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121+ Terms

Shopify Glossary

Every Shopify term explained clearly. From checkout to webhooks, learn the concepts that power modern e-commerce.

A

A/B Testing (Split Testing)

A/B Testing (split testing) is an experiment where two versions of a webpage, email, or ad are shown...

Abandoned Cart

An abandoned cart occurs when a shopper adds items to their online shopping cart and initiates check...

Accessibility (A11Y)

Accessibility (A11Y) in e-commerce ensures that websites and apps are usable by people with disabili...

Admin API

The Shopify Admin API is the primary interface for apps and integrations to programmatically read an...

App Block

An App Block is a modular theme component introduced in Shopify Online Store 2.0 that allows merchan...

App Bridge

App Bridge is a JavaScript library that enables embedded Shopify apps to communicate with the Shopif...

App Embed

An App Embed is a global component provided by a Shopify app that runs site-wide or on specific temp...

App Proxy

A Shopify App Proxy is a feature that routes requests from a Shopify store domain to an external app...

Average Order Value (AOV)

Average Order Value (AOV) measures the average dollar amount spent by a customer each time they plac...

B

B2B (Shopify)

Shopify B2B is a suite of wholesale commerce features built directly into Shopify Admin (available o...

Backlink

A Backlink is an incoming hyperlink from one website to another, serving as a "vote of confidence" t...

Billing API

The Shopify Billing API enables app developers to charge merchants for app subscriptions, usage-base...

Blog (Shopify)

The built-in Shopify Blog engine is a content management feature that allows store owners to publish...

Breadcrumbs

Breadcrumbs are navigational links displayed at the top of a webpage that show the user's current lo...

Bulk Editor

The Shopify Bulk Editor is an admin tool that allows merchants to edit multiple product listings, co...

Bundling

Bundling is a retail strategy of grouping multiple related products together and selling them as a s...

Buy Button

The Shopify Buy Button is an embeddable widget that lets merchants sell products on external website...

C

Chargeback

A Chargeback occurs when a customer disputes a charge with their bank or credit card company, forcin...

Checkout

Shopify Checkout is the secure checkout flow and page where customers enter their shipping details,...

Checkout Extensions

Checkout Extensions are a collection of app-driven custom components and functions built with Shopif...

Collection

A Shopify Collection is a group of products organized into categories to help customers navigate a s...

Composable Commerce

Composable Commerce is an architecture where merchants assemble their e-commerce stack from independ...

Content Marketing

Content Marketing is a strategy of creating valuable, relevant content (blogs, guides, videos) to at...

Conversion Rate

Conversion Rate is the percentage of website visitors who complete a desired action, such as making...

Core Web Vitals

Core Web Vitals are a set of three Google metrics (LCP, INP, CLS) that measure real-world user exper...

CPA (Cost Per Acquisition)

Cost Per Acquisition (CPA) is the total marketing cost required to acquire one new paying customer,...

Custom Storefront

A Custom Storefront is a headless frontend built using frameworks like React or Next.js (often hoste...

Customer Account

Shopify Customer Accounts are dedicated portals where shoppers can log in to view their order histor...

Customer Lifetime Value (CLV)

Customer Lifetime Value (CLV or LTV) is a prediction of the total revenue a single customer will gen...

D

Development Store

A Development Store is a free Shopify store created by Partner accounts for building, testing, and d...

Discount Code

A Discount Code is a unique alphanumeric code that customers can enter during checkout to apply a pr...

Discount Function

A Discount Function is a server-side customization built with Shopify Functions that allows develope...

Domain

A Domain is the web address (URL) where your Shopify store is accessible online, consisting of a pri...

Draft Order

A Draft Order is a manually created order in the Shopify Admin that allows merchants to sell product...

Dropshipping

Dropshipping is a retail fulfillment model where a store doesn't keep products in stock - instead,...

Dynamic Pricing

Dynamic Pricing is a strategy where product prices are adjusted in real-time based on market demand,...

E

E-commerce SEO

E-commerce SEO is the practice of optimizing an online store's structure, category descriptions, and...

