Discover the 8 best WooCommerce product configurator plugins

Best WooCommerce product configurator plugins

Are you searching for a product configurator for WooCommerce? In this article, I've rounded up the top WooCommerce product configurator plugins worth considering and how to choose the best one for your online store.

If your WooCommerce store sells products that have multiple customizable components, you may want to allow customers to configure products to match their specific preferences before placing their orders.

Adding a WooCommerce product configurator is a great way to sell more while personalizing your customers' shopping experience in your store. And because not many eCommerce sites have one, it helps your business stand out from competitors.

As a store owner, you can use the default variable product feature built into WooCommerce to allow customers to select basic product configurations. However, the built-in variations are pretty limited. They don't give customers the freedom to customize or personalize products exactly how they want to. That's why you'll need to use a product configurator plugin.

In this detailed article, I'll share the top features to look out for in a product configurator. I'll reveal the best WooCommerce product configurator plugins for you to consider, as well as how to choose the perfect plugin for your eCommerce store.

woocommerce discount plugin

Are you ready? Let's begin with the basics!

What is a WooCommerce product configurator?

WooCommerce product configurators allow customers to 'build' their ideal final product by selecting specific components or options of configurable products right from the front end of a website.

Essentially, there are two main types of configurable products:

Variable products

Variable products or product variations are products that only show customers a predefined set of options and variations.

To set up variable products in your WooCommerce store, you need to create specific product listings with fixed configurations, and customers can choose from the available options. Each product variation represents a single, distinct SKU (stock-keeping unit) with its own price, image, and attributes.

Let me illustrate variable products with an example:

Imagine that you run a WooCommerce store that sells custom t-shirts. You can create individual product listings for different t-shirt designs: e.g., Design A, Design B, and Design C.

Within each product listing, customers can select their preferred options, such as size and color, but they cannot mix elements from different designs. Each product variation has its own unique set of options, and customers must only choose from these predefined configurations.

WooCommerce variable product with dropdowns
A basic variable product

Fully configurable products

WooCommerce configurable products allow customers to create their own unique product combinations by selecting various options and attributes. They are much more flexible than variable products. Instead of creating separate product listings for each combination, you only need to set up a single base product. Then you can add multiple options or components to each product. While shopping, customers can mix and match several components to create personalized or customized products.

Also, you can set individual prices for each option. WooCommerce will dynamically calculate the final cost of each configurable product based on the specific components each customer selects. This makes sure that customers are charged the correct amount for their personalized product.

To illustrate how configurable products work:

Continuing with the same t-shirt example from earlier. You create a base t-shirt product in WooCommerce and add components such as size, color, and design elements like pockets, graphics, or text placements.

While shopping, customers must first select the base product, i.e., the t-shirt. Then they can choose from the available components or options to create their 'final' custom t-shirts. Once they've selected their desired components, WooCommerce will show the updated total price of the product based on the options the customer chose.

WooCommerce custom product designer t-shirt plugin
An advanced product configurator created using the WooCommerce Product Options plugin

Now, you're probably wondering, "Which type of configurable product is better?"

Both variable products and configurable products can be valuable for WooCommerce stores. It boils down to the types of products you sell and the level of customization your customers want.

Variable products are fine if your products have a few attributes or components and you're looking to provide basic customization options to your customers. On the other hand, configurable products are more versatile and provide your customers with better customization options. Also, they allow customers to see real-time visual representations of their customizations before making a purchase. 

What are the benefits of configurable products?

Offering configurable products in WooCommerce benefits both customers and store owners in many ways. Here are the top ones:

They help store owners meet specific customer needs by offering a wider range of options

Some customers have unique needs or preferences that standard products simply can't fulfill. Providing configurable products gives customers diverse customizable options to tailor products how they want. This level of personalization empowers customers to 'build' products that suit their preferences and needs perfectly instead of choosing products that aren't exactly what they want. 

Enhancing customer engagement with an intuitive configuration process

Configurable products boost customer engagement in your store. This is because customers can select their desired product and its components, see real-time changes to it, and visualize how the finished item looks before adding it to their carts. This creates a much more immersive shopping experience than simple products.

