Placebo theme documentation
Placebo is a Shopify theme for stores that sell a small number of products and want to explain them well. This guide covers installation, every theme setting, every section and block, and the optional product data the theme can read.
Install the theme#
- Open the Placebo listing on the Shopify Theme Store and choose the preset you want to start from. The preset decides the fonts, shapes, colors and starting templates that are installed.
- Select Try theme. Shopify adds Placebo to your theme library as an unpublished theme. You can customize and preview it for free and pay only when you publish.
- In your Shopify admin, go to Online Store › Themes, find Placebo in the theme library and select Customize to open the theme editor.
- When the store looks right in the preview, select Publish from the theme library.
Updates arrive in your theme library as a new version. Shopify keeps your theme editor changes when you update. Changes made in the code editor are not carried over, which is one reason we recommend you avoid editing theme code. See the support policy.
Pick a preset#
A preset is a starting point: a set of theme settings plus a set of templates filled with example sections. Every preset has the same sections, blocks and settings, so anything one preset shows can be built in the other.
- Placebo is made for wellness and supplement stores with a few products. It is typographic and quiet, with a sans-serif type scale, rounded controls and rim cards. The product page carries most of the story.
- Tizra is made for food and drink stores, such as an olive oil producer. It uses a serif heading font, squarer shapes and templates built around origin, harvest and tasting.
To try the other preset, add the theme to your library again from its Theme Store listing and choose that preset. Each copy in your library keeps its own settings and templates.
Theme settings each preset installs#
The table lists the theme settings each preset sets. Every value can be changed afterward under Theme settings in the theme editor. Each setting is explained in Theme settings.
| Setting | Placebo | Tizra |
|---|---|---|
| Colors | ||
| Show aurora light | On | Off |
| Typography | ||
| Headings | Inter, weight 600 | Cormorant, weight 500 |
| Body text | Inter, weight 400 | Work Sans, weight 400 |
| Labels and figures | Roboto Mono, weight 400 | Space Mono, weight 400 |
| Heading size | 100% | 130% |
| Body text size | 13 px | 15 px |
| Heading letter spacing | Tight | Normal |
| Show labels in uppercase | Off | On |
| Heading case | As written | As written |
| Shape and material | ||
| Corner style | Pill | Square |
| Floating element material | Frosted | Solid |
| Card style | Rim | Line |
| Ledger rule style | Dotted leaders | Solid lines |
| Media shape | Follow the corner style | Arch |
| Button style | Solid | Outline |
| Show paper grain | On | On |
| Layout | ||
| Text column width | 520 px | 600 px |
| Grid spacing | 10 px | 4 px |
| Motion | ||
| Motion level | Full | Calm |
| Product cards | ||
| Image ratio | Portrait | Tall portrait |
| Delivery and returns | ||
| Free shipping | On every order | From an order value |
| Free shipping from | Not set | 80 |
| Delivery time | 3 to 7 business days | 2 to 5 business days |
| Return window in days | 30 | 14 |
| Return shipping is free | On | Off |
| Guarantee length | 2 | Not set |
| Fewest business days to deliver | 3 | 2 |
| Most business days to deliver | 7 | 5 |
| Product badges | ||
| Show New for | 30 d | 0 d |
| Cart | ||
| Cart type | Drawer | Drawer |
Templates each preset installs#
Templates are listed by file name, as they appear in the template picker at the top of the theme editor. A template without a suffix, such as product, is the default one. The base templates every preset shares are described in Pages and templates.
