Mastered The Shopify Metafields for Excellent Product Data Management

Introduction to Shopify Metafields

What are Shopify Metafields?

Shopify Metafields (custom fields), a feature extensively used in the platform, enables users to augment their stores with additional information not encompassed within Shopify’s fundamental configuration. The application of this tool on Shopify ranges from supplementing product details – beyond price, product type, or description – and incorporating custom fields onto a product page. Furthermore, it allows for customization of the Shopify filter, all accomplished without necessitating any coding tasks.

Your store presents the provided extra information about its products, collections, and orders for your customers to view. This approach diverges from traditional SEO metadata definitions; here, the emphasis is on providing valuable data not just to search engines but also to human users.

These features excel in showcasing specific product details such as size guides or part numbers for various items that adopt identical templates. A candle seller could choose to exhibit a burn time for their candles on the product pages, while a grocery store may opt to disclose an expiration date for canned goods.

Shopify metafields vs Metaobjects & Shopify meta-descriptions

Shopify Metafields, Shopify Metaobjects, and Shopify meta-description should not be confused. Each of these three elements carries out distinct functions and serves unique purposes within the Shopify ecosystem and exhibits differences among them.

Above metafields, metaobjects stand. Each metaobject may encompass numerous metafields. Frequently employed to exhibit multiple parameters or recurring content in one’s store, the use of metaobjects proves logical particularly when a block or section within your store appears across multiple pages.

Conversely, meta descriptions – a specific type of meta tag – primarily pertain to search engine optimization (SEO) and offer succinct summaries or snippets about web pages. Typically, these descriptions appear in the search engine results pages (SERPs) under both the page title and URL.

🎁 Check out: Shopify SEO Guide: 6 Best SEO Apps for Shopify Site Optimization

Benefits of Shopify Metafields

There are several benefits of using Shopify Metafields in your store apart from creating a better experience with high conversions. Here are some of the benefits related to the maintenance of your store and customer experience.

Maintains an equivalent standard of quality across your store

When you implement metafields, your customers can enjoy consistent quality throughout their browsing experience across the store through assorted products or catalogs.
Instead of manually transcribing data into the product description, users can input it directly in the metafields – this action fosters a more unified and consistent quality throughout their e-commerce store.

Customers have a myriad of filtering options

The store’s search and discovery aspects also expand through Shopify Metafields. The inclusion of Metafields in product information, coupled with the creation of new filters within Shopify admin, unleashes a plethora of filtering options for shoppers. Acting as a tagging system, the Metafields classify product types into easily sortable categories that are accessible via the storefront’s search feature.

Customers can easily browse and filter products on your webpage using various search criteria with the addition of more metafields. Should a customer seek out a specific brand, style, shape or fit; they have the convenience to navigate through products by filtering and viewing options that align with their search criteria.

Products are easier to search for and discover

In addition to enhancing customer search experience and eliminating irrelevant products, one can utilize Shopify Metafields for the purpose of linking similar products or categories. By employing Search & Discovery, you have the ability to associate related and complementary items with another specific product; at times, there may be a desire to integrate a particular product with additional Shopify resources.

The inclusion of a “product reference” metafield facilitates attachment of an article’s recommended product list in this context.

For example, in the case of a flower vendor, metafields connect distinct bouquet styles with complementary plants or gifts – like cards, chocolates and baskets.

Accelerating the process of building products

Instead of manually typing out consistent information in each product description, Shopify Metafields take the place of this laborious task and enhance efficiency – they facilitate faster addition of new products through pre-set fields. Should there arise a necessity to update these Metafields, for whatever reason, you need only edit them in bulk, sparing yourself from the tedious process of clicking into individual product pages for alterations.

You can also use Metafields to streamline operations such as tracking inventory levels or managing order processing. Furthermore, and somewhat relatedly, you can create automatic collections from product or variant metafields, offering greater flexibility and precision than using product tags alone – this distinguishes between variants effectively.