Differentiating products from competitors by offering unique personalization

Even though configurable products are so beneficial, many stores still don't have this feature. This gap creates a solid opportunity to set your store apart from other stores that sell similar products — especially if they only offer the standard product versions.

Not to mention, offering configurable products allows you to cater to niche customer segments, which can significantly increase your store's sales and revenue.

Increasing conversions by ensuring customers can find or create exactly the product they want

Configurable products give customers a level of personalization that they can't get with simple products, which in turn, leads to higher conversion rates.

There's a lot of research to support this. Apparently, customers who design their products become more emotionally invested in their purchases. This phenomenon is known as the 'IKEA effect', and it's been shown to increase brand loyalty and repeat purchases amongst shoppers.

Boosting average order value by upselling product add-ons or personalization options

Configurable products create excellent upselling and cross-selling opportunities. This is because they allow you to strategically showcase additional options and add-ons and quickly demonstrate their value to customers. This encourages customers to spend more on their purchases, boosting your store's average order value.

Streamlined product and inventory management

With configurable products, you don't need to maintain a large inventory of different products. Instead, you can produce items on demand based on customer choices, reducing the risk of overstocking or obsolete inventory.

What makes a great WooCommerce product configurator plugin?

There are plenty of WooCommerce product configurator plugins available. What functionality should you be looking for in the first place?

These are the main criteria distinguishing top-tier product configurator plugins:

Advanced customization options

The core job of a product configurator plugin is to let you add a wide variety of customizable options to products in your store. The best product configurator plugins provide fields like checkboxes, radio buttons, dropdowns, file uploads, date and time pickers, image swatches, etc. This makes it easy for customers to select their preferred options and create unique product combinations tailored to their needs.

Dynamic pricing

You should be able to add different prices for each product option or component. Also, as customers select additional options, the plugin should calculate and display the total cost in real time based on the customers' chosen options. 

This lets customers see the price of each item they've chosen and assures them that they aren't being charged incorrectly. It also makes sure that customers are charged the correct amount for the products and that they aren't undercharged or overcharged.

Conditional logic

Conditional logic means showing or hiding specific options based on customers' selections. For instance, if a customer selects a particular color, only compatible size options will be displayed. This feature makes sure that customers are only shown relevant options while shopping. 

Also, it helps keep the product page clean and streamlines the buying process.

Intuitive, attractive user interface

Earlier, we looked at how offering configurable products can boost your store's engagement and revenue. These benefits only apply if customers' shopping experiences on your WooCommerce store are positive. 

That's why it's crucial to choose plugins that provide an intuitive user interface, are easy to navigate, and have strong visual cues. Also, using high-quality product visuals for each product option makes it easier for customers to see the finished version of their final custom designed product.

Easy integration with other WooCommerce plugins and themes

Nothing is more frustrating than installing a plugin and then finding out that it doesn't play nicely with the other plugins in your store. The best WooCommerce product configuration plugins work well with all the other plugins you use for tasks like managing payments, inventory, shipping, marketing, and more.

Reliable support

Even if you're tech-savvy, you may need help sometimes. Success with a product configurator plugin means getting quick and reliable support — whether that's in the form of live chat, phone, or email. The best plugins also have an extensive and updated knowledge base, so you can help yourself when possible. 

Now that we know what to look for in a product configuration plugin, it's time to look at the list of the best WooCommerce product configurator plugins.

Top 8 WooCommerce product configurator plugins

Here's an overview of the best WooCommerce product configurator plugins:

  1. WooCommerce Product Options
  2. WooCommerce Product Configurator
  3. Fancy Product Designer
  4. Product Configurator for WooCommerce
  5. Advanced Product Fields for WooCommerce
  6. WooCommerce Product Add-Ons Ultimate
  7. WooCommerce Composite Products
  8. WP Configurator

WooCommerce Product Options

woocommerce product option plugin by barn2

The best WooCommerce product configurator plugin is Barn2's WooCommerce Product Options.

