Shopify's Online Store 2.0 provided developers with the opportunity to build dynamic stores more effortlessly by introducing some new tools and features. In this article, we will review top 5 features of Online Store 2.0 and how they can help developers and Shopify merchants.
Although Shopify merchants could use sections on the homepage before, now in Online Store 2.0, you can add sections on all pages across your website. In this update, theme sections and blocks are displayed in a visible hierarchy making it faster to identify each section on the page. You are now able to customize your page simply by dragging sections around in the navigation menu. Additionally, you are also able to move, hide, add, or remove blocks within each section to customize your sections even further. This means you don't need to be a developer to get more out of your pages.
When you click on a section or a block, the settings will now appear on the right side of the screen instead of overlapping your menu on the left. Having a separate sidebar offers a more efficient experience for merchants and developers when you are trying to make adjustments to any section or block on a page.
With a few simple clicks, you can now start building custom product pages using the Shopify customizer itself. Creating a new custom template used to be an intensive process in the which was only possible through manual changes to the theme files. With Online Store 2.0, you can now use the customizer itself to build custom templates for your product pages without having to touch a line of code.
Before Online Store 2.0, adding metafields was only possible through app integration. The good news is that you can now simply add metafields within Shopify itself without the need to use any other apps or integrations. We have an article explaining the new metafields that are now available to you and how each of them can help you customize your store and product pages. If you are curious to learn how this process works then we highly recommend watching our video about how you can add and customize metafields in Shopify Online Store 2.0.
Filters used to be handled by product tags. Now, with Shopify Online Store 2.0, there are many options available and filters are easier to customize. By default, you are presented with four filters (Availability, Price, Product Type, and Vendor). You can also add custom filters based on product options (variants) or by using metafields. If you are having difficulty working with filters, check out our video on changing product filters in Online Store 2.0.
Overall, Shopify Online Store 2.0 provides a more user-friendly experience for both developers and merchants. We also have a video featuring Aron Murch, our CIO, sharing his perspective on these new changes as a Shopify developer.