Shopify Liquid: Customizing Your Store Like a Pro

Shopify’s strength lies in its flexibility — and Liquid, Shopify’s open-source templating language, is at the core of that power.

Whether you’re a developer building a custom Shopify theme or a store owner who wants deeper control over your layout and features, mastering Liquid is your gateway to creating a store that’s not just functional — but truly custom.

In this guide, you’ll learn:

• What Liquid is
• How it works inside Shopify
• Key tags, filters, and objects
• Real-world examples to use in your store today

Let’s help you start customizing like a pro.

What is Liquid?

Liquid is Shopify’s templating language, originally developed by the creators of Shopify. It is now open-source and powers the dynamic content in themes across millions of Shopify stores.

Liquid works hand-in-hand with:

• HTML for layout and structure
• CSS for styling
• JavaScript for interactivity

Liquid allows you to:

• Display dynamic product, collection, or customer data
• Create loops and conditionals
• Pull in Shopify objects like {{ product.title }}, {{ cart.items }}, and more

Where Liquid Is Used in Shopify

You’ll find Liquid in:

File Type	Example File	Purpose
Layout	theme.liquid	Overall page structure (header, footer)
Templates	product.liquid	Page layout for individual products
Sections	product-template.liquid	Custom content blocks
Snippets	price.liquid	Reusable code blocks
Assets/Config	settings_data.json	Theme settings and customization

Key Components of Liquid

1. Objects

Objects output dynamic content.

Example:

{{ product.title }}

{{ customer.first_name }}

2. Tags

Tags control logic and flow (like if-else, loops, includes).

Example:

{% if product.available %}

  In Stock

{% else %}

  Out of Stock

{% endif %}

3. Filters

Filters modify the output of objects.

Example:

{{ product.title | upcase }}

{{ product.price | money }}

H2: Real Use Cases: Liquid in Action

1. Display a Custom Message if Product is Sold Out

{% if product.available %}

  <p class=”in-stock”>In Stock</p>

{% else %}

  <p class=”sold-out”>This product is currently unavailable.</p>

{% endif %}

2. Loop Through Related Products

{% for product in collections[‘related-products’].products %}

  <div>{{ product.title }}</div>

{% endfor %}

3. Add a Tag to Products on Sale

{% if product.compare_at_price > product.price %}

  <span class=”badge-sale”>On Sale!</span>

{% endif %}

4. Show Content Based on Customer Login

{% if customer %}

  <p>Welcome back, {{ customer.first_name }}!</p>

{% else %}

  <p>Please log in to view your account.</p>

{% endif %}

Best Practices for Customizing with Liquid

1. Use Sections and Snippets
   Keep code modular and reusable. Don’t repeat code in multiple templates.
2. Avoid Hardcoding URLs or Data
   Use Shopify objects ({{ product.url }}, {{ shop.name }}) to stay dynamic.
3. Test Using Shopify Preview or Theme Editor
   Use Theme Editor’s preview function before publishing changes.
4. Use Comments to Document Custom Code

{% comment %}

This section displays a special offer only on Fridays.

{% endcomment %}

5. Never Modify Shopify’s Core Liquid Objects
   You can read and use them, but can’t overwrite base objects like product or cart.

Tools for Working with Liquid

Tool	Purpose
Shopify Theme Inspector	Performance debugging
Shopify CLI	Theme development & preview
VS Code Liquid Extension	Syntax highlighting and error checking
GitHub Integration	Version control & collaboration

Developer-Level Liquid Techniques

1. Pagination in Collections

{% paginate collection.products by 12 %}

  {% for product in collection.products %}

{{ product.title }}

  {% endfor %}

{% endpaginate %}

2. Metafields in Liquid

{{ product.metafields.custom.ingredients }}

Metafields let you attach custom data to products, collections, and orders. These are powerful for advanced themes.

3. Asynchronous Sections for Performance

Load large content blocks as separate sections to improve page speed.

{% section ‘featured-collection’ %}

Liquid vs JSON Templates in Shopify 2.0

Shopify Online Store 2.0 supports JSON-based templates for dynamic sections. But Liquid still controls logic and dynamic data within those templates.

Use .json templates to allow merchants to edit sections via the theme editor.

Example:

• product.json loads via JSON structure, but contains product-template.liquid for layout and logic.

Common Liquid Errors to Avoid

Mistake	How to Fix
Using = instead of ==	== is for comparison in Liquid
Using curly braces incorrectly	Use {{ }} for output, {% %} for logic
Missing end tags	Always close if, for, case statements
Forgetting to use filters	Use money, upcase, etc. for formatting

Learning Resources for Shopify Liquid

• Shopify Liquid Cheat Sheet
• Shopify Dev Docs
• Shopify GitHub Themes
• Courses on platforms like Udemy, Skillshare, or Frontend Masters

Final Thoughts: Customize with Confidence

Liquid is what transforms a standard Shopify store into a high-performing, fully-branded experience.

If you’re just getting started, learn the syntax and practice small changes. If you’re a developer, dive into performance optimization, dynamic sections, and Shopify CLI workflows.

With Liquid, the only limit is your creativity.

Want to master Liquid customization? Start editing your Shopify theme today — or hire a Liquid expert to bring your vision to life.