This article provides best practices for product attribute options in Magento. Our recommendation is to have not more than 100 attribute options per product, as performance can be affected.
Many product options leads to an increase in data retrieved for each product on all read and write operations resulting in:
- Increase in SQL queries traffic and heavier
JOINoperations affecting database throughput - Increase of Magento indexes size and full-text search index
Potential site impacts can include:
- Long request time and rendering times on product details and category pages containing complex products.
- Admin product save operations response time increases above optimal performance targets.
- Increase in Product Edit form rendering time.
- Slow checkout.
Affected products and versions
- Magento Commerce, all supported versions
- Magento Commerce Cloud, all supported versions
Best practices
Reduce the number of product attribute options by:
- Leveraging different variation mechanisms: complex products, custom options as a source of product variations.
- Building specific product templates with targeting attributes and options, avoiding generalized product templates and option containers.
- Maintaining a list of actual attribute options.
- Managing products info through external Product Management System (PMS).
Related reading
Refer to:
- Magento User Guide Create products > Configurable Product
- Magento User Guide Product Attributes > Best Practices
- Best practice for attribute SET in Magento
- Best practice Magento product attributes