Spotlight
Spotlight presents a small set of media items — photos or short videos — each with a caption and optional link. Three arrangements: a three-column row, one featured item in the middle, or alternating left-right rows.
What it does
Section titled “What it does”Use it to highlight three to six items with equal weight — product angles, grooming results, or short clips. Every item shares the same photo shape, which keeps the section looking deliberate.
Add it to a page
Section titled “Add it to a page”- In Shopify admin, go to Online Store → Themes and click Edit theme. (Older admin versions label this button Customize.)
- Open the template where you want the section.
- Click Add section and choose Spotlight.
- Click Add block → Spotlight item for each item (up to 6).
- Add media, captions, and links, then save.
Choose a style
Section titled “Choose a style”| Setting | Default | Options | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|
| Layout | Three columns | Three columns / Featured center / Alternating rows | Three columns lines items up in a row; Featured center makes the middle item larger; Alternating rows zig-zag media and captions down the page |
| Image ratio | Portrait (4:5) | Square (1:1) / Portrait (4:5) / Portrait (3:4) / Landscape (4:3) / Wide (16:9) | The photo shape for every item. Alternating rows work best with Landscape or Wide |
Set it up: quick start
Section titled “Set it up: quick start”- Add the section and keep Three columns.
- In each Spotlight item block, upload an Image (or set a video) and type a Caption.
- Add a Link per item if it should click through.
- Save and check the phone preview — columns stack into a single column.
Settings
Section titled “Settings”Section settings
Section titled “Section settings”See the table under Choose a style (Layout and Image ratio), plus:
| Setting | Default | Options | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|
| Subheading | Empty | Text | Small line above the heading |
| Heading | “In the spotlight” | Text | Section title; leave empty for no title |
Blocks
Section titled “Blocks”Add up to 6 Spotlight item blocks.
| Block | Limit | What it adds |
|---|---|---|
| Spotlight item | 6 | One photo or video with caption, text, and optional link |
Spotlight item settings
| Setting | Default | Options | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|
| Image | Empty | Image picker | The item’s photo. Shown when no video is set; used as the video cover when a video is set |
| Video (uploaded to Shopify) | Empty | Video picker | Shopify-hosted video; takes priority over the image and the URL below |
| Or video URL | Empty | URL | YouTube or Vimeo link — used when no Shopify-hosted video is set |
| Caption | “Item caption” | Text | Short line under the media |
| Text | Empty | Text | Extra sentence, if the item needs more detail |
| Link | Empty | URL | Where the item leads. Skipped when the item has a video |
Images and content tips
Section titled “Images and content tips”- Use the same orientation for all items in a set — the shared Image ratio crops anything else.
- Portrait (4:5) suits product and pet portraits; Landscape (4:3) or Wide (16:9) suit scenes and the Alternating rows layout.
- Videos: upload to Shopify to play in place; YouTube/Vimeo links open in their own player. The image doubles as the cover.
Good to know
Section titled “Good to know”- Videos replace links. An item with a video ignores its Link — the play action wins.
- Captions are plain text, one line — put longer stories in the Text field.
- Featured center expects an odd number of items (3 or 5) so the middle item is truly centered.
Example setups
Section titled “Example setups”Product angles. Three columns, Portrait (4:5), three photos of one bed from different sides, captions “Cover”, “Bolster”, “Base”.
Grooming results. Alternating rows, Landscape (4:3), before/after pairs with short captions and links to the service’s collection.
Common questions
Section titled “Common questions”My item has a video and the link is gone. That’s by design — videos take over the item. Put the link on a photo item instead.
The middle item isn’t centered in Featured center. The layout centers the middle block — with an even number of items there is no true middle. Add or remove one item.
Captions look cut off. Keep captions to one short line; move detail into the Text field.