Look, I love HighLevel. It’s the Swiss Army knife of marketing platforms. 

But when it comes to e-commerce? 😬 Let’s just say…it’s still catching up to the Shopify and Squarespaces of the world.

Recently, during a live HL Pro Tools Zoom call, my guy Mario Aldayuz (aka the Wizard of Workarounds) tackled one of the most common frustrations: 

👉 “How do I offer product add-ons (like toppings, customizations, etc.) in HighLevel’s store setup?”

It came up when Becky — shoutout to all the bakery owners! 🍰 — asked how she could let customers choose cupcake add-ons (like sprinkles, of course) without making it messy or confusing.

So let me break it down for you 👇

HighLevel Add-Ons: What You Can’t Do (Yet)

Let’s rip the Band-Aid off:

❌ You can’t add dynamic variations or nested product options (like “add sprinkles” or “choose a flavor”) directly in HighLevel’s native products.

So if you’re coming from Shopify or you’ve seen fancy Uber Eats-style modifiers, yeah — not gonna happen natively right now.

But that doesn’t mean we’re stuck. There is a way. 💡

Mario’s Hack: Add-Ons as Separate Products

Mario’s fix is genius in its simplicity:

Create separate product listings for your add-ons.
Then style them with ✨clear messaging✨ so the customer knows exactly how to customize their order.

For example:

• 🍰 Product: “Chocolate Cupcake”
• ➕ Add-on Product: “Add Sprinkles (Must Purchase with Cupcake)”

Put them in the same category.
Add a note like “Add this to your cart along with any cupcake to include sprinkles!”

✅ Boom. Instant workaround.
✅ Zero code.
✅ Customers feel like they’re customizing.

Actionable Steps to Make It Work:

Here’s your cheat sheet:

1. List Add-Ons as Products
   Treat each add-on (like frosting upgrades, toppings, or packaging) as a standalone product.
   
2. Use Clear Descriptions & Categories
   Group products logically and explain what they’re for.
   🏷️ Example: Category = “Cupcake Add-Ons”
   
3. Consider External Tools (When Needed)
   For more complex workflows (subscriptions, real-time inventory, etc.), you can use:
   
   • Square for payments 🧾
     
   • Shopify for advanced stores 🛍️
     
   • Embed them into your HighLevel pages if needed
     
4. Don’t Overpromise to Clients
   I get it — we all want to say “yes” to everything.
   But until HighLevel rolls out a full-featured ecom engine, underpromise and overdeliver with clever workarounds like this one.

Pro Tip: Test Your Checkout Flow

You’d be shocked how many store setups look fine in the builder but fall apart when a real person starts clicking.

🧪 Test it like a customer.
Buy a cupcake. Try adding sprinkles.
If it’s not intuitive, fix it before launch.

Final Thoughts

Ecom in HighLevel is improving, but until it’s 100% Shopify-level, these kinds of scrappy solutions are how you win. 

And trust me — showing clients creative ways around platform limitations? That’s exactly how you keep them impressed (and loyal).

Want Help Building This Stuff?

We do this all day over at hlprotools.com.
Whether it’s:

✅ Custom workflow builds
✅ AI call routing
✅ HighLevel ecom setups that actually convert…

👉 We got you. Come check out what we’re building behind the scenes.

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Before you can help businesses with your service, you’ve gotta earn trust.
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✨ Testimonials. Real ones. From real clients. Delivered at just the right moment.

In the spirit of free stuff (and helping you close more deals), I’m giving you our exact Testimonial Workflow. 

It’ll help you:

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