How to Create a New Product Template in Shopify: A Step-by-Step Guide For Merchants

Table of Contents

1. Understanding the Importance of Custom Shopify Product Templates
2. How to Create a New Product Template in Shopify
3. Assigning Products to Your New Template
4. Best Practices for Customizing Product Templates
5. Conclusion
6. FAQ Section

Setting up an online store involves weaving together various elements to create a seamless shopping experience, and a well-designed product page is at the heart of this experience. Did you know that 75% of consumers admit to judging a company's credibility based on its website design? This statistic emphasizes the importance of having a visually compelling and well-structured online store. In this blog post, we will focus on how to create a new product template in Shopify, which can significantly enhance your store's effectiveness and overall customer experience.

Having an attractive and functional product page can create a direct correlation between how potential customers interact with your offerings and their willingness to make a purchase. By customizing product templates, we can align a product page's aesthetics and functionality with our brand, improving user experience while boosting conversions and trust.

In this comprehensive guide, we will walk you through everything you need to know about creating a new product template in Shopify. We will cover the importance of product templates, the different methods available for creation, and detailed steps to customize them according to your business needs.

By the end of this blog post, not only will you have a clearer understanding of how to create a new product template in Shopify, but you will also be equipped with tips on optimizing those templates to enhance customer retention and satisfaction.

Understanding the Importance of Custom Shopify Product Templates

Custom product templates serve as the backbone of your online store's layout. Here’s why creating specific templates can make a huge difference:

1. Brand Consistency: When we utilize custom templates, we can maintain and enhance our brand's identity. This consistent look and feel across different product pages help reinforce brand recognition.
2. Enhanced User Experience: Every customer is unique, and the browsing preferences vary. Our product templates allow us to reflect our customers' needs better by catering custom layouts that address specific product types or customer segments.
3. Increased Flexibility: Different products may require various presentation styles. Customizing product templates gives us the flexibility to highlight features that might be important for particular items, such as size options, color swatches, or in-depth descriptions.
4. Better SEO Practices: Optimizing product templates with structured data and SEO best practices reinforces our visibility in search engine results, which could attract more traffic to your store.
5. Improved Conversion Rates: Well-designed product pages with clear calls to action can guide customers through their buying journey, increasing conversion rates and reducing cart abandonment.

With these advantages in mind, let's delve into the various methods of creating these product templates in Shopify.

How to Create a New Product Template in Shopify

In this section, we will explore two methods of creating a new product template in Shopify: one applicable to Shopify 2.0 themes and another suitable for older themes.

Method 1: Creating a Product Template in Shopify 2.0

The Shopify 2.0 architecture comes with more flexibility and features that facilitate the creation of custom templates. Here’s how we can create a new product template step-by-step:

1. Access Your Shopify Admin: Log into your Shopify account and navigate to the Online Store > Themes section.
2. Customize Your Theme: Click the Customize button on your active theme. This will take you to your theme editor.
3. Select Product Templates: From the top navigation bar, click on Products in the dropdown menu.
4. Create a New Template: At the bottom of the template page, click the Create template button.
5. Name Your Template: Assign a name to your new template that represents its purpose or content, like "custom-product-template."
6. Choose a Template Based On: Select an existing product template as a starting point. You can base your customization on the “Default product” template, which will duplicate that structure for your new template.
7. Customization Options: Begin customizing your newly created template using blocks and sections as needed. Add elements like image banners, additional product information, or testimonial sections to make your product page stand out.
8. Save Changes: Once satisfied with the design, click Save to secure your new product template.

Method 2: Creating a Product Template for Older Shopify Themes

If your store utilizes an older theme that does not support the 2.0 features, there is still a way to create custom product templates. Here’s how to accomplish that:

1. Navigate to Online Store: Log into Shopify, then go to Online Store > Themes.
2. Edit Code: Click on Actions, and from the dropdown, select Edit code. You'll find the Theme editor where all your templates are listed.
3. Add a New Template: Under the Templates folder, click on Add a new template.
4. Select Product Type: Choose “product” from the dropdown menu and opt for "liquid" or “json” per your theme setup.
5. Name Your New Template: Give your custom template a name that’s descriptive of its intended use.
6. Blank Template Setup: Initial setup will generate a blank file. Open product.liquid (or product.json) from the Templates folder and copy the code into your new file.
7. Modify Main Template Name: In your new product template code, replace "main-product" with the name you've given your custom template.
8. Create Section: Navigate to the Sections directory and add a new section named after your template (e.g., "custom-product").
9. Paste Content: Copy all relevant content from your main-product.liquid file and paste it into this new section file.
10. Save: Don't forget to save the changes in both new template and section files to apply your adjustments.

