Theme sections
Definition
Sections are the Liquid files a Shopify page is assembled from. Each carries markup, its own scoped styles and scripts, and a schema declaring the settings and block types a merchant can edit. Templates and section groups list which sections render where, so page composition is data a merchant owns rather than code a developer changes.
Documented at https://shopify.dev/docs/storefronts/themes/architecture/sections.
How we've used it
The section is the unit we scope work to, and the question on every build is whether a new one is warranted or an existing one should be extended. A new section earns its place when the content model is genuinely different — an A-to-Z ingredient encyclopedia with a sticky letter nav, per-entry accordions and sourcing data is not a rich-text section with more settings. Extension is the default everywhere else: a signup band keeps its section and swaps the native customer form for an embedded provider form, a merchandising row keeps the theme's own card markup. Scoping styles and ids to the section instance is what makes either choice safe, because two instances of the same section on one page must not style or address each other.
Builds using it
- A-Z ingredient glossary with scroll-spy letter navigation and product cross-sell — Three Ships
- Market-forked product JSON-LD authored in the product section, with a templated tier for the catalog — Three Ships
One further gated build uses it; its page follows.
Related entities
Theme blocks · Section groups · Theme architecture · Liquid section schema and settings · Section presets