Customizing Your Shopify Gift Card Image: A Community Deep Dive
Spice Up Your Shopify Gift Cards: Making Them Uniquely Yours
Ever wanted to swap out that default gift card image in your Shopify store with something that screams *your* brand? It's a common desire! Recently, a user named acote in the Shopify Community was trying to do just that, and ran into a bit of a snag. They wanted to change the standard red gift image on the customer page to their own custom gift card design. Let's break down the issue and how the community helped solve it.
The Challenge: Image Location, Location, Location!
Acote had managed to find the right spot in the code to remove the default image, which is half the battle! The problem? Getting their own image to display correctly. They shared a screenshot of the code:
The core issue here is where Shopify expects to find that image for gift card emails. It's not as straightforward as just uploading it to your regular files section.
The Solution: Uploading to the Right Place
Goodness.Michael chimed in with the crucial piece of information: for gift card emails, the image *must* be uploaded to the theme's Assets folder. Not the Files section, and not an external link. This is a specific requirement for gift card emails to correctly load the image.
Here's the breakdown:
- Go to Online Store → Themes → Edit code.
- Look for the Assets folder in the left-hand sidebar.
- Upload your gift card image to this folder. Make sure the filename matches exactly what's referenced in your code.
According to Goodness.Michael, referencing the image in the code *after* it's in the Assets folder should do the trick. If it’s not in Assets, it won’t show in the customer email. Simple as that!
A Word of Caution: Assets vs. Files
Now, tim_1 offered a slightly different perspective, highlighting the use of Liquid filters: file_url or Liquid filters: file_img_url to reference images uploaded to the Content-> Files section. He also advised against uploading to the Assets folder, mentioning that the notification emails processor has no idea what your current theme is.
This brings up an important distinction. While uploading to the Assets folder *is* the solution for gift card emails, for other image customizations throughout your store, using the Files section and the corresponding Liquid filters (file_url or file_img_url) is generally the recommended approach. The reason for this is that assets are tied to your theme. If you switch themes, those images disappear. Files, on the other hand, are independent of the theme.
Liquid Filters: Your Key to Dynamic Images
Tim_1 also pointed out that the original code was using Liquid filters: shopify_asset_url. This filter is designed to pull images from that centrally hosted Shopify asset location. Since acote's custom image wasn't there, it wouldn't work.
So, when you're using your own images, make sure you're using the correct Liquid filter (file_url or file_img_url) and that your image is uploaded to the Files section (Content -> Files in your Shopify admin).
Putting It All Together
To recap, if you're specifically trying to change the gift card image in the *email* that customers receive, you need to upload the image to your theme's Assets folder. For other image customizations, use the Files section and the file_url or file_img_url Liquid filters.
Customizing your Shopify store can sometimes feel like navigating a maze, but with the help of the community and a little understanding of how Shopify handles assets and files, you can create a truly unique and branded experience for your customers. Just remember to choose the right image location, and you'll be well on your way!