It's power-packed with all the essential features you'd expect in a product configurator plugin — such as advanced customization options, dynamic pricing, conditional logic — and then some. For instance, WooCommerce Product Options' advanced rules feature lets you set default values for each product option, required fields, minimum and maximum quantity conditions, and more.

The plugin is perfect for WooCommerce stores that sell physical products, such as custom furniture, computers, phone cases, pizza, etc. It also works well for stores that sell virtual products like eBooks, music, templates, digital photographs, and more.

In addition to its impressive features, I especially like how easy it is to set up the WooCommerce Product Options plugin. The configuration process only takes a few minutes. Also, there's a knowledge base with detailed articles to help you customize each setting, as well as a helpful customer support team to guide you if needed.

Key features

Advanced customization options

There are 16+ input fields to choose from that let you create a wide range of add-ons and configuration options. For instance, you can add text fields, checkboxes, date and time pickers, radio buttons, and more. You can even allow customers to upload their files while placing orders on the product page.

And because there's no limit to the number of fields you can add to each product, you can set up configurable products any way you like.

Dynamic pricing

The plugin gives you eight different pricing options to choose from for each of the product components. For instance, you can charge:

  • A flat rate.
  • Quantity or character-based fee.
  • Percentage increase or decrease.
  • Lots more.

You can even create a custom price calculator for each product that shows custom values to each customer based on the details they enter into it.

Regardless of the price method you choose, the plugin automatically calculates the final product price for each customer based on the specific product configurations they select — this makes sure that they are charged correctly for each product.

Conditional logic

The plugin's advanced conditional logic features hides or displays specific options based on customers' previous selections. 

Take a look at the screenshots below. This is for a demo WooCommerce store sells custom furniture. You'll notice that in the first screenshot, there's no mention of the available locations for assembly.

WooCommerce product configurator - WooCommerce Product Options by Barn2

But in the second screenshot, the plugin shows assembly locations after customers select the 'installation and assembly' option.

WooCommerce product configurator 1 - WooCommerce Product Options by Barn2

The conditional logic feature helps avoid cluttering the product page with irrelevant options and makes the customer experience as smooth as possible.

Intuitive display options 

WooCommerce Product Options lets you display various product configuration options in a way that's intuitive and pleasant for customers to navigate. You can present each product component in logical sections using headings, images, and other static content, making for a great site user experience.

For instance, you'll notice that in the screenshot below, customers must first choose the core components of their computer, i.e., the processor, motherboard size, and RAM. After selecting the core components, they can choose the storage components and accessories. 

WooCommerce custom product configurator plugin
Powerful compatibility

The plugin is compatible with any WordPress and WooCommerce theme and a wide variety of other plugins most WooCommerce stores use. Because it's a Barn2 Plugin, it integrates well with other Barn2 plugins like WooCommerce Quick View Pro, WooCommerce Bulk Variations, WooCommerce Restaurant Ordering, etc.

My favorite WooCommerce Product Options plugin integration is with WooCommerce Quick View Pro because it lets customers create their product configuration within a lightbox directly from your store archive pages. This combination creates a more streamlined ordering experience for customers and boosts sales.

Iconic Product Configurator

WooCommerce product configurator plugin

Iconic's Product Configurator plugin is the best option if you want to show customers a visual preview of the product they are configuring.

It works by letting you add a transparent PNG image for each attribute. You then use the attributes to create variations. When customers select a variation (either using the default dropdowns or Iconic's Attribute Swatches plugin), the main product images updates to show the PNG's for the attributes associated with this variation. That way, customers see an instant preview of their configurable product.

Key features

  • Create the images dynamically using layers, instead of creating a manual image for every possible combination.
  • Manage and view stock levels for each option.
  • Works on all devices and screen sizes.
  • Compatible with all WordPress themes.

Fancy Product Designer

Fancy Product Designer

Fancy Product Designer is used on nearly 20,000 websites and has almost 800 positive reviews on Envato.

As one of the most popular product configuration plugins, Fancy Product Designer is a visual product configurator with a live preview feature. This makes it well-suited for stores that sell products that need heavy visual customization. Think: apparel, footwear, and accessories.

