The difference between simple, configurable, bundle, grouped and virtual products.
Magento supports several product types – which one you pick depends on how the product should behave in the store:
- Simple Product: the standard case – one item, one SKU, one price, one stock level. The right choice for the vast majority of products – and also the building block for the more complex types below.
- Configurable Product: a "parent" product with variants (e.g. size, color) that are each their own Simple Products behind the scenes. Customers pick the desired variant on the product page via dropdowns or color/pattern swatches; only then does the order get linked to the concrete SKU.
- Grouped Product: several independent Simple Products displayed together on ONE page, each with its own quantity field – e.g. a set of parts that also remain purchasable separately. Unlike a bundle, a grouped product has no price of its own; it just sums up the selected individual prices.
- Bundle Product: a product the customer configures themselves from multiple option groups (e.g. a computer with selectable CPU, RAM, hard drive). Each option can carry its own surcharge, be optional or required, and be shown as a dropdown, radio button, checkbox, or multi-select.
- Virtual Product: a product with no shipping involved at all – e.g. a service, an extended warranty, or a consultation slot. Checkout automatically skips every shipping step for this line item.
- Downloadable Product: a digital product with a file download after purchase (e.g. an e-book, software, a sample file). Files are uploaded or linked under the Downloadable Information tab, including a download limit (how many times a customer may download the file).
Practical tip: you choose the product type right when starting under Add Product, via the dropdown in the top right, before you start filling anything in – changing the type afterwards is only possible in a very limited way and usually not advisable in practice; when in doubt, create a new product with the correct type instead.
Configurable Product: generating variants via the wizard
Instead of creating every variant one by one, use the Create Configurations button on the Configurations tab. The wizard walks you through: first selecting the configuring attributes (these must have Global scope and have Use to Create Configurable Product set to "Yes" on the attribute itself), then choosing the desired values per attribute (e.g. which colors, which sizes), and finally assigning images, price and stock per generated variant. Only after finishing the wizard are the individual simple products actually created and linked in the background.
Bundle Product: pricing logic and shipping
For a bundle, the Price Type field determines whether the final price is calculated dynamically from the selected options ("Dynamic") or stays a fixed total price regardless of the selection ("Fixed"). The Shipment Type field decides whether the included items are treated as one combined line ("Together") or as separate shipping items ("Separately") in checkout and the order. On the Bundle Items tab, you set whether each option group is Required, and for each assigned product a Default Quantity plus optionally User Defined Quantity if the customer should be allowed to adjust the amount themselves.
Downloadable Product: samples and shareability
The Downloadable Information tab has two separate sections: Samples for free previews any visitor can access without buying, and Links for the actual paid files. For each link you set Number of Downloads (0 = unlimited) and Is Shareable, which controls whether the same download link still works after the customer logs in again or on a different device.