A store already knows its variants — “Sofa, Velvet, Forest Green, 3-seat” — by ID. Mapping ties each configurator control to those IDs, so choosing a finish in 3D selects the right variant, shows its price and adds the correct item to the cart.
Thridify matches products and variants by ID on Shopify, WooCommerce and the other supported platforms, and exposes the same mapping through its SDK for custom stores.
Why it matters
Without mapping, 3D is decoration. With it, the configurator becomes the store’s ordering surface.