Key features

  • It has comprehensive color options for customers to choose from and a color picker tool that lets customers easily apply their desired colors to products.
  • Customers can upload images in JPG, PNG, or SVG formats from their devices, social media, and other sources. 
  • The 'text transformations' feature lets customers add text to products and modify how the text is displayed on them. Customers can bold text, add italics, underline, align it left or right, etc. 
  • Similar to text transformation, its 'image transformations' feature lets customers modify how uploaded images and graphics are displayed on products. They can change image sizes, opacity, apply filters, and more.
  • It lets you add custom prices for each product option or additional product layer to ensure that customers are accurately charged for their purchases.

Product Configurator for WooCommerce

Product Configurator for WooCommerce

Product Configurator for WooCommerce is a relatively new plugin that has both free and paid versions. 

Although the free version of the plugin is quite basic and lacks many heavy-hitting features, it seems to be updated frequently and has several stellar reviews on WordPress.org (as of this writing). So if you're on a tight budget and are looking for a free product configurator plugin for WooCommerce, you might want to check this out and see how it works.

One thing to note, however, is that upgrading to its premium version is priced based on individual add-ons that have specific features. This means that it can get expensive very quickly.

Key features

The free version includes the basic product configuration features. You can purchase add-ons to add the below features:

  • Conditional logic: This lets you add complex conditional logic rules to hide, display or select choices and layers depending on customers' previous selections.
  • Extra price: This add-on lets you add an additional cost to the components you offer in your configurable products.
  • Save your design: This lets customers save their designs for easy reference later.
  • Stock management / Linked product: Simplifies stock management.
  • Variable products: This lets you add the product configurator to product variations.

Advanced Product Fields for WooCommerce

Advanced Product Fields for WooCommerce - WooCommerce Product Configurator

Advanced Product Fields for WooCommerce by Studio Wombat is a powerful plugin that offers a wide range of product customization options. It enables store owners to add extra fields, checkboxes, and text boxes to product pages, which gives customers the freedom to personalize their orders.

One of Advanced Product Fields for WooCommerce's standout features is that its back end looks and works similarly to the popular Advanced Custom Fields plugin, giving you an intuitive and streamlined setup process.

Key Features

  • There are 16 input types to add extra product options, including checkboxes, radio buttons, number fields, dropdown lists, image swatches, color swatches, date fields, and file uploads. In addition, you add text, HTML, shortcodes, extra product images, and other content fields.
  • It comes with conditional logic that lets you make complex or interactive forms that hide or display fields based on the values of other fields.
  • It seamlessly integrates with the WooCommerce shopping cart so customers can edit their product data from the cart and checkout pages.
  • You can add extra product options to individual products or globally to multiple products at once.
  • There are multiple pricing structures, such as adding quantity-based fees, an additional flat fee, and even a percentage-based fee for each product.

WooCommerce Product Add-Ons Ultimate

WooCommerce Product Add-Ons Ultimate

WooCommerce Product Add-Ons Ultimate is a feature-rich and flexible product configurator plugin.

It offers two types of plans: basic and pro. The basic plan includes 16 add-on field types (checkboxes, date pickers, radio groups, etc.), conditional logic, and other standard features. 

Subscribers to the pro plan get to use more advanced settings, such as the ability to create child products to allow customers to add other products from the individual product page, set percentage-based prices, create groups of checkboxes, and more. 

Key features

  • There are 16 add-on field types, including checkboxes, date pickers, file uploads, radio groups, select fields, name your price fields, etc. Also, the pro version of the plugin includes image swatches, child products, checkbox groups, and calculation fields.
  • You can optionally assign prices to each product add-on field and choose whether to charge for each add-on based on the quantity ordered or a flat rate one-off fee.
  • It lets you create global fields and assign them to multiple products or categories or add fields to specific products.
  • You can use the conditional logic option to hide or show fields based on the value of other fields.
  • Its variation-specific fields setting lets you show or hide fields depending on which variation the customer previously selected.

WooCommerce Composite Products

WooCommerce Composite Products

Composite Products is a versatile plugin that allows your customers to create product bundles and customizable product sets. You can use it to let customers build personalized packages from existing products in your WooCommerce inventory. 

