Platform Primitives
The Shopify mechanics the work rests on — the Section Rendering API, metafields, cart permalinks and the rest.
Product Recommendations API
The Product Recommendations API is a Shopify storefront endpoint that returns products related to a given product. A request names a product id, a limit and an intent — `related` for similar items, `complementary` for items a merchant has paired with it in the Search & Discovery admin — and Shopify answers with product JSON or a rendered section. The relationships are curated and computed on Shopify's side, not the theme's.
1 builds
Responsive images
Responsive images are the platform's answer to serving one upload at many sizes. Shopify's CDN resizes on request through `image_url`, and a theme emits the results as a `srcset` ladder with a `sizes` hint, or as a `picture` element when desktop and mobile need different art. Width and height attributes reserve the box before the file arrives, so layout doesn't shift.
11 builds
Section Rendering API
The Section Rendering API lets a storefront request the rendered HTML of a single theme section instead of a whole page. Any URL accepts a `sections` parameter naming section ids, and Shopify returns their markup as JSON. The section renders server-side through the same Liquid, so the response reflects current cart, variant, filter and locale state without the theme duplicating that logic in JavaScript.
45 builds
Section context files
Section context files are per-market overrides for a theme's section groups and templates. A file carrying a `.context.<market>` suffix replaces the settings of its base file when the storefront is serving that market. The layout stays single — one header, one footer, one template — while the content, ordering and copy inside it differ per market without a Liquid conditional.
1 builds
Section groups
Section groups are JSON files that let a theme's header, footer and aside regions be composed in the theme editor. A group file lists sections and their settings, and the layout renders the group by name. Unlike a template, a group appears on every page that renders it, so what a merchant changes there changes site-wide.
4 builds
Section presets
Presets are the starting configurations a section offers in Shopify's theme editor. A section's schema can declare named presets holding default settings and a default set of blocks, and those presets are what a merchant sees when adding the section to a page. Without one, a section can't be added at all — it only appears where a template already places it.
1 builds
Selling plans
Selling plans are Shopify's model for purchase options other than a one-time sale — subscriptions, prepaid terms, try before you buy. A plan defines billing and delivery intervals and any price adjustment, plans are grouped and attached to variants, and a line item carries the chosen plan through checkout. Themes read `selling_plan_allocations` to price and label a variant under a given plan.
9 builds
Shopify Markets
Shopify Markets is the platform's model for selling into more than one country from a single store. A market groups countries and carries its own currency, pricing, domains or subfolders, languages and duties settings. The storefront resolves the active market per request, and themes read it to localize prices, forms, routing and copy without maintaining a separate store per country.
28 builds
Storefront filtering
Storefront filtering is Shopify's native faceting for collection and search results. A merchant enables filters in the Search & Discovery admin, and the storefront exposes them to the theme as filter objects carrying values, counts and URL parameters. Filter state lives in the query string, so a filtered view is a real, shareable, server-rendered URL rather than a client-side state.
10 builds
Storefront password form
The storefront password page is what a locked Shopify store serves to visitors who aren't signed in. It renders from its own layout and template, outside the normal theme chrome, and carries two forms — a `storefront_password` form that unlocks the store for staff and testers, and a customer form for collecting email signups while the store is closed.
1 builds