A Simple Guide to Shopify Metafields & Metaobjects
Shopify lets you add custom information to your products, customers, and more. This guide breaks down the two main ways to do it: Metafields and Metaobjects.
🗒️ Part 1: What Are Metafields?
The Best Analogy: A Custom Price Tag Sticker. A metafield is a special sticker you add to a standard price tag, saying "Staff Pick!" or "Dry Clean Only." The sticker belongs only to that one specific item.
Metafields are for adding unique details to a single item. For example:
- Care Instructions: Add "Dry Clean Only" to a silk shirt and "Machine Wash Cold" to a denim jacket.
- Product Release Date: Display when a book was published or a video game was released.
- Customer Birthday: Store a customer's birthday to send them a personalized discount.
📇 Part 2: What Are Metaobjects?
The Best Analogy: A Contact in Your Phone. A contact isn't just a name—it's a bundle of info (name, company, email). You create this contact once, then link to it from anywhere. Update the contact, and it updates everywhere.
Metaobjects are for managing reusable blocks of information from one central library. For example:
- Designer & Author Profiles: Create a profile for a designer (name, bio, photo) and link it to all 15 products they designed.
- Ingredient Library: Create an object for "Vitamin C" with its benefits and an icon, then link to it from every product that contains it.
- Store Locations: Manage each store's address, hours, and phone number from one place for your "Find Us" page.
Part 3: When to Use Which?
Use a Metafield When...
(It's a Sticky Note)
- The information is simple and unique to one item.
- You won't reuse that exact information elsewhere.
- It feels like a one-off detail or specification.
Use a Metaobject When...
(It's a Rolodex)
- You have a structured group of information.
- You want to use it in multiple places.
- You want to manage it from one central library.
Part 4: Common Metafield Types
When you create a metafield, you must choose its "type." Think of it like choosing the right container for your food—you wouldn't store soup in a paper bag!
Text (Single & Multi-line)
Single-line: Perfect for short text like a slogan ("Just Do It") or material type ("Egyptian Cotton").
Multi-line: For longer info like care instructions or a designer's note.
Numbers (Integer & Decimal)
Integer: For whole numbers, like "Page Count" for a book.
Decimal: For numbers with fractions, like "Weight in kg."
Media (File, Image, URL)
File: Lets you upload a PDF "Size Guide" or warranty document.
Image: For uploading a "Fabric Swatch" or lifestyle photo.
URL: A clickable link to a "Video Tutorial" on YouTube.
True or False
A simple checkbox. Perfect for yes/no questions like "Is this a Limited Edition?" or "Is this Final Sale?"
Part 5: The Ultimate Shortcut: Category Metafields
This is Shopify's most powerful, time-saving feature. When you assign your product to an official category, Shopify creates the most common metafields for you automatically!
It's like choosing a smart template instead of a blank page.
Example 1: A T-Shirt
Categorize it as `Apparel > Shirts & Tops`, and Shopify instantly adds fields for `Clothing Size`, `Fit Type`, and `Material`.
Example 2: A Novel
Categorize it as `Media > Books`, and you instantly get fields for `ISBN`, `Author`, and `Page Count`.
The Big Advantage: This saves immense time and standardizes your data, making your products easier for services like Google Shopping and Facebook to understand.
