Steps, questions and answers

A customizer is a list of steps. Each step holds questions, and each question holds answers. Buyers move through the steps in order; on a phone the steps scroll as a strip above the questions.

Steps

Keep a step to one topic: "Shell", "Buttons", "Extras". Two or three questions per step works well on a phone. Steps whose questions are all hidden by rules are skipped automatically.

Question types

Type	Use it for	Notes
Single choice	Colors, materials, sizes	One answer. Can be required.
Multiple choice	Add-ons	Set Min selections and Max selections.
Yes/no	One paid option such as gift wrap	Exactly two answers; pick which one is the default.
Text	Names, initials, engraving	Max length, Allowed characters (a regular expression) and Price when filled in.
Info	Size notes, explanations	Shows text, no answer.
Image upload	Buyer artwork, photos, logos	JPEG, PNG or WebP. Min width and Min height in pixels, Price when uploaded.

Each question also has:

Label and Help text, per store language.
Order key: the name used on the cart line and in the order's production data, such as FACE SHELL. It is not translated, so your team always sees the same key.
Required: the buyer cannot add to cart until it is answered.
Display as: swatches, image tiles, buttons, dropdown or list. Without a choice the builder picks one: swatches when answers have a color, tiles when they have a thumbnail, a dropdown or list for long lists.
Layer order (z): questions with a higher number draw on top.

Text and image upload questions are part of the Growth plan and up; the Free plan can't publish them.

Print areas

Text and image upload questions draw into a print area on each view where you want them to show. Set it on the question:

Field	What it does
Position and size	The box, in pixels of the view's canvas (x, y, width, height)
Rotation (degrees, clockwise)	Turns the box around its centre, for text that follows a slanted panel
Text colour, Font (storefront preview)	For text questions. The text is centred and sized to fill the box
Picture fit	For uploads: cover fills the box and crops the overflow, contain fits the whole picture inside

Give text and upload questions a Layer order (z) above the product layers, otherwise they end up underneath. A view without a print area for the question simply doesn't show it.

The buyer sees the text or picture on the product as they type or upload. The same stacking is used for the design images rendered for the order, so production gets exactly what the buyer saw. The original upload is kept untouched for printing; see Orders and production data.

Answers

Field	What it does
Label	What buyers see, per language
Order value	What the order summary says
Production code	What your workshop needs: a part number or SKU. Defaults to the order value.
Price change	Added to the base price, in your shop currency. Can be negative.
Parts variant	Links the answer to a real Shopify variant for stock and SKU, and for the bundle line on non-Plus stores. When that variant can't be bought, the answer shows as sold out (see below).
Swatch colour or Thumbnail image	How the answer looks in the builder
Layer images	One per view
Layer order override (z)	Draw this answer above or below its question's layer order
Default answer	Pre-selected when the builder opens
Hidden from buyers	Keeps the answer in the customizer without offering it, for example a discontinued part that old orders still reference

Sold-out answers

Answers with a parts variant follow its stock in Shopify. When the variant can't be bought, the builder shows the answer as sold out. In Settings, Stock choose whether sold-out answers stay visible but disabled, or are hidden. Stock is checked again every couple of minutes.

Tips

Give every answer a production code. Orders list codes in question order, which is usually the order your team assembles in.
Put the questions that change the picture most (body color, main material) first.
Use the phone width toggle in the preview before publishing. Long labels wrap differently on small screens.