Enhance the conversion rate

Save time, enhance customer filtering options, upsell and offer cohesive information to your customers using metafields. All key factors related to the enhancement of customer experience in your e-commerce store ultimately boost and increase conversion rates.

🎁 Read more: 10+ Best Shopify Apps to Increase Conversions

 Shopify Metafields Types

Text-based Metafields

• Single Line Text: This type of metafield proves ideal for encapsulating succinct, crucial information such as SKU numbers or product codes.
• Multi-line Text: Use this metafield for storing longer descriptions, detailed specifications, or supplementary product information in multi-line text.
• Rich Text: You can format and style your content using HTML with rich text metafields. This proves ideal for crafting visually appealing product descriptions or blog posts.

Number-based Metafields

• Date: Use this metafield to store specific dates, such as release dates or expiration dates.
• Date & Time: Similar to the above metafield, this type enables you to incorporate both temporal elements – date and time.
• Weight, Volume & Dimension: You can utilize these metafields to store measurements and dimensions pertinent to your products.
• Integer, Decimal & Money: Specifically crafted to contain numerical values, including currencies.

Link-based Metafields

• Page Reference: Use this metafield to link products or collections to designated pages on your website.
• Product Reference: Linking related products together becomes easier for customers to discover complementary items when you use this metafield.
• Product Variant Reference: Use this metafield to establish a connection with specific product variants.
• Collection Reference: Through the linkage of products to particular collections, empower customers to effortlessly delve into related items.
• URL: You can utilize this metafield type to incorporate external links; these links direct customers towards supplementary resources or partner websites.

File-based Metafields

• File Reference: This metafield facilitates the attachment of downloadable files – including user manuals or technical specifications – to your products.

Other Metafield Types

• Color: Serves as an ideal repository for color information, empowers customers to filter products according to specific shades.
• True or False: Utilize this metafield for capturing binary values – these may include product availability, featured status, among others.
• JSON: Storing complex data structures becomes more manageable and manipulable through the use of JSON metafields.
• Mixed Reference: Maximum flexibility is offered by this versatile metafield type, as it permits the combination of various reference types.

🎁 Learn more: Shopify Sitemap: How to Improve Your SEO & Visibility

Where should you utilize Shopify Metafields in your store?

Use Shopify Metafields in various areas of your store to enrich product information, enhance searchability, and offer a customized shopping experience – these are the key spaces where you can employ them.

Add extra detailed information on your products

Primarily, users employ metafields in product pages to supplement the standard information provided by Shopify about their products. They can add a wealth of additional details such as ingredients and technical specifications, the book’s page count, or shipping instructions. This feature enables you to furnish comprehensive data that transcends what is conventionally available.

The metafields you will add to your product pages depend solely on the nature of your merchandise. For instance, digital products necessitate a different display of information compared to items such as clothing.

Enhance your store’s search and filtering options

Customers can enhance their search experience by adding pertinent metafields to products, as they facilitate the identification of specific attributes or enable the use of filters for refined choices. Suppose, for instance, you sell kitchenware; in this case, to cater to customer preferences, you might consider incorporating size-based filters and material specifications (e.g., non-plastic options) since many individuals may be averse to purchasing household goods made from plastic.

Utilize metafields to manage product variants and collections

Utilize Shopify metafields to showcase a variety of product variants: colors, sizes, materials and flavors – among other options. Further enhance this display by employing variant metafields, as they allow for the customization of item quantity based on different product types.

In doing so, you facilitate an effortless process where customers identify and select their preferred variant with ease. For instance, if you aim to highlight the limited availability of a specific hat – let’s say it’s green and there’s only one in stock; however, you possess more in different colors – using the variant metafield proves advantageous.

Additionally, enhancing your collections involves the addition of metafields for categorizing and classifying products within specific categories. This functionality empowers customers to filter their product searches based on distinct criteria: brand, style, or price range.

Add additional information to the order page

As customers check out, you have the capability to use Shopify Metafields to provide additional order information. For example, a metafield can be generated for the differentiation between normal and express delivery- using True or False as its metafield type accomplishes this.

