If you want to create a Shopify theme, you’ll need to know how to code in HTML, CSS, and Liquid. Fortunately, Shopify makes it easy to get started with coding your own theme. In this article, we’ll give you a crash course in coding a Shopify theme.
First, let’s take a look at the structure of a Shopify theme. A Shopify theme is made up of three types of files: templates, assets, and snippets.
Templates are the files that control the layout of your online store. They determine what goes where on the page, and they include the Liquid code that powers your store’s dynamic features.
Assets are the static files that make up your theme, such as CSS files, JavaScript files, and image files.
Snippets are small pieces of Liquid code that can be inserted into templates and assets. They’re used to add common features to your theme, such as social sharing buttons or product reviews.
Now that you know the basics of how a Shopify theme is structured, let’s take a look at how to code one.
The first thing you’ll need to do is create a new file in your text editor and save it as “layout.liquid”. This file controls the overall layout of your store, so it’s a good place to start coding your theme.
In the layout file, you’ll want to add the following code:
{{ ‘styles.css’ | asset_url | stylesheet_tag }}
{{ ‘scripts.js’ | asset_url | script_tag }}
{{ content_for_layout }}
This code sets up the basic structure of an HTML document and includes the CSS and JavaScript files that will be used throughout your store. The “{{ content_for_layout }}” Liquid tag tells Shopify where to insert the content for each specific page in your store. Next, let’s take a look at how to code a template file. Template files control the layout of specific pages in your store, such as the home page or product page.
To create a template file, simply create a new file in your text editor and save it as “template-name. For example, if you’re creating a template for your home page, you would save it as “template-homepage. Then, add the following code to your template file:
{% layout ‘layout’ %}
{% section ‘content’ %}
{% endsection %}
This code tells Shopify which layout file to use (in this case “layout.liquid”) and creates a new section called “content”. You can then add any content you want inside this section tag. For example, you might add an image gallery or product list here.
Remember to close your section tag with “{% endsection %}”. Once you’ve added all the content you want to your template file, save it and upload it to your Shopify server using FTP. That’s all there is to coding a basic Shopify template!