Once your template is created, you can assign specific products to it efficiently, as detailed in the next section.

Assigning Products to Your New Template

After creating your new product template, the next step is to assign specific products to use this new design. Here’s how:

1. Navigate to Products: In the Shopify admin dashboard, click on Products.
2. Select a Product: Find the specific product you want to assign to your new template.
3. Theme Template Assignment: Scroll down to the Online Store section. Use the dropdown menu to select your newly created template from the 'Theme template' options.
4. Save: Click Save to make sure that your product is using the new template.

You can repeat this process for each product that requires a different template to ensure that your store maintains flexibility and creativity across its offerings.

Best Practices for Customizing Product Templates

Now that we have created and assigned our new product templates, let’s explore some best practices to optimize them:

• Use High-Quality Images: Ensure images are clear, high-resolution, and appealing. They should represent the product effectively.
• Highlight Key Features: Use bullet points or distinct sections to draw attention to important product features or benefits.
• Optimize for Mobile: With a significant number of shoppers using mobile devices, make sure your product pages are mobile-responsive and look good on all screens.
• Incorporate Customer Reviews and Testimonials: Adding reviews or testimonials can build credibility and provide social proof to potential customers.
• Maintain Consistent Branding: Ensure that the colors, fonts, and layout align with your overall branding to create a cohesive shopping experience.
• SEO Optimization: Use appropriate keywords in your product titles, descriptions, and alt texts for images. This enhances visibility in search engines.
• Simplify Navigation: Use a clear layout that guides customers naturally through decisions, helping them find what they need.
• Incorporate AB Testing: Test different layouts and elements to see which translates to higher conversion rates. This data-driven approach helps improve efficacy over time.

By adhering to these best practices while creating and customizing product templates, we can ensure our online store is not only visually appealing but effective in driving conversions.

Conclusion

Creating a new product template in Shopify is an essential skill for any ecommerce merchant. By customizing our product pages, we can enhance user experience, maintain brand integrity, and ultimately increase conversion rates. We’ve explored two methods for creating templates in Shopify, detailed the assignment of products, and highlighted best practices that drive success.

As you've learned through this guide, crafting tailored template designs can significantly improve how potential customers interact with your store. So, let’s take these insights and apply them to our Shopify store.

Together, we can build robust, user-friendly product pages that inspire trust and elevate customer satisfaction, bringing us closer to achieving our ecommerce goals. We invite you to dive deeper into the conviction of product customization by exploring our effective tools and features available at ShipAid that further enhance the post-purchase experience.

FAQ Section

1. What is a Product Template in Shopify? A product template in Shopify is a layout that dictates how a product page appears on your online store. By creating custom templates, we can modify the structure and design of product presentations to suit different types of products.

2. Can I assign multiple products or collections to a single template? Yes, we can assign multiple products to the same template, allowing various products to share a uniform look and design while retaining unique content.

3. Do I need coding experience to create product templates? While basic coding knowledge can be beneficial, Shopify's platform allows merchants to create and customize templates with little or no coding experience, especially through its 2.0 themes and the drag-and-drop editor.

4. How can I ensure my templates are SEO-friendly? By incorporating relevant keywords, alt texts for images, and structured data in your templates, we can optimize product pages for search engines and improve their visibility.

5. Are there limits to the types of modifications I can make to a product template? While Shopify offers robust customization options, certain functionalities may require a higher level of coding knowledge or the use of third-party apps. However, most design alterations can be made using Shopify's built-in tools.

By implementing these strategies and harnessing the power of product templates, we can revolutionize our Shopify stores, ensuring seamless shopping experiences for customers while paving our path toward business growth and success.