Introduction

Shopify metafields are powerful tools that allow you to store extra information about your products, collections, customers, and more. While they don't appear on the front-end by default, you can easily display this custom data using Shopify's templating language, Liquid. In this guide, we'll explore how to display metafields using Liquid, empowering you to create richer and more dynamic storefronts.

Understanding Metafields

Metafields are essentially custom fields that you can add to your Shopify store's entities. For example, you could add:

  • A product's specific ingredient list

  • A collection's related article URL

  • A customer's birthday

  • A page's custom color

Metafields are useful for displaying data that doesn't fit into the standard fields provided by Shopify.

Displaying Metafields Using Liquid

To display metafields on your Shopify store, you'll need to use Liquid syntax in your theme files. Here's the basic structure:

{{ object.metafields.namespace.key }}

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Use code with caution.Liquid

Where:

  • object: This is the Shopify object you're working with, such as product, collection, customer, or page.

  • metafields: This is the keyword that allows access to an objects metafields

  • namespace: This is the namespace you defined when creating the metafield. It helps keep metafields organized, especially if you have many.

  • key: This is the key you used when creating the metafield; it identifies the specific metafield within the namespace.

Step-by-Step Example: Displaying a Product Metafield

Let's say you have a metafield for products with:

  • Namespace: custom_product_info

  • Key: ingredient_list

To display this metafield on a product page, you would use the following Liquid code:

{{ product.metafields.custom_product_info.ingredient_list }}

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Use code with caution.Liquid

You might place this code snippet within the product.liquid template file or in a section within a product template.

Different Data Types

Metafields can store various data types, such as text, integers, booleans, and JSON. How you display the data might depend on the data type.

  • Text Metafields: Simply display using the above method

  • Integer Metafields: Display the values directly. Use liquid filter to format the values as needed.

  • Boolean Metafields: Can be rendered differently based on their true or false values.

{% if product.metafields.custom_product_info.is_featured == true %}
    <p>This product is featured.</p>
{% else %}
    <p>This product is not featured.</p>
{% endif %}

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Use code with caution.Liquid

  • JSON Metafields

{% assign ingredients = product.metafields.custom_product_info.ingredients | json %}
<ul>
  {% for ingredient in ingredients %}
    <li>{{ ingredient }}</li>
  {% endfor %}
</ul>

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Use code with caution.Liquid

Displaying Different Object's Metafields:

  • For collection metafields

{{ collection.metafields.namespace.key }}

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Use code with caution.Liquid

*For customer metafields:

{{ customer.metafields.namespace.key }}

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Use code with caution.Liquid

*For page metafields

{{ page.metafields.namespace.key }}

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Use code with caution.Liquid

Advanced Techniques

  1. Using the default filter: You can provide a default value if the metafield is empty using the default filter.

    {{ product.metafields.custom_product_info.ingredient_list | default: "No ingredients listed" }}

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    Use code with caution.Liquid

  2. Using if conditions: You can use conditional logic to display metafields only when they are present.

    {% if product.metafields.custom_product_info.ingredient_list != blank %}
    <p>Ingredients: {{ product.metafields.custom_product_info.ingredient_list }}</p>
{% endif %}

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    Use code with caution.Liquid

  3. Looping through metafields

{% for metafield in product.metafields.custom_product_info %}
  <p>{{ metafield[0] }}: {{ metafield[1] }}</p>
{% endfor %}

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Use code with caution.Liquid

Debugging Tips

  • Check Namespace and Key: Double-check that the namespace and key are correct and match how you created the metafield.

  • Check Metafield Type: Ensure that the data type of the metafield is correctly formatted.

  • Use | json Filter: If you're having trouble displaying a metafield, use | json filter for outputing value to identify the issue

Conclusion

Displaying metafields with Liquid in Shopify is simple yet incredibly powerful. By leveraging metafields, you can add custom content, enhance the user experience, and personalize your store to meet your exact needs. Whether you're adding unique product information or implementing conditional content, metafields offer a flexible solution.