Organizing products into collections
How to create and manage Shopify collections so customers can browse your products by category, season, or any grouping you choose.
- Difficulty
- Beginner
A collection is a group of products. Collections help customers find what they are looking for — instead of scrolling through your entire catalog, they can browse "Men's Clothing," "Sale Items," or "New Arrivals."
Quick summary
Collections are like folders for your products. Go to Products > Collections and click Add collection. Give it a name, then either add products yourself or set conditions so Shopify adds matching products for you. Then add the collection to your navigation menu so customers can find it.
Two types of collections
Shopify has two ways to fill a collection: pick the products yourself, or set conditions so Shopify adds matching products automatically.
How you choose depends on which collections screen your store has. Shopify is rolling out a new collections model to replace the older one:
- Newer collections screen: there is no type to pick. Each collection has a Products source, where you can add products by hand, add conditions, or both.
- Older (legacy) screen: you pick a Collection type when you create the collection: Manual or Smart.
| Type | How products are added | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Manual | You add each product by hand | Small, curated groups (e.g. "Staff Picks") |
| Smart (automatic; once called "Automated") | Shopify adds products that match conditions you set | Large catalogs — e.g. all products tagged "sale" |
How to create a manual collection
Go to Products > Collections in your Shopify admin.
Click Add collection.
Enter a title for the collection (e.g. "Men's Jackets").
Write a description (optional). Depending on your theme, it can appear on the collection page.
Add a collection image (optional). Your theme decides whether and where it shows on the collection page.
On the older screen only: under Collection type, select Manual, then click Save. The newer screen has no type to choose, so skip this step.
Add your products. On the older screen, search for products in the Products section, or click Browse. On the newer screen, click Add products in the Products source.
Click Save.
How to create an automated collection
Go to Products > Collections and click Add collection.
Enter a title for the collection.
On the older screen, under Collection type, select Smart. On the newer screen, click Add condition in the Products source instead.
Set your conditions. For example:
- Product tag is equal to
sale(the newer screen words this as Tag includessale) - Price is less than
50 - Product type is equal to
Accessories
Choose whether products need to match all conditions or any condition. "All conditions" is more restrictive.
Click Save. Shopify adds the products that match your conditions, so you don't have to manage the list by hand.
Tags are the key to automated collections
Collections with conditions work best when your products are consistently tagged. For example, if you tag sale items with "on-sale," you can create a collection that always shows exactly those products. You'll find the Tags field in the Product organization section when editing any product.
Adding a collection to your navigation menu
Creating a collection does not automatically put it in your store's navigation. You need to add it to the menu separately.
Go to Content > Menus in your Shopify admin.
Click the menu you want to edit (usually the main menu).
Click Add menu item.
Enter a name (what customers will see, e.g. "Men's Jackets").
Click the Search or paste a link field, select Collections, then choose your collection from the list.
Click Add, then Save or Save menu.
Sorting products within a collection
You can control the order products appear in a collection.
- In your admin, open the collection. In the Collection items section, use the Default sort drop-down to choose an order: most relevant (the default for new collections), best selling, product title, price, date, or manual.
- If you choose manual sorting, you can drag and drop products into your preferred order.
Common questions
Can a product be in more than one collection?
Yes. A product can belong to several collections. For example, a blue denim jacket might be in both the 'Jackets' and 'Denim' collections.
What is the difference between a collection and a tag?
Tags are labels on individual products. Collections are the browseable pages in your store. Collections with conditions can use tags as a rule — for example, 'show all products with the tag sale.' Some themes also show tags to customers, for example in filter menus.
My automated collection is empty — why?
Check that your products have the tag or attribute the collection is looking for. Open a product that should appear and verify it matches the condition. Check the spelling too: with is equal to, the product's value has to match the whole value you entered exactly.
How do I feature a collection on my homepage?
This is done in the theme editor. Go to Online Store, click Edit theme, and add or edit a section on your home page that shows a collection. The section's name depends on your theme. See The theme editor for more.
Related guides
- How to add a product
- Product variants (size, color, options)
- The theme editor
- Setting prices & sales
- Troubleshooting Shopify problems
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