Moreover, you can also utilize Shopify Metafields to track supplementary information pertaining to orders, such as special instructions or customizations customers request. This practice guarantees your possession of all essential details; consequently, order fulfillment proceeds with precision and accuracy.

Enhance your blog posts’ capabilities

You can use metafields to establish connections between your blog posts and related products or collections, providing additional recommendations or cross-promoting pertinent items within the content of your blogs.

🎁 May you concern: 25+ Best Shopify Themes for Blog

Add custom metafields to customer profiles

Metafields are allowed for the collection and retention of supplementary customer information – their preferences, interests, or loyalty program specifics. Leveraging this data enhances shopping personalization and enables you to launch targeted marketing campaigns.

Creating and Administering of Shopify Metafields

Prior to its release in 2022, the addition of Shopify Metafields to your store necessitated code manipulation – a task exclusively reserved for developers. However, with the recent update – an empowering move by Shopify – you can now autonomously integrate these metafields by simply accessing and managing them directly from within your Shopify admin panel.

Shopify Metafields, an excellent method for augmenting your catalog’s products with additional parameters and showcasing them on the storefront, can be somewhat challenging to implement for regular users. Mastering its intricacies requires a modest learning curve. However, we are here to facilitate your comprehension of its usage.

Add Product Metafields in Shopify

Create The Product Metafield Definition

1. Navigate to Settings > Custom Data in your Shopify Admin.

Source: Shopify Help Center

2. Select “Product” under the Metafields section.

Source: Shopify Help Center

3. Then subsequently choose “Add Definition“. Complete the fields for Name, Namespaces, Key and select a Content Type. You may opt to provide information in the Description field.

Source: Shopify Help Center

Add Values to Shopify Product Metafields

Once you have established the metafield definition, proceed to enrich it with values for a specific product. Access Shopify Admin > Products and choose your target product through which you wish to supplement additional data using metafields. Enter your desired value into the field; subsequently, select “Save” upon completion.

Source: Fluorescent Themes for Shopify

How to Bulk Edit Shopify Metafields

From your Shopify admin’s Products page, you have the ability to select products for bulk editing. The editor will present a table displaying the chosen products and some of their properties, you can customize which product properties appear in this table. A product property is represented by a column in the table, while each row represents a selected product.

Select the product metafields you wish to edit, then click on the fields within the editor to input new data or modify existing information. You can follow these steps below in order to manually edit in bulk Shopify metafields:

Step 1: Click on Products from your Shopify administration.

Step 2: Use the checkboxes for selecting each product you wish to edit.

Step 3: Click on the Edit Products option.

Step 4: Click on the Columns tab.

Step 5: Select the metafields you wish to edit in bulk from the Metafields section.

Step 6: Click within a table’s field and type to edit the product metafield associated with that specific product.

Step 7: Click Save, and should any errors surface, ensure their rectification, then reinitiate the click on Save.

Should you prefer not to independently bulk-edit all metafields, consider installing a Shopify metafields app. This app will facilitate the management of your metafields from one central dashboard.

Wrap Up

Using Shopify Metafields is now a straightforward process. The variation of metafields depends on the product you sell, furthermore, enhancing details not only boosts your customers’ shopping experience but also potentially instigates their interest in purchasing your products. Ensure you add all necessary fields to provide your customers with detailed information because this will assist them in making informed purchasing decisions. Whether utilizing text-based metafields, number-based metafields, link-based metafields, or any other type of field, the possibilities abound.

Moreover, through the aid of apps and integrations available from the Shopify App Store, managing and leveraging these metafields becomes an even more streamlined process.

If you are seeking a comprehensive and scalable solution, then BSS Shopify Commerce – a robust platform that seamlessly integrates with Shopify – is the ideal choice, as it presents advanced features not only for streamlining operations but also for enhancing customer experience. Unlock your Shopify store’s full potential with Metafields to elevate your e-commerce business to unprecedented heights.