Customizing your Shopify store can significantly impact your customers’ experience and overall site aesthetics. One common customization request is changing the position of product images from right to left, particularly in the Shopify Trade theme. This seemingly small adjustment can align your store’s design with your brand’s unique style and improve navigation for your customers. In this guide, we’ll walk you through the steps to move product images from right to left in the Shopify Trade theme, ensuring a smooth and visually appealing transition.

Understanding the Shopify Trade Theme

The Shopify Trade theme is known for its sleek and professional design, making it a popular choice among online store owners. Its flexibility allows for various customizations, enabling you to create a unique shopping experience. However, making changes to the layout, such as repositioning product images, can seem daunting if you’re not familiar with HTML and CSS. But don’t worry, this guide will break it down into easy-to-follow steps.

Why Move Product Images from Right to Left?

Before we dive into the technical steps, it’s important to understand why you might want to move product images from right to left:

• Enhanced User Experience: Aligning images to the left can be more intuitive for users, particularly in Western cultures where people read from left to right.
• Aesthetic Appeal: A left-aligned layout might better match your overall store design.
• Consistency: If other elements on your site are left-aligned, this change can create a more cohesive look.

Preparation: Backup Your Theme

Before making any changes to your Shopify theme, it’s crucial to create a backup. This ensures that you can easily revert to the original version if something goes wrong. Follow these steps to backup your theme:

1. Navigate to Online Store: Go to your Shopify admin dashboard.
2. Select Themes: Under “Online Store,” select “Themes.”
3. Duplicate Your Theme: Find the current theme you’re using (Trade theme), click on “Actions,” then select “Duplicate.”

Now you have a backup of your theme, and you can proceed with the customization.

Accessing the Theme Code

To move the product images, you’ll need to access and edit your theme’s code. Here’s how to do it:

1. Go to Themes: From your Shopify admin, click “Online Store” and then “Themes.”
2. Edit Code: Next to your active theme (Trade theme), click “Actions” and select “Edit Code.”

Editing the Product Template

The product template is where you’ll find the code that determines the layout of your product pages. Follow these steps:

1. Locate the Product Template: In the left-hand sidebar, find and click on the “Sections” folder. Look for a file named product-template.liquid or similar.
2. Find the Image Code: Within this file, search for the code that controls the product image. It might look something like this:

3. Move the Image Code: Cut the image code and paste it where you want the images to appear. Typically, you’ll want to place it above the product description or on the left side of the page’s main container.

Adjusting the CSS

After moving the HTML code, you’ll need to adjust the CSS to ensure the layout looks correct. Here’s how:

1. Locate the CSS File: In the “Assets” folder, find and click on the theme.scss.liquid file.
2. Add Custom CSS: At the bottom of the file, add custom CSS to style the product images. For example:

cssCopy code.product-single { display: flex; flex-direction: row-reverse; /* This moves the images to the left */ } .product-single__photos { order: -1; /* Ensures images appear first */ margin-right: 20px; /* Adds space between images and text */ }

3. Save Changes: Save your changes and preview your store to ensure everything looks as expected.

Testing Your Changes

After editing the HTML and CSS, it’s essential to test your changes to ensure they work correctly across different devices and browsers. Here are some tips:

• Desktop View: Check how your product pages look on a desktop browser. Ensure the images are correctly aligned to the left and that the layout is visually appealing.
• Mobile View: Many customers will view your store on mobile devices, so it’s crucial to test the mobile layout. Make sure the images are still prominently displayed and that the page is easy to navigate.
• Cross-Browser Compatibility: Test your changes in different browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, etc.) to ensure consistent performance.

Troubleshooting Common Issues

While moving product images, you might encounter some issues. Here are common problems and their solutions:

• Images Not Aligning Properly: Ensure that the CSS changes are correctly applied and that there’s no conflicting code.
• Layout Breaking on Mobile: Use media queries in your CSS to adjust the layout for smaller screens.
• Unwanted Spacing: Check the margins and padding in your CSS to ensure elements are properly spaced.

Additional Customizations

Moving your product images is just one way to customize your Shopify Trade theme. Here are a few additional tweaks you might consider:

• Changing Fonts: Update the typography to better match your brand.
• Adjusting Colors: Customize the color scheme to enhance visual appeal.
• Adding Custom Sections: Include new sections on your product pages, such as customer reviews or related products.

FAQs

How do I backup my Shopify theme?

To backup your Shopify theme, go to “Online Store” > “Themes” in your Shopify admin. Next to your active theme, click “Actions” and select “Duplicate.” This will create a copy of your theme that you can revert to if needed.

Can I move product images without editing the code?

While some customizations can be done through the theme editor, moving product images from right to left typically requires code adjustments in the HTML and CSS files.

Will moving product images affect my mobile layout?

It can. Make sure to test your changes on both desktop and mobile devices. Use media queries in your CSS to adjust the layout for different screen sizes.

What if my product images are still not aligned correctly?

Double-check your HTML and CSS changes to ensure there are no typos or conflicting styles. Adjust the margins and padding as needed to achieve the desired alignment.

Can I revert my changes if something goes wrong?

Yes, if you created a backup of your theme before making changes, you can easily revert to the original version by restoring the backup.

Conclusion

Customizing your Shopify store can seem challenging, but with the right guidance, you can make impactful changes that enhance your customers’ experience. Moving product images from right to left in the Shopify Trade theme involves editing your theme’s HTML and CSS. By following this step-by-step guide, you can achieve a professional and visually appealing layout that aligns with your brand’s style.

Remember to always backup your theme before making any changes, and test your updates thoroughly to ensure they look great on all devices. With these adjustments, your Shopify store will not only look better but also provide a more intuitive shopping experience for your customers.