Why aren't my swatches showing (or why do they look wrong)?

Swatches usually fail for one of three reasons: inconsistent variant naming, missing swatch mappings, or mixed product data.

Check option naming first (this catches most issues)

• Use one option name store-wide (e.g. Colour).
• Avoid multiple names for the same concept ("Color", "Shade", "Colourway").

Check option values

• Remove duplicates caused by spacing/case:
  • "Navy" vs "navy" vs "Navy "
• Keep values human-friendly ("Off White" not "OFFWHITE_01").

Swatch mode issues

Depending on your theme/settings, swatches may be:

• colour-based (solid colours)
• image-based (patterns/textures)
• variant-image-based (uses the variant's first image)

If image swatches look wrong:

• confirm the swatch images are correctly assigned
• ensure variant images are clean and representative

Why swatches appear on some products but not others

Those products likely have:

• different option names
• missing option values
• incomplete variant configuration

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