A rink sold in panels has a built-in puzzle. The shopper thinks in feet, but the rink comes in panels of a fixed size.
The Skate Rink demo on our demo store solves it. It's built with Appify Custom Product Options. It turns a length and a width into a panel count, a price and the size the rink will really be.
What does it do?
The shopper types a Length and a Width in feet, then decides whether the rink gets edging. The price is the number of panels times 26.50, plus the edging if they want it.
Under the fields, the price summary shows what the shopper is really buying.
Why is a rink hard to price, and how does Appify Custom Product Options handle it?
- The product comes in whole panels. A 20 by 10 foot request doesn't divide into panels evenly. The calculator works out how many panels run along each side and rounds to a whole number. Nobody gets a price for half a panel.
- Shoppers may type the sides in either order. They might enter 10 then 20, or 20 then 10. The calculator treats the smaller number as the short side, so both orders give the same rink.
- The rink you build isn't exactly the rink you asked for. Whole panels mean the finished size lands near the typed size, not on it. The summary shows the finished width and length, so the shopper sees the real size before they pay.
- Edging changes the price and the size. One switch moves both numbers at once.
- A very large rink can get its own message. Once the area reaches 400 square feet, a message block appears and invites the shopper to talk to your team.
- The choices must survive the order. Edit options in the cart fixes a typo. A reorder opens with every choice filled in. The story is in why Shopify's Buy again button drops custom options.
One rink, worked out
Take 20 feet by 10 feet. The numbers come from the demo itself.
- The calculator lays out 9 panels across the short side and 8 along the long side. That is 72 panels.
- 72 panels at 26.50 each is 1,908.00.
- The finished rink measures 10.60 by 19.77 feet. The summary also shows Total Area as 200.00 square feet, the length times the width as typed.
Now switch edging on. The edging line reads 267.66 and the total becomes 2,175.66. The finished size grows to 11.04 by 20.20 feet.
The design decisions
Ask for the rink in feet
The Dimensions option has two labelled rows, Length and Width, each in feet and each at least 1. Shoppers see the words they expect and the unit beside the box.
Break the maths into named steps
The panel sizes, the short and long side, the panel counts and the finished size are each a pricing variable with a plain name. The total price formula stays short: the panel count times the panel price, plus edging. A change to the panel size means editing one number, not hunting through a long formula.
Work in whole panels
The short side is the smaller of the two numbers and the long side is the larger. Each is divided by the panel size and rounded. Then the two counts are multiplied. That gives the same answer however the shopper types the numbers.
Put edging on a switch
A Switch option has two fixed values, No Edging and With Edging. No Edging costs nothing. With Edging runs a formula that prices the short and the long sides separately. The finished-size steps read the same switch, so the size and the price always agree.
Show the finished size, not only the total
The price summary carries custom rows for Finished Width, Finished Length and Total Area, each with its unit, then the edging line and the total. A shopper who sees 10.60 feet where they typed 10 learns why before checkout, not after delivery.
Give big rinks their own message
A visibility rule can show a Content option once the area passes a limit you set. Content is ordinary HTML you write yourself. The idea is covered in how to show or hide product options based on a customer's choices.
What arrives with the order?
The cart line carries the rink size and the edging choice. Your team reads the same choices in the app's Orders tab, line by line.
Cart editing is on for this calculator. A shopper who typed 10 instead of 12 can reopen their choices from the cart and fix it. The guide to editing configured products in the cart has the details.
Make it yours
- Change the panel size. The panel sizes are named pricing variables, so a different panel means editing two numbers. For another whole-unit example, see inside a flooring calculator that sells by the box or area.
- Price more than one panel. Keep a rate for each panel type in a pricing table and read it in the formula. How to price from a 2D pricing table or rate sheet walks through it.
- Reward bigger rinks. Add discounts that change with the size. See tiered and volume pricing for custom products.
Get this calculator
Describe it to Chat with AI in plain words. A starting prompt:
"I sell rinks built from panels of a fixed size, at a set price per panel. The customer enters a length and a width in feet. Treat the smaller number as the short side, work out how many whole panels run along each side, and price the rink from the panel count. Add a switch for edging with its own price for each side. Show the finished width, finished length and total area in the price summary."
Check the result in the preview, then try three rinks by hand. For a wider view of pricing made-to-measure products, read how to price complex custom products on Shopify.
FAQ
How do I price a product sold in fixed-size panels on Shopify?
Divide each side by the panel size, round to whole panels, and multiply the two counts. Then price the panel count in the total formula.
Can the calculator show the finished size, not just the size typed?
Yes. Any calculated value can appear in the price summary as its own row, with a label and a unit.
Does it matter which number the shopper types first?
Not here. The calculator treats the smaller number as the short side, so 10 by 20 and 20 by 10 give the same rink.
Can I show a different message for very large orders?
Yes. A visibility rule can show a Content option once a value passes a limit you set, such as an area.
Do the size and edging show on the order?
Yes. They are on the cart line and in the app's Orders tab.
Every rink, priced to the panel.
Whatever you sell, however you price it · The last options app you'll shop for