Email Marketing (Shopify Email)

Email Marketing is a digital marketing strategy of sending targeted promotional emails to store subs...

Embedded App

An Embedded App is a Shopify application that runs directly inside the Shopify Admin panel as an ifr...

F

Facebook Conversions API (CAPI)

The Facebook Conversions API (CAPI) is a server-side tracking method that sends purchase and convers...

Flash Sale

A Flash Sale is a limited-time promotional event (typically 2-72 hours) offering steep discounts on...

Flow (Shopify Flow)

Shopify Flow is a visual, code-free automation tool that allows merchants to create custom workflows...

Free Shipping

Free Shipping is a promotional strategy where a merchant covers the delivery costs for order fulfill...

Fulfillment

Fulfillment is the entire backend process of receiving, packing, and shipping an order to a customer...

G

GDPR Compliance

GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) compliance means ensuring your Shopify store and apps prop...

Gift Card

A Shopify Gift Card is a prepaid store credit that customers can purchase and send to others, redeem...

Google Analytics 4 (GA4)

Google Analytics 4 (GA4) is Google's current analytics platform that uses an event-based data model...

Google Merchant Center

Google Merchant Center is a platform where retailers upload and manage their product data feeds to d...

GraphQL API

The Shopify GraphQL API is a powerful query API that allows apps and custom storefronts to request o...

Gross Merchandise Value (GMV)

Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) is the total dollar value of all merchandise sold through a Shopify st...

H

Headless Commerce

Headless Commerce is an architecture where the frontend layout of an e-commerce website is decoupled...

Heatmap

A Heatmap is a visual analytics tool that uses color-coded overlays to show where visitors click, sc...

Hydrogen

Shopify Hydrogen is a React-based development framework built on Remix that provides components and...

I

Image Alt Text

Image Alt Text is descriptive text added to an image HTML tag to assist visually impaired screen rea...

Indexing API

The Indexing API is a backend tool provided by search engines like Google to request immediate crawl...

International Commerce (Shopify Markets)

International Commerce is the process of selling products globally by localizing currency, language,...

Inventory Management

Inventory Management is the process of tracking, organizing, and controlling stock levels across loc...

Inventory Sync

Inventory Sync is the automated process of keeping product stock levels consistent across multiple s...

J

JSON-LD

JSON-LD is a structured data format using JSON notation to mark up web pages, helping search engines...

K

Keyword Research

Keyword Research is the process of discovering and analyzing search terms that shoppers type into se...

Klaviyo

Klaviyo is a leading email and SMS marketing automation platform built for e-commerce, deeply integr...

L

Landing Page

A Landing Page is a standalone web page designed specifically for a marketing or advertising campaig...

Liquid

Liquid is an open-source template language created by Shopify, used to bridge the gap between HTML l...

Long-Tail Keyword

A Long-Tail Keyword is a specific, multi-word search phrase (typically 3-7 words) with lower search...

Loyalty Program

A Loyalty Program is a customer retention strategy that rewards shoppers with points, discounts, or...

M

Markets (Shopify Markets)

Shopify Markets is a localization tool that allows merchants to configure and manage country-specifi...

Metafield

A Metafield is a custom data field in Shopify used to store extra structured specifications and deta...

Metaobject

A Metaobject is a custom content structure in Shopify used to define and store complex, multi-field...

Multipass (SSO)

Multipass is a Shopify Plus feature that enables Single Sign-On (SSO), allowing customers to log int...

N

Navigation

Navigation is the menu system (header, footer, and sidebars) that helps store visitors browse catego...

O

OAuth (Authorization)

OAuth is the authorization framework used by Shopify to grant third-party apps secure, scoped access...

Omnichannel Commerce

Omnichannel Commerce provides a seamless, integrated shopping experience across all channels - onl...

Online Store 2.0

Online Store 2.0 (OS 2.0) is Shopify's modern theme architecture that supports sections everywhere,...