Placebo
| Template | Sections it starts with |
|---|---|
404 | Page not found |
article | Blog post |
blog | Blog |
cart | Cart |
collection | Collection |
index | Hero, Notice, Claims, Facts table, Steps, Featured collection, Press and logos, Detail cards, Next steps, Questions, Creator videos, Email signup |
list-collections | Collections |
page.about | Page header, Timeline, Next steps |
page.contact | Page header, Page, Contact form |
page.faq | Page header, Questions, Next steps |
page.formulation | Page header, Divider, Facts table, Multicolumn, Divider, Claims, Image with text, Divider, Split hero, Divider, Claims, Next steps |
page | Page |
page.legal | Page |
page.science | Page header, Figures, Detail cards, Divider, Claims, Divider, Claims, Divider, Multicolumn, Press and logos, Custom section, Next steps |
page.shipping | Page header, Delivery and returns, Image with text, Notice, Questions, Next steps |
page.story | Page header, Timeline, Next steps |
page.subscription | Page header, Steps, Comparison table, Notice, Questions, Next steps |
password | Password page |
product.bundle | Product information |
product.catalog | Product information |
product.full | Product information |
product.gift-card | Product information |
product.hero | Product information |
product | Product information |
product.simple | Product information |
product.subscription | Product information |
search | Search results |
Tizra
| Template | Sections it starts with |
|---|---|
404 | Page not found |
article | Blog post, Featured collection |
blog | Blog, Email signup |
cart | Cart |
collection | Collection, Email signup |
index | Hero, Notice, Split hero, Multicolumn, Image with text, Featured collection, Collection list, Steps, Gallery, Blog posts, Questions, Email signup |
list-collections | Collections |
page.about | Page header, Figures, Split hero, Multicolumn, Gallery, Store information, Email signup |
page.contact | Contact form, Store information, Next steps |
page.faq | Questions, Next steps |
page.harvest | Page header, Steps, Facts table, Split hero, Notice, Featured collection |
page | Page |
page.legal | Page, Next steps |
page.shipping | Page header, Steps, Image with text, Questions, Notice |
page.tasting | Page header, Multicolumn, Facts table, Comparison table, Image banner |
password | Password page |
product.bundle | Product information |
product.hero | Product information |
product | Product information |
product.simple | Product information |
product.subscription | Product information |
search | Search results |
Set up your store in order#
The theme reads a few values from one place and repeats them everywhere. Filling them first saves work later.
- Logo and menus. In the theme editor, select the Header section and choose your Logo and Main menu. See Header and navigation.
- Colors and fonts. Open Theme settings and adjust Colors and Typography. See Theme settings.
- Delivery and returns. Fill Theme settings > Delivery and returns once. The product page, the cart, the footer and the Delivery and returns section all read these values. See Delivery and returns.
- Product page. Open a product in the theme editor and arrange the blocks of the Product information section. See Product page.
- Policies. Publish your shipping, refund, privacy and terms policies under Settings › Policies in your Shopify admin. The footer lists them when Show policy links is on.
- Popups. Review the sections in the Popups group: cookie consent, country suggestion and the email signup popup. See Popups and password page.
- Optional product data. If you want badges, highlights or taglines per product, add the metafields described in Custom data. Nothing there is required.
How the theme is organized#
Three ideas explain most of what you see in the theme editor.
Stage and column#
The product page pins the gallery on one side of the screen, at the full height of the window, while one column of content scrolls on the other side. The same pattern is available elsewhere: a blog post with pinned pictures, a collection as a lookbook, a timeline whose picture follows the chapter being read, questions beside a pinned image, and the Stage and column section for your own pages. On phones the stage sits above the column.
Small, Medium, Large#
Almost every section has a Size setting with the choices Small, Medium and Large. A size is a composition of its own, not the same layout zoomed. Small is compact and dense, Medium is the standard page, and Large gives a picture or a figure more of the screen. The note under each section's Size setting says what changes for that section.
One source for repeated facts#
Statements about delivery, returns and guarantees come from Theme settings > Delivery and returns. Sale and sold out badges are computed from your prices and inventory. The theme does not invent urgency: it has no stock countdown, no visitor counter and no timer that restarts. Countdowns run to one real date that you enter.
Contents#
- 01Theme settingsColors and schemes, typography, shape and material, motion, product cards, delivery and returns, badges and cart.
- 02Header and navigationHeader layouts, menu panels, menu badges, the announcement bar, the search panel and the country and language selectors.
- 03Sections and blocksEvery section you can add to a page, what it is for and its settings.
- 04Product pageStructures, the gallery, the buy buttons, purchase options, bundles, facts, detail cards, reviews and the buy bar.
- 05Collection and searchFilters, sorting, product cards, quick view and quick add.
- 06CartThe cart drawer and page, shipping estimate, order note, suggested products and free shipping.
- 07Pages and templatesThe templates the theme ships and the sections each one starts with.
- 08Popups and password pageCookie consent, country suggestion, email signup popup, age check and the three password page layouts.
- 09Custom dataOptional product metafields the theme reads, and the conventions for media alt text and tags.
- 10AppsApp blocks, subscriptions, bundles, Search and Discovery and review apps.
- 11Performance, accessibility, SEOWhat the theme does for speed, for every visitor and for search engines, and what stays in your hands.
- 12TranslationsThe languages the theme ships in and how to edit or add a translation.
- 13FAQAnswers to the questions merchants ask most about Placebo.
- 14ChangelogWhat changed in each version of Placebo.
- 15Support policyWhat theme support covers, what it does not, and how fast we answer.
Get help#
Read the FAQ first: it answers the questions we receive most. If your question is not there, contact support. We reply within two business days, Monday to Friday. The support policy explains what is covered.