Composite WooCommerce products are perfect for creating custom gift baskets, subscription boxes, and configurable product bundles. The interface is simple to work with, allowing customers to mix and match products while seeing the changes in real-time.

Key features

  • With its advanced product grouping capabilities, you can create base products and add components as options.
  • It offers flexible pricing and shipping options that let you set up a fixed base cost and extra costs for each additional option on the backend. The plugin automatically calculates the final prices when customers select their desired components on the front end.
  • You can use it to sell both physical and virtual products.
  • It supports conditional logic that displays the next options based on shoppers' previous selections.

WP Configurator

WP Configurator

Another top-notch freemium plugin, WP Configurator is packed with impressive features that let your customers build their own custom products.

With its drag-and-drop product builder and intuitive user interface, shoppers can easily add text, images, colors, and other custom elements to their products. What I really like about WP Configurator is that it pairs nicely with any theme, so you can be sure that its configurator will look great on your eCommerce site.

Key features

  • It offers unlimited configuration options that let customers design their ideal products however they like.
  • Its 'layers' feature lets you upload transparent PNGs that give customers a visual representation of the final product by allowing them to add additional components to their existing selections.
  • With its ' views ' option, you can add multiple product images to showcase products from various angles.
  • They offer paid add-ons to add extra capabilities like conditional logic, custom text, custom image upload, custom quote form, and more to your website.
  • It includes six layout options, 'Skins' that you can select from to showcase the configuration options on the front end of your site.

How to select the best WooCommerce product configurator plugin

Here's what to look for while deciding on a plugin for your store:

Specific needs of your store

What works for one store may not work for another. To select the best plugin for your site, list your top requirements in a product configurator plugin. Then map the top features with the plugin that best matches your needs. Also, you'd want to choose a plugin that can scale as your business grows.

Value for money

A product configurator is an investment. Remember the list of your top requirements in a plugin you made earlier? Your chosen plugin should include all the features that are essential for your store within its core package. Otherwise, you may end up having to buy add-ons which costs more money. 

Ideally, the plugin developers should also offer a refund guarantee for you to try out the plugin before committing.

Ease of use

There's nothing more frustrating than installing a product configurator plugin, setting up your account, and then being unable to figure out how to add product components. Whether you're tech-savvy or not, you should be able to log in to your WordPress dashboard and quickly set up the plugin for action. 

Reviews and Reputation

As of writing, all the plugins I've listed have positive reviews from existing users. It always helps to check out updated reviews and ratings from newer users before settling on a final choice.

The quality of customer support

Lastly, choose a plugin from a reputable developer or company that offers good customer support and thorough documentation. This is crucial if you run into any issues or need help with the plugin configuration.

My top recommendation for store owners looking for a flexible and easy-to-use plugin is Barn2's WooCommerce Product Options

WooCommerce Product Options includes a wide range of product configuration options and advanced features like conditional logic, dynamic pricing, and more. And it's priced competitively and comes with a generous 30-day money-back guarantee that lets you use it risk-free.

Ready to add a product configurator for WooCommerce to your store?

Product configurator plugins are handy for Woo stores that offer customizable or configurable products for which customers can select specific components. Think: personalized gifts, made-to-order items, products with multiple options and variations, and the like. 

As you can see, there are plenty of options when it comes to product configurator plugins for WooCommerce. My recommendation for most stores is the WooCommerce Product Options plugin.

WooCommerce Product Options adds an intuitive and user-friendly product configurator to the front end of your store. The plugin comes with:

  • Advanced configuration options that let customers easily select their preferred components to 'build' their ideal products. 
  • Conditional logic to streamline the ordering experience and only show customers relevant product options.
  • Dynamic pricing options that allow store owners to charge specific costs for each additional component using methods such as flat rate, percentage-based, character or quantity-based, etc.
  • Other beneficial features, check out the complete list here.

WooCommerce Product Options is easy to use — you can get set up within a few minutes. Also, there's detailed documentation and a friendly, helpful support team to assist you if needed.

Get the WooCommerce Product Options plugin today!

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