# How to Create and Assign a Page Template in Shopify (2026)

By Christopher Weiland, Founder of Ariven. Published 2026-10-06, updated 2026-10-06.
Canonical: https://ariven.ai/blog/shopify-page-template

> To create a template, go to Online Store, click Edit theme, open the drop-down at the top of the editor, choose a template type (such as Pages), click Create template, name it, pick which template it's based on, and click Create template. To assign it, open the page in your admin and choose it from the Theme template drop-down in the Online store section, then click Save. Products and collections have their own Theme template section.

Templates are one of the most useful features in Shopify and one of the least explained. A template controls the layout of a type of page: which sections appear, in what order, with what settings. Every store starts with one default template per type, so every product, collection and page looks the same. Creating more templates lets you give specific pages a layout of their own without touching code.

This guide covers creating a template, assigning it to a page, product or collection, bulk assignment, previewing, and deleting. All steps are checked against Shopify's help center as of October 2026.

## Before you start: check your theme supports it

You can create templates in the theme editor on **Online Store 2.0** themes (Dawn and most themes released since 2021) and on **theme-blocks** themes like Shopify's Horizon family. Older "vintage" themes don't support it from the editor.

The quick check from [Shopify's help center](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/online-store/themes/managing-themes/versions): open your default product template in the theme editor. If you see an **Add section** button below the list of sections, your theme supports sections on every page, and you can create templates.

## How to create a new template in the Shopify theme editor

1. From your Shopify admin, go to **Online Store**.
2. Find the theme you want to edit and click **Edit theme**.
3. Click the drop-down menu at the top of the editor. It shows **Home page** when the editor first opens.
4. Select a template type (**Pages**, **Products**, **Collections**, **Blogs** or **Blog posts**), then click **Create template**.
5. In the **Create a template** dialog, enter a unique **Name**, such as `landing` or `presell`.
6. In the **Based on** drop-down, choose the existing template to copy as a starting point.
7. Click **Create template**.

The editor opens your new template. Add, remove and reorder sections, then click **Save**. You are editing only this template. The default template and every page using it stay unchanged.

**Naming tip:** use short, lowercase names without spaces. Behind the scenes, Shopify saves the template as a file such as `templates/page.landing.json`. The part after the type (`landing`) is the template's *suffix*, which is how Shopify and apps refer to it.

**One thing to know:** the header and footer are not part of a template. Shopify's help center says "your header and footer are shared across all of your online store's pages." Hiding the header in the theme editor hides it everywhere. To remove the header from just one template, a developer needs a separate layout file, which we cover in our [landing page guide](/blog/shopify-landing-page).

## How to assign a template to a page in Shopify

Creating a template doesn't apply it to anything. You assign it to each page, product or collection that should use it.

**For a page:**

1. In your Shopify admin, go to **Online Store** > **Pages**.
2. Click the page.
3. In the **Online store** section, click the **Theme template** drop-down and select your template.
4. Click **Save**.

**For a product:**

1. Go to **Products** and click the product.
2. In the **Theme template** section, open the drop-down (it says **Default product** until you change it) and select your template.
3. Click **Save**.

**For a collection:**

1. Go to **Products** > **Collections** and click the collection.
2. In the **Theme template** section, open the **Default collection** drop-down and select your template.
3. Click **Save**.

Blog posts work the same way: **Content** > **Blog posts**, then the **Theme template** drop-down in the **Online store** section.

### Template missing from the drop-down?

The Theme template list only shows templates from your **live theme**. If you built the template in a draft or a duplicate theme, it won't appear until that theme is published. This is the most common reason merchants think template creation "didn't work."

## How to assign a template to many products at once

For products and collections, use the bulk editor:

1. Go to **Products** (or **Collections**) and select the items you want to change.
2. Click **Bulk edit**.
3. Open **Columns** and add the theme template column.
4. Set the template for each row, then save.

Shopify [notes](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/online-store/themes/theme-structure/templates) that "the Bulk editor for blog posts and pages is no longer available," so pages must be assigned one at a time in the admin, or through an app or the Admin API.

Shopify's own product CSV import has **no template column**, so you can't set templates through a standard CSV import. The third-party app [Matrixify](https://matrixify.app/documentation/products/) supports a **Template Suffix** column if you need to change thousands of products from a spreadsheet.

## How to preview a template before assigning it

You can view any resource with a different template by adding `?view=` and the template's suffix to the URL:

```
https://yourstore.com/products/example-product?view=presell
https://yourstore.com/pages/about?view=landing
```

This is a [documented Shopify feature](https://shopify.dev/docs/storefronts/themes/architecture/templates/alternate-templates). It's handy for checking a template against real product data before you switch anything over.

