WooCommerce Additional Variation Images

WooCommerce Additional Variation Images lets you add a separate image gallery to each variation of a variable product.

Set up the extension

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1. Go to Products and edit a variable product.
2. In the Product data panel, select Variations.
3. Expand the variation you want to edit.
4. Select Add Additional Images.
5. Select the images for this variation, then select Add to Variation.
6. Select Save changes, then update or publish the product.

To remove an additional image, select its thumbnail. To change the order, drag the thumbnails into the order you want.

The parent variable product must have its own product image or product gallery for the extension’s variation galleries to work as expected.

Use the native Variation Gallery in WooCommerce 10.9

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WooCommerce 10.9 adds a native Variation Gallery feature. It is experimental and disabled by default in this release. You can find it under WooCommerce > Settings > Advanced > Features.

If you already use WooCommerce Additional Variation Images, first test the native feature with a copy of your store on a staging site. Also check any theme customizations, gallery extensions, and custom code that changes product images.

When you enable the native feature, WooCommerce automatically deactivates the standalone WooCommerce Additional Variation Images plugin to avoid running both implementations at the same time.

Migrate existing variation galleries

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After you enable the native feature, WooCommerce copies existing extension galleries to the native variation-gallery field in batches. The migration:

• Copies images only when the variation does not already have a native gallery.
• Leaves the extension’s original image data unchanged.
• Runs in the background, so stores with many variations may need time to finish.

To check the background work, go to WooCommerce > Status > Scheduled Actions. Look for actions in the woocommerce-db-updates group. If the migration is still pending, allow the scheduled actions to run before checking every gallery on the storefront.

For instructions on adding images with the native feature, see Add images to a variation.

Import variation galleries with CSV

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The standalone extension and the native feature store variation galleries in different custom fields. Use the field that matches the implementation active on the store.

Implementation	CSV column	Value
WooCommerce Additional Variation Images extension	meta:_wc_additional_variation_images	Comma-separated image attachment IDs
Native WooCommerce Variation Gallery	meta:_product_image_gallery	Comma-separated image attachment IDs

With Product CSV Import Suite, a useful starting point is to configure one variation gallery manually and export that product. The export shows the structure you can use for the remaining variations.

Theme compatibility

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The extension works with themes that use the standard WooCommerce product gallery and lightbox. A theme that replaces the gallery with its own implementation may need compatibility work from the theme author.

The native feature supports the classic WooCommerce Product Gallery and the block-based Product Gallery. Test variation selection, image switching, thumbnails, zoom, and the lightbox on both desktop and mobile before using a new gallery implementation on a live store.

Troubleshoot variation galleries

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1. Confirm whether the store is using the standalone extension or the native feature. When the native feature is enabled, the extension should be inactive.
2. Confirm that the parent variable product has a product image or product gallery.
3. Clear site and browser caches, then test the product again.
4. Temporarily switch to Storefront or a current default WordPress theme. If the gallery works, contact the theme author about gallery compatibility.
5. If the problem continues, perform a conflict test with only WooCommerce and the gallery implementation you are testing active.

See the conflict testing guide for a safe testing workflow.

Developer notes

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The following filters and JavaScript events belong to the standalone WooCommerce Additional Variation Images extension. They are not part of the native WooCommerce Variation Gallery feature:

• wc_additional_variation_images_gallery_images_class
• wc_additional_variation_images_main_images_class
• wc_additional_variation_images_frontend_before_show_variation
• wc_additional_variation_images_frontend_init
• wc_additional_variation_images_frontend_lightbox_done

For the native feature, read gallery IDs with WC_Product_Variation::get_gallery_image_ids() or the woocommerce_product_variation_get_gallery_image_ids filter. Variation data passed through woocommerce_available_variation includes gallery_image_ids and gallery_images_html. On the storefront, use WooCommerce’s existing show_variation and reset_data events instead of extension-specific events.

See Bringing Variation Galleries into Core for the native data model, REST API fields, and compatibility details.

Questions and support

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