Ready to add superpowers to your Shopify store data?
Ever feel like product pages are a bit… limited? You have the basics—title, images, price—but where do you put detailed specs, ingredients, care info, supplier stories, or testimonials without turning descriptions into a wall of text?
Meet Shopify Meta Objects—reusable, structured building blocks for content. They let you define a template (a definition) with fields, create entries once, and reuse them across products, pages, collections, and sections. Fewer workarounds, more consistency.
Why structured data matters
When your information is structured, it becomes reusable and easier to manage centrally. Update a supplier bio in one place and it updates everywhere it appears. Customers see richer, clearer details, which supports better decisions and higher conversion.
It also helps search engines understand your content. While structure alone isn’t a direct ranking factor, it supports better clarity and can power schema markup for richer results.
What Meta Objects are (and how they differ from metafields)
Meta Objects: Custom templates with multiple fields (your definition), used to create reusable entries (e.g., Team Member with Name, Role, Bio, Photo). You can then link those entries anywhere.
Metafields: Single pieces of data attached directly to a resource (e.g., one extra field on a product). Great for unique values; not ideal for multi‑field, reusable content.
In practice, they work together: you often use a metafield to reference a Meta Object entry from a product, page, or collection.
Image: Screenshot showing a metaobject with its definition and values being used in a product and a store page.
Where Meta Objects live in Shopify
- Admin → Settings (gear icon) → Metafields and metaobjects → manage Definitions (templates).
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Content → Metaobjects → manage Entries (your data records).
- In resource metafields (e.g., Products), set a metafield type to reference your Meta Object.
- In the theme editor, many sections can pull from dynamic sources (metafields/meta objects) without code.
Create and use Meta Objects (quick start)
1) Create a definition
Settings → Custom data → Meta objects → Add definition. Name it (e.g., Testimonial) and add fields (Quote, Customer name, Photo, Location). Save.
2) Add entries
Create an entry for each instance (e.g., each testimonial). You now have reusable records.
3) Link entries to resources
Create or edit a metafield on the resource (Product/Page/Collection) that references your Meta Object. Select single or multiple entries as needed.
4) Display on the storefront
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Create a metafield that references your Meta Object: Settings → Metafields and metaobjects → Products → Add definition.
- Name: Product testimonials (example)
- Namespace and key:
custom.product_testimonials - Type: Metaobject → choose your Testimonial definition
- Allow multiple: enable “List of entries” if you want more than one
- Attach entries to a product: Open a product → Product metafields → select one or more Testimonial entries → Save.
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Bind fields in the Theme editor: Online Store → Themes → Customise → Product template.
- Add a section that supports dynamic content (e.g., Rich text, Collapsible content, Image with text, or a Testimonials section).
- Click a text/image field → “Connect dynamic source” (cylinder icon) → Product → Metafields → Product testimonials → pick a field (e.g., quote, customer_name, photo).
- For multiple entries, use a section that supports repeating blocks. If your theme can’t loop entries visually, use a Custom Liquid block (see below).
Tip: Use a metafield name that’s different from the Meta Object definition (e.g., definition: Testimonial, metafield: Product testimonials) to avoid confusion when selecting dynamic sources.
Practical use cases
1) Meet the team / Our artists
Create a Team Member definition (Name, Role, Short bio, Photo). Add entries and display them on the About page and product pages the person contributed to. Update once, see it everywhere.
2) Structured product features/specs
Create a Product Feature definition (Feature name, Description, Icon, Value). Link multiple features to a product via a metafield and render as a tidy grid.
3) Testimonials you can reuse
Create a Testimonial definition (Quote, Name, Photo). Show a selection on the homepage and product pages; manage them centrally.
4) FAQs by product or page
Create an FAQ Item definition (Question, Answer). Link relevant items to products for tailored FAQs—and list all FAQs on a central page.
5) Ingredient lists / materials
Create an Ingredient or Material definition (Name, Benefits, Origin, Allergen info / Care). Link multiple entries to a product and render a clean list or table.
6) Reusable banners and callouts
Create a Promotion Highlight definition (Headline, Body, Button text/link, Background). Swap promotions site‑wide by changing a single entry.
7) Supplier or brand stories
Create a Brand Profile definition (Name, Logo, Bio, Origin, URL). Link to products/collections and build an Our Brands page from entries.
Your questions answered
Are Meta Objects replacing metafields?
No. They’re complementary. Metafields store single, resource‑specific data. Meta Objects store multi‑field, reusable data that you can reference across resources.
Do I need to code to use Meta Objects?
You can do most setup in admin and display many fields with dynamic sources in the theme editor. Custom layouts or older themes may need light Liquid edits.
Tip: Keep field names human‑readable. You’ll thank yourself when non‑technical teammates maintain entries.
Can I link entries to products, pages, and collections?
Yes. You can reference entries from products, collections, pages, blogs, and even directly in theme sections that support dynamic sources.
You’ve got this
Start with one definition (e.g., Testimonial), add a few entries, and reference them on a product page. Once you see how much cleaner and faster this is, roll the pattern out to specs, brand stories, and beyond.
Glossary (quick references)
Meta Object
A reusable, multi‑field data type (definition + entries) you can link across resources.
Definition
The template for a Meta Object—the set of fields each entry will have.
Entry
An instance of a Meta Object definition (e.g., one testimonial, one team member).
Metafield
A single piece of data attached to a resource. Often used to reference a Meta Object entry.