## How to delete a template

The theme editor doesn't delete templates. You do it in the code editor:

1. Go to **Online Store**, click the **…** menu next to your theme, and choose **Edit code**.
2. Open the **templates** folder.
3. Right-click the template file (for example `page.landing.json`) and choose **Delete permanently**, then confirm.

According to [Shopify](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/online-store/themes/theme-structure/templates), any page, product or collection that used the deleted template "is displayed with the default template until you assign a different one." Nothing breaks, but the page loses its custom layout, so reassign those pages first if they matter. Shopify also warns that deleting theme files can break a theme. Only delete template files you created.

## Template limits worth knowing

From Shopify's [theme architecture limits](https://shopify.dev/docs/storefronts/themes/architecture/limits):

| Limit | Value |
|---|---|
| JSON templates per theme | 1,000 |
| Sections per template | 25 |
| Blocks per section | 50 |
| Blocks per template (total) | 1,250 |
| Levels of nested theme blocks | 8 |
| JSON template file size | 512 KB |

Templates live inside a theme. If you install a new theme, the templates you built in the old one don't come with it. Before you switch themes, list which pages use custom templates and recreate those templates in the new theme. Otherwise, check every one of those pages after publishing.

## JSON templates vs Liquid templates

Online Store 2.0 themes use **JSON templates**. These are data files that list which sections appear and their settings, which is why you can rearrange them in the theme editor. Older themes use **Liquid templates**, which are markup files a developer edits. A template can exist as JSON or Liquid, not both. A few special templates, such as the gift card template, must still be Liquid.

For merchants, the practical difference is simple. With JSON templates, you can build and change layouts yourself in the editor.

## What to use templates for

A few patterns that pay off:

- **Landing pages for campaigns.** A page template with no distractions, for one product or offer. See our step-by-step [Shopify landing page guide](/blog/shopify-landing-page).
- **Product page variations.** A "presell" product template that opens with reviews and the problem the product solves, for visitors who have never heard of you. Or a lean template for products that sell on specs.
- **Collection layouts.** A curated collection template for a gift guide or a seasonal drop, separate from your standard grid.
- **Different pages for different visitors.** This is where templates get more powerful. A first-time visitor from a paid ad, a returning customer and an email subscriber want different things from the same product page. Templates let you build each version. Out of the box, though, Shopify shows a product or page with exactly one template to everyone.

That last gap is the problem [Ariven](/) solves. You build each version as a template in the theme editor, exactly as described above, and set up a flow that says which segment sees which version. Ariven routes each visitor to the version you assigned, on the same URL, and measures it against your original. The pages stay native Shopify templates the whole time. Ariven doesn't build them for you; it decides who sees each one, based on the flows you set up.

## Sources

- Shopify Help Center: [Templates](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/online-store/themes/theme-structure/templates), [Theme architecture versions](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/online-store/themes/managing-themes/versions), [Customizing sections](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/online-store/themes/customizing-themes/theme-editor/customizing-sections)
- Shopify.dev: [JSON templates](https://shopify.dev/docs/storefronts/themes/architecture/templates/json-templates), [Alternate templates](https://shopify.dev/docs/storefronts/themes/architecture/templates/alternate-templates), [Theme limits](https://shopify.dev/docs/storefronts/themes/architecture/limits)
- Matrixify: [Products documentation](https://matrixify.app/documentation/products/)

## Frequently asked questions

### Why doesn't my new template show up in the Theme template drop-down?

The Theme template drop-down only lists templates from your live (published) theme. If you created the template in a draft or duplicate theme, it will not appear until that theme is published, or until you create the same template in the live theme.

### How many templates can a Shopify theme have?

A theme can contain up to 1,000 JSON templates. Each template can hold up to 25 sections, each section up to 50 blocks, and up to 1,250 blocks in total per template.

### Can I assign a template to many products at once?

Yes. Select the products or collections in your admin, click Bulk edit, add the theme template column from the Columns menu, and change the value for every row. The bulk editor no longer supports pages or blog posts, so those must be assigned one at a time or through an app or the API. Shopify's product CSV import has no template column; third-party tools like Matrixify support a Template Suffix column.

### How do I delete a template in Shopify?

Templates can only be deleted in the code editor: Online Store, the theme's ... menu, Edit code, open the templates folder, right-click the template file and choose Delete permanently. Anything that used that template falls back to the default template until you assign another one.

### Can I use templates on a vintage (pre-2.0) Shopify theme?

Not from the theme editor. Creating templates in the theme editor requires an Online Store 2.0 theme or a theme-blocks theme such as the Horizon family. On a vintage theme, templates are Liquid files created in the code editor.