P

Polaris (Design System)

Polaris is Shopify's official design system providing UI components, design guidelines, and patterns...

POS (Point of Sale)

Shopify POS (Point of Sale) is an iPad and mobile application that allows merchants to process sales...

Pre-Order

A Pre-Order allows customers to purchase a product before it's in stock or officially released, secu...

Product Variant

A Product Variant is a specific option combination (such as size, color, or material) available for...

Progressive Web App (PWA)

A Progressive Web App (PWA) is a web application that uses modern browser technologies to deliver an...

Q

Quick View

Quick View is a storefront feature that displays a product summary popup (image, price, variants, Ad...

R

Redirect (301)

A 301 Redirect is a permanent URL forwarding instruction that sends visitors and search engine crawl...

Refund

A Refund in Shopify is the process of returning money to a customer for a returned, damaged, or unsa...

Retargeting (Remarketing)

Retargeting (remarketing) is a paid advertising strategy that shows targeted ads to visitors who pre...

Return Policy

A Return Policy defines the rules and timeframes under which customers can return products for a ref...

Rich Snippets

Rich Snippets are enhanced Google search results that display extra content details (like star ratin...

ROAS (Return on Ad Spend)

ROAS (Return on Ad Spend) measures the revenue generated for every dollar spent on advertising, indi...

Robots.txt

A Robots.txt file is a text file that instructs search engine bots on which pages or directories of...

S

Search Intent

Search Intent (user intent) is the underlying purpose behind a search query - whether the user wan...

Sections & Blocks

Sections are modular, configurable building blocks of Shopify theme pages, while Blocks are smaller,...

SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

SEO is the practice of optimizing a website's architecture, speed, page content, and backlinks to ra...

SEO Audit

An SEO Audit is a comprehensive analysis of your website's search engine optimization health, identi...

Shipping Zone

A Shipping Zone is a geographic region (country, state, or postal code range) in Shopify where speci...

Shop Pay

Shop Pay is Shopify's accelerated checkout service that saves customer payment, shipping, and billin...

Shopify Audiences

Shopify Audiences is a premium ad targeting tool that generates high-intent buyer lists from Shopify...

Shopify Balance

Shopify Balance is a free business financial account that lets merchants track revenue, manage expen...

Shopify Capital

Shopify Capital is a financing program that provides eligible merchants with cash advances or busine...

Shopify CLI

Shopify CLI is a command-line interface tool that allows developers to scaffold, build, test, and de...

Shopify Collabs

Shopify Collabs is a free tool that connects merchants with content creators and influencers to run...

Shopify Email

Shopify Email is Shopify's native email marketing tool that allows merchants to create, send, and tr...

T

Tax (Sales Tax & VAT)

Sales Tax and VAT are government-mandated charges that Shopify merchants must collect on orders base...

Theme

A Shopify Theme is a template that controls the design, layout, and visual styling of your storefron...

Theme App Extension

A Theme App Extension is a framework that allows apps to inject content and scripts into Online Stor...

Theme Architecture

Theme Architecture refers to the file structure, template hierarchy, and rendering system that power...

U

Upsell & Cross-sell

Upsell & Cross-sell are sales strategies of suggesting higher-value products or complementary add-on...

User-Generated Content (UGC)

User-Generated Content (UGC) is any content - photos, videos, reviews, or social posts - created...

UTM Parameters

UTM Parameters are tracking tags appended to URLs that tell analytics tools (like GA4) exactly which...

V

Velocity (Sales Velocity)

Sales Velocity measures how quickly your Shopify store generates revenue, calculated by combining de...

W

Webhook

A Webhook is an HTTP callback that automatically sends real-time event notifications from a Shopify...

X

XML Sitemap

An XML Sitemap is a structured XML file listing a store's URLs, acting as an index to help search en...

Y

Yearly Subscription (Annual Billing)

A Yearly Subscription is an annual billing cycle where Shopify merchants or app users pay for 12 mon...

Z

Zero-Click Search

A Zero-Click Search occurs when a search engine answers the user's query directly on the results pag...