open the Sources section, Assign Sources, and enter quantities per source. Ensure each source's status is In Stock
- 6. Set Weight (if the product ships) or mark This item has no weight (virtual)
- 7. Enable Product = Yes; set Visibility = Catalog, Search
- 8. Assign Categories (click Select or create a new category)
- 9. Upload Images and Videos; optionally designate Base, Small, and Thumbnail
- 10. In Search Engine Optimization, review URL Key and Meta Title
- 11. In Product in Websites, ensure the correct website is checked
- 12. Click Save, then click the View/Preview link to open the storefront page
Verification for Simple Product: Confirm the product page loads, shows price and image, indicates In Stock, and can be added to cart.
Create a Configurable Product
- 1. Go to Admin sidebar > Catalog > Products > Add Product > Configurable Product
- 2. Choose Attribute Set and add basics: Name, base SKU, Price (optional; can be set for variants), Tax Class. Set Enable Product = Yes and Visibility = Catalog, Search
- 3. In the Configurations section, click Create Configurations
-
4.
Select attributes for variations (e.g., Color, Size). If needed, click Create New Attribute and ensure:
- Catalog Input Type for Store Owner = Dropdown, Visual Swatch, or Text Swatch
- Use To Create Configurable Product = Yes
- 5. Select attribute values (e.g., Color: Red, Blue; Size: S, M, L)
-
6.
Configure Images, Price, and Quantity for variants:
- Apply to all SKUs or set by attribute (e.g., different image per Color, different price per Size)
- If you leave quantity blank here, set quantities after generation for each child SKU
- 7. Click Generate Products to create the child SKUs
-
8.
Inventory and Sources (MSI):
- For Single Source: Ensure each child has Quantity > 0 and Stock Status = In Stock
- For Multi-Source: Open each child (or use mass action) to assign per-source quantities under Sources
- Child products typically have Visibility = Not Visible Individually (default)
- 9. Assign Categories to the parent and upload images (parent image + variant images as needed). For color swatch display, you can set swatch images in Stores > Attributes > Product > Color
- 10. Ensure Product in Websites includes your website, then Save and Preview
Verification for Configurable Product: On the storefront, confirm the configurable shows selectable options. Selecting options updates the SKU/price if configured. Add to cart successfully. Confirm the product appears in assigned categories and in search results.
Practice and Reinforcement
Now that you've learned the core process, let's reinforce your skills:
- Create a Simple Product with tier pricing (Price > Advanced Pricing > Tier Price)
- Add a new Size attribute value and regenerate configurations for an existing Configurable Product
What You've Accomplished
Congratulations! You have successfully:
- Created and published a Simple Product and a Configurable Product with correct stock, pricing, and visibility
- Verified storefront appearance in categories and search, and completed add-to-cart for both product types
- Applied MSI-aware inventory settings to avoid out-of-stock visibility issues
Business Impact
- Faster time-to-publish for new SKUs, accelerating revenue capture
- Improved product discovery and selection through accurate categories, search, and swatches
- Reduced catalog maintenance by centralizing variations under a single configurable
- KPIs to watch: time-to-publish, product page conversion rate, out-of-stock rate, category/search visibility
Skills Gained
You now have the ability to:
- Create and configure Simple and Configurable products
- Manage stock for Single Source and Multi-Source (MSI) setups
- Configure variation attributes that power swatches/options
- Troubleshoot common visibility and inventory issues
Next Steps in Your Journey
Now that you've mastered this process, here's how to build on your success:
Immediate Actions
- Add related, upsell, and cross-sell products to boost average order value
- Enable and refine swatches for visual clarity on configurable products
- Encourage and moderate product reviews to increase trust and conversion
Level Up Your Skills
- Learn bulk import via CSV (System > Data Transfer > Import) for faster catalog scaling
- Optimize attribute sets to streamline product creation for your categories
- Configure advanced pricing (special, group, tier) and catalog rules
Advanced Applications
- Set up scheduled updates for seasonal pricing and content
- Add custom options for simple variations not requiring child SKUs
- Use layered navigation with attributes to improve product discovery
When Things Don't Go as Expected
Even experienced merchants encounter challenges. Here's how to handle common situations:
Solutions
- Fix: Ensure Enable Product = Yes and Visibility = Catalog, Search (or ensure parent configurable is visible)
- Fix: Check Product in Websites includes your website
- Fix: Verify Stock Status = In Stock and quantities > 0 (per source if MSI)
- Fix: Reindex (System > Index Management) and flush cache (System > Cache Management)
Solution
- Cause: Variation attributes not compatible
- Fix: Set attribute input type to Dropdown/Swatch and Use To Create Configurable Product = Yes (Stores > Attributes > Product)
Solution
- Fix: In the configuration wizard, apply price/images at variant level or set defaults on the parent
Solution
- Explanation: Expected behavior
- Fix: Increase quantity or enable backorders (Stores > Configuration > Catalog > Inventory) if appropriate
Continue Learning
Related Tutorials
- Bulk import products with CSV
- Managing categories for better navigation
- Creating product attributes and swatches
How-To Guides
- Set up tier, group, and special pricing
- Configure tax classes and tax rules
- Use URL rewrites and SEO settings for products
Summary
You created both Simple and Configurable products with correct data, inventory, and visibility. You verified storefront behavior and learned how to troubleshoot common issues, setting a foundation to scale your catalog efficiently.
Key Takeaways
- Accurate attributes and MSI-aware stock are critical to visibility and conversion
- Configurable products reduce SKU clutter and speed updates
- Verify, index, and cache-clear if changes don't appear immediately
Remember
- If you use multiple sources, set quantities per source under Sources. If using the Default Source only, use the Quantity field. Correct stock drives storefront visibility and sales.
