Key takeaways
- Add sections from the Theme Editor: Customize > Homepage > Add section.
- The available section types depend on your theme - you can’t add types that aren’t in your theme’s library.
- Common sections: image banner, featured collection, rich text, image with text, testimonials, video.
- For sections not in your theme’s library, use Fudge to build them as native Shopify code.
To add a section to your Shopify homepage, open Online Store → Themes → Customize, click Add section in the left sidebar and pick a section type. You can only add types your theme includes; the rest need code, an app or Fudge.
Why you can trust us
We’ve built and optimised homepages for hundreds of Shopify stores. We also built Fudge, the AI operator for Shopify stores, with a 4.9 rating on the Shopify App Store.
How to add a section to your Shopify homepage
Step 1. From your Shopify Admin, go to Online Store > Themes > Customize.
Step 2. Make sure the page selector at the top shows Home page. Click it and select Home page if needed.
Step 3. In the left sidebar, find Add section below the last homepage section (above the Footer group) and click it.
Step 4. A modal opens showing all section types your theme includes. Browse the list and click the section you want to add.
Step 5. The section is added to the bottom of your homepage. Drag it up or down in the left sidebar to position it.
Step 6. Click the section in the sidebar to open its settings and configure the content.
Step 7. Save.
Common Shopify homepage section types
Image banner / Hero A full-width section with a background image and overlay text. The primary homepage hero. Most themes include this with settings for headline, subtext, button, overlay opacity, and text alignment.
Rich text A centered text block. Useful for brand mission statements, announcements, or any content-focused section where an image isn’t needed.
Image with text A two-column layout - image on one side, text on the other. Versatile for brand story sections, feature highlights, or product spotlights.
Featured collection Pulls products from a chosen collection and displays them as a product grid. Specify the collection in the section settings.
Featured product Highlights a single product with its image, title, price, and add-to-cart button directly on the homepage.
Multicolumn Two to four columns of content - icon or image at the top, headline, and text. Good for “How it works” sections, brand features, or benefit lists.
Testimonials A grid or carousel of customer reviews. May be built into the theme or available as a block type inside other sections.
Video An embedded video or background video section. Most themes support YouTube and Vimeo URLs.
Countdown timer / Announcement Some themes include urgency sections for sales or launches. Not universal.
Email signup / Newsletter A call-to-action section for capturing email addresses. Usually includes a text field and submit button.
Collection list Shows multiple collections as image tiles - useful for stores with distinct product categories.
For more detail, see How to Rebuild Your Shopify Homepage.
Why you can’t add a custom section directly in the Theme Editor
The Theme Editor’s “Add section” modal only shows sections that are already coded into your theme. You cannot build a new section type from scratch inside the Theme Editor interface.
If you need a section type that your theme doesn’t include - a quiz, a countdown, a product comparison strip, a custom testimonial layout, a sticky announcement bar - you need one of these approaches:
A - The Custom Liquid section. Every Online Store 2.0 theme has a Custom Liquid section you can add from the editor and paste HTML or Liquid into.
B - A Shopify app. Some apps add section types to the Theme Editor library. Useful for specific functions.
C - Code. A developer adds a custom section to your theme’s code. The section then appears in the Theme Editor for you to use.
D - Fudge. Describe the section you want in plain English and Fudge, the AI operator for Shopify stores, builds it as native Liquid code in your theme with its store editor. No coding required from you, and no app script added to every page.
Adding a custom section to the Shopify homepage with Fudge
Open Fudge and describe what you want added to your homepage:
-
“Add a ‘How it works’ section with three steps, each with a numbered icon, a bold headline, and two lines of descriptive text. Place it between the hero and the featured collection.”
-
“Add a testimonial carousel to the homepage showing five customer quotes with star ratings, customer name, and location. Style it with the brand’s primary colour as background.”
-
“Add a countdown timer section for our summer sale launch. Shows days, hours, minutes, seconds. Dark background, white text. Position it at the top of the homepage below the announcement bar.”
Fudge generates the section as a draft in your theme. You review it in the Theme Editor, make any adjustments, and publish. With a conversion goal, Fudge also checks where your ad traffic lands, and if a campaign sends shoppers to the homepage, it may suggest a landing page that matches the ad instead.
Reordering homepage sections
Step 1. In the Theme Editor with the Homepage selected, look at the left sidebar section list.
Step 2. Hover over a section name - a drag handle appears.
Step 3. Drag to your preferred order.
Step 4. Save.
If the order is not really the issue, our free Shopify website redesign tool shows you three original homepage directions built from your own products and content.
For other pages, see Reorder Sections on a Shopify Page.
FAQ
How many sections should I have on my Shopify homepage?
Six to nine usually performs best. Below five often leaves the homepage feeling thin; above ten and shoppers stop scrolling before the bottom. Each section should earn its place - if a section doesn't drive a click, an add-to-cart, or build trust, cut it.
Can I add the same section type multiple times to the homepage?
Yes. You can add three rich text sections, two image banners, four multicolumn sections - whatever the page needs. Each instance has its own settings, so they can have completely different content. Shopify allows up to 25 sections per JSON template, including the homepage.
Why is my newly added section not showing on the storefront?
Three common causes: (1) you didn't click Save in the Theme Editor, (2) the section was added but its required content (image, collection, products) is empty so the theme renders nothing, or (3) the section has visibility rules in its settings (e.g., "show only on desktop") that hide it on the device you're checking.
Can I show different sections to different visitors?
Not natively. Theme Editor sections are static — everyone sees the same homepage. For per-customer personalisation, describe the rule to Fudge ("show this hero variant to logged-in VIP customers, the standard one to everyone else") and it builds a section with customer-tag-based Liquid that renders server-side. Alternatives: Shopify Markets for per-region content, or a personalisation app.
What's the difference between a section and a template?
A template is the JSON file that defines which sections appear on a page (e.g., index.json for the homepage). A section is the modular block of content that gets rendered inside the template. Templates compose sections; sections render content.
