Step 1: Assign a Product Category

Shopify enables native color swatches only when a product category is assigned. Categories provide access to Shopify’s standard metafields such as Color and Size.

• From your Shopify admin, go to Products.
• Click the product you want to edit.
• In the Category section, click Select category.
• Choose a category that supports color metafields, for example: Apparel & Accessories > Clothing > Shirts.
• Click Save.

Note: Shopify category metafields will not appear until a valid category is assigned.

Step 2: Add Color Values

After assigning a category, Shopify automatically provides the Color category metafield.

• Open the same product from the Products section.
• Scroll down to the Category metafields section.
• Locate the Color metafield.
• Click inside the Color field to add available color values.
• Select existing standard colors such as:
  • Black,Blue,Red
• To create a custom color:
  • Type the custom color name such as Ivory or Graphite.
  • Click Add new entry when the option appears.
  • In the popup window, configure the color details:
    • Add the color label/name.
    • Optionally upload a swatch image.
    • Optionally add a hex color code.
  • Click Save to create the color entry.
• After adding all required colors, click Save on the product.

Step 3: Connect Color Values to Variants

Connect the Shopify Color metafield to your product variants to display swatches properly.

• Open your product in the Products section.
• Scroll to the Variants section.
• Click Add options like size or color.
• Select the suggested Color option.
• Shopify automatically fills the available color values.
• Assign the correct color to each variant.
• Click Save.

Refer to Shopify's Color option with swatches documenattion for more.

Also, refer to the Adding color swatches using category metafields