How to Apply Custom CSS in Shopify for Enhanced Visual Control

Tired of your Shopify store looking generic and bland? Want to give it a unique and professional touch? If so, you’ve probably considered customizing your store’s appearance. While Shopify offers various customization options, sometimes you need more precise control over your store’s design. That’s where custom CSS comes in.

Custom CSS lets you add your own style rules to your Shopify store, giving you the freedom to adjust every aspect of its appearance.

In this blog, I’ll explain how Shopify experts add custom CSS to customize a store’s design. Let’s start with what CSS is.

What is Custom CSS? (And Why Use It?)

Custom CSS is a powerful tool that lets you tailor the look and feel of your Shopify store to your exact specifications. By writing custom CSS code, you can override default styles and create a truly unique online shopping experience.

Why Use Custom CSS?

Here are a few reasons to customize your Shopify store with CSS:

• Complete Control: Gain full control over your store’s design and layout.
• Unique Branding: Build a distinctive brand identity that sets you apart from competitors.
• Pixel-Perfect Design: Precisely control the placement and styling of every element in your store.
• Enhanced User Experience: A visually appealing, well-organized store can boost user engagement and conversion rates.
• Future-Proof Your Store: Stay ahead of design trends and easily adapt to future changes.

Whether you want to add a custom header, change the color scheme, or create a unique page layout, custom CSS is the way to go.

Preparation for Adding Custom CSS in Shopify

Before creating and adding custom CSS to your Shopify store, there are a few prerequisites to consider. Here’s what you need to do:

Back Up Your Shopify Theme

First, back up your Shopify theme to ensure you can restore your store if anything goes wrong.

• Go to Online Store > Themes.
• Locate your active theme and click Actions > Duplicate.

The duplicate theme will serve as your fallback if needed.

Understand Your Theme Structure

Shopify themes are built with Liquid (Shopify’s templating language), HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. CSS files are located in the Assets folder of your theme. Most themes include a main CSS file (e.g., theme.css or styles.css).

Basic Understanding of HTML and CSS

You don’t need to be a coding expert, but a fundamental knowledge of HTML and CSS will help you understand the concepts and write effective custom CSS.

With these prerequisites, you’re ready to start customizing your Shopify store’s appearance.

How to Add Custom CSS in Shopify?

CSS is key to creating visually-stunning and engaging online shopping experiences. Here’s how you go about creating the custom CSS and adding it to your Shopify store.

Access Your Shopify Theme Files

To make customizations, you’ll need to access your theme’s code. You can do so via the Shopify theme editor.

Step 1: Log in to your Shopify admin panel.

Step 2: Go to Online Store > Themes.

Step 3: Locate your active theme and click Actions > Edit Code.

The code editor will open, showing a list of folders like Layout, Templates, Sections, Snippets, Assets, and more.

Create a Custom CSS File

To keep your custom styles separate from your theme’s core files (making future updates easier), it’s best to create a dedicated CSS file.

Step 1: In the Assets folder, click Add a new asset.

Step 2: Select Create a blank file, and name it custom.css. 

Step 3: Click Add asset. A new, blank file will appear under the Assets folder.

This will allow you to write your custom CSS rules in a clean and organized manner.

Link Your Custom CSS File to the Theme

Once you’ve created the custom CSS file, you need to ensure that your Shopify store loads it.

Step 1: Open the theme.liquid file in the Layout folder.

Step 2: Locate the </head> tag (usually near the top of the file).

Step 3: Add the following line just before the closing </head> tag:

<link rel="stylesheet" href="{{ 'custom.css' | asset_url }}">

Step 4: Save the changes.

This line tells the browser to load the custom CSS file you created.

Add Custom CSS Rules

Now that your custom.css file is linked, you can start writing CSS rules.

Step 1: Open the custom.css file in the Assets folder.

Step 2: Add your custom CSS. For example:

• Change the background color of the header:

.site-header {
    background-color: #000000; /* Black background */
    color: #ffffff; /* White text */
}

• Increase the size of product titles:

.product-title {
    font-size: 24px;
    font-weight: bold;
}

• Hide the search bar:

.search-bar {
    display: none;
}

You can use CSS selectors to target specific elements on your page and apply styles to them.

Save and Preview Changes

After adding your custom styles, click ‘Save’. Go to your store’s live site and refresh the page to see the changes. Use your browser’s developer tools (right-click > Inspect) to test additional changes in real-time before finalizing them in the custom.css file.

Organize and Optimize Your CSS

To make your CSS file easier to maintain, follow these best practices:

• Use Comments: Add comments to label sections of your CSS file.

/* Header Customizations */
.site-header {
    background-color: #333;
}

• Group Similar Styles: Keep related rules together, e.g., all header styles in one section.
• Minimize Overrides: Use specific selectors to avoid conflicts with existing theme styles.

These practices can help you write cleaner, more maintainable CSS.

If you need further help with CSS enhancement for your Shopify store, opt for our eCommerce website design services. We will analyze your store design requirements and go about the coding implementations accordingly.

But is there another way, a more efficient way to add custom CSS to Shopify? Well, there’s the theme editor.

How to Add Custom CSS via Shopify Theme Editor?

If your theme supports it, you can add CSS directly through the Theme Editor. Here’s how you do it.

Step 1: Log into your Shopify admin panel.

Step 2: Navigate to Online Store > Themes > Customize.

Step 3: Check for a section like Additional CSS under theme settings.

Step 4: Add your custom CSS directly here:

.button {
    background-color: #ff0000;
    color: #ffffff;
}

Step 5: Save and preview your changes.

This option may not exist in all themes and offers limited organization compared to using a dedicated file.

Let’s Summarize

With custom CSS, you can transform your Shopify store into a visually stunning and unique online shopping experience. By adding custom code snippets, you can take control of your store’s design and effectively implement your creative vision.

If you want to organize your styles more efficiently, consider hosting CSS files externally on Shopify. It’s a clean and scalable way to manage design changes across your theme.

Remember, while custom CSS offers great power, use it responsibly. Always test your changes thoroughly and be mindful of potential conflicts with your theme’s existing styles.

If you’re new to CSS, don’t be afraid to experiment and learn. Or connect with us to enhance your Shopify store today!

FAQs on Adding Custom CSS in Shopify