Shopify Recommended Products Not Showing Images? Here's the Fix!

Hey everyone! I was just browsing through the Shopify Community forums, and a thread caught my eye that I know many of you might relate to. It was titled 'Recommended products not appearing,' started by a store owner named LiquorAssets. They were struggling with an issue on their Shopify store, liquorassets.net, where their 'Products You May Also Like' section was showing product cards, but oddly, no images! And when they tried to add a new 'Recommended products' section, it just said 'no recommendations.' This is a common head-scratcher, especially when you know the images are uploaded and product pages are set up correctly. LiquorAssets was using the Horizon theme, which is a detail that often helps narrow down these kinds of issues.

When something like this pops up, it can feel like you're chasing ghosts. Your products are there, the images are uploaded, but they just won't show up where they're supposed to. In the thread, community member DANIELOZ offered some excellent initial diagnostic points that are always worth checking first. These are great general troubleshooting steps for anyone facing similar problems:

• Missing Featured Images: Double-check that all your recommended products actually have featured images assigned to them. Sometimes, a product might exist, but the main image isn't set.
• Liquid Code Reference: Ensure your theme's Liquid code isn't referencing the wrong image object. For example, if you're inside a loop for recommendations, you need to make sure you're pulling the image from the recommended product object, not a generic product.featured_image outside that context.
• CSS or Lazy-Loading Hiding: This is a big one. Sometimes, CSS rules or lazy-loading scripts can inadvertently hide images, making them invisible even when they're technically present in the HTML.

While these are fantastic universal checks, the community really shone when tim_tairli dove deep into LiquorAssets' specific store. This is where the detective work pays off! It turns out, the problem was indeed a tricky CSS conflict within the Horizon theme itself. tim_tairli pinpointed a rule in the assets/base.css file that was meant to align elements for a 'Horizon collection carousel heading' but was having an unintended side-effect.

/* Horizon collection carousel heading alignment */
.resource-list .layout-panel-flex--column {
  align-items: flex-start !important;
}

As tim_tairli explained, this rule, while doing its intended job, was also preventing product card media content from showing because those classes (.resource-list and .layout-panel-flex--column) are used in many other areas of the theme. It's like trying to fix one thing and accidentally breaking another – a classic web development conundrum!

Thankfully, tim_tairli provided a specific override to fix this, along with some aesthetic improvements. Here's what they suggested adding to your CSS to resolve the image visibility issue:

.product-card .product-card__content.product-grid__card {
  align-items: unset !important;
}

This snippet specifically targets the product card content and resets its alignment, overriding the problematic rule. To make things look even better, especially for collection product cards, tim_tairli also recommended adding this:

.product-card .quick-add  button {
  margin-top: 0.5rem;
  width: 100%;
}

This neatens up the 'quick-add' button, giving it a bit of breathing room and ensuring it spans the full width, which is a nice touch for user experience. Here's a visual of what that fix looks like:

How to Implement These CSS Fixes:

For those of you comfortable with a little theme code editing, here's how you can apply these changes:

1. Backup Your Theme: Seriously, this is step zero. Always duplicate your live theme before making any code changes. Go to Online Store > Themes, find your current theme, click Actions > Duplicate.
2. Access Theme Code: From your Shopify admin, go to Online Store > Themes.
3. Edit Code: Find your theme (the one you just duplicated or are actively working on), click Actions > Edit Code.
4. Locate assets/base.css: In the left-hand sidebar, navigate to the Assets folder and look for base.css (or sometimes theme.css or a similar main stylesheet).
5. Add the Override: Scroll to the very bottom of the base.css file and paste the two CSS snippets provided by tim_tairli. Adding them at the bottom ensures they override previous rules due to CSS specificity.
6. Save Changes: Click Save.
7. Check Your Store: Clear your browser cache and check your product pages and recommended sections to see if the images are now appearing correctly.

Another community member, Moeed, also chimed in with a slightly different CSS fix, which could be helpful if the issue persists or if your theme has a slightly different structure. They suggested adding the following code directly into your theme.liquid file, just above the tag:

This targets the .card-gallery class and resets its container type and width. It's a good alternative to try, especially if you're seeing issues with how the entire product card gallery is displaying. Here's Moeed's visual example:

What this thread really highlights is how often seemingly small CSS rules can have a ripple effect across your entire theme. It's a testament to the power of the Shopify community, where store owners and developers come together to troubleshoot these intricate problems. While working with theme code can feel a bit daunting, remember that most issues like this stem from cascading styles or minor conflicts. Always start with the basic checks, and if those don't pan out, don't hesitate to dive into your theme's CSS or reach out to the community. Often, someone else has faced a similar challenge and found a clever solution, just like tim_tairli did for LiquorAssets. Keep an eye on your theme updates too, as these kinds of conflicts can sometimes be resolved in newer versions. Happy selling, everyone!