As your Shopify store grows, so does the challenge of helping customers find the right products. While a small catalogue may be easy to browse, stores with hundreds or thousands of products need a better way to guide shoppers to relevant items.
This is where custom product filters become essential.
Whether you're selling fashion, beauty, electronics, furniture, or B2B products, filters help customers narrow down their choices quickly, improving both user experience and conversion rates. In this guide, we'll explain how to add custom filters on Shopify and Shopify Plus, the different filter types available, and best practices for creating an effective product discovery experience.
What Are Shopify Product Filters?
Product filters allow shoppers to refine collection and search results based on specific product attributes.
For example, customers can filter products by:
- Size
- Colour
- Price
- Availability
- Material
- Brand
- Product type
Instead of browsing through an entire collection, shoppers can quickly find products that match their preferences.
It's important to understand that filtering is different from sorting. Sorting simply changes the order of products, while filtering removes products that don't match selected criteria.
When implemented correctly, filters reduce friction in the buying journey and help customers discover products faster.
Standard Filters vs Custom Filters
Shopify provides several built-in filters that can be enabled with minimal setup, including:
- Availability
- Price
- Product Type
- Vendor
- Category
- Tags
While these filters are useful, they often don't reflect how customers actually shop.
For example, a fashion brand may want shoppers to filter by:
- Fabric
- Fit
- Sleeve Length
- Occasion
- Pattern
Similarly, a furniture brand may need filters for:
- Material
- Seating Capacity
- Dimensions
- Style
To achieve this level of customization, Shopify allows merchants to create custom filters using product options, metafields, and metaobjects.
Ways to Create Custom Filters in Shopify
1. Product Options
If your products already have variants such as Size or Colour, these can automatically be used as filter options.
For example:
- Size: Small, Medium, Large
- Colour: Black, White, Blue
This is the simplest way to create filters because the data already exists within your products.
2. Metafields
Metafields allow you to store additional information that isn't available in Shopify's default product fields.
For example:
- Fabric Type
- Waterproof Rating
- Skin Type
- Sustainability Features
- Product Weight
Once populated, these metafields can be converted into filter options, giving customers more relevant ways to browse your catalogue.
3. Metaobjects
Metaobjects provide a structured way to manage reusable content across your store.
For example, a colour metaobject can contain:
- Colour Name
- Hex Code
- Colour Swatch Image
This is particularly useful for visual filters where customers can select colours through swatches rather than text labels.
How to Add Custom Filters on Shopify
Step 1: Install Shopify Search & Discovery
Shopify's filtering functionality is managed through the free Search & Discovery app.
Install the app from the Shopify App Store and open the Filters section from the app dashboard.
Before proceeding, ensure your theme supports storefront filtering. Most Online Store 2.0 themes support this functionality by default.
Step 2: Create the Data Source
If you're using existing product options such as Size or Colour, you can skip this step.
For custom filters, create a metafield by navigating to:
Settings → Custom Data → Products
Create a new metafield definition and select the appropriate content type.
Examples:
- Material → Single Line Text
- Waterproof → True/False
- Fabric Weight → Number
Once created, populate the metafield values across your products.
Step 3: Add the Filter
Navigate to:
Apps → Search & Discovery → Filters
Click Add Filter and select the source:
- Product Option
- Metafield
- Category Attribute
- Metaobject Reference
Choose the field you want customers to filter by and save your changes.
Step 4: Enable Filters in Your Theme
Open the Shopify Theme Editor and navigate to your collection page template.
Enable filtering within the product grid or collection settings.
Depending on your theme, filters may appear as:
- Sidebar filters
- Dropdown filters
- Mobile filter drawers
Always test the experience on both desktop and mobile devices before going live.
Shopify Plus and Advanced Filtering
Most Shopify stores can achieve excellent filtering using native functionality. However, Shopify Plus merchants often manage larger catalogues and more complex customer journeys.
For example, B2B stores may require filtering based on:
- Industry
- Product Specifications
- Compatibility
- Certifications
- Regional Availability
In such cases, Shopify Plus provides greater flexibility through custom development, Shopify APIs, and advanced storefront customization.
However, many advanced filtering requirements can still be handled using well-structured metafields and metaobjects without requiring a fully custom solution.
Best Practices for Shopify Filters
Focus on Customer Behavior
Don't add filters simply because the data exists.
Instead, think about how customers make purchasing decisions and prioritize the filters that help them find products faster.
Keep Data Consistent
A filtering system is only as good as the product data behind it.
For example, using:
- Cotton
- 100% Cotton
- Organic Cotton
for similar products can create confusing filter results.
Standardized data ensures clean and accurate filtering.
Avoid Too Many Filters
While customization is valuable, overwhelming customers with dozens of filter options can have the opposite effect.
Focus on the attributes that matter most and keep the interface simple.
Optimize for Mobile
A significant portion of ecommerce traffic comes from mobile devices.
Ensure customers can:
- Open filters easily
- Apply multiple filters
- View selected filters
- Clear filters quickly
A poor mobile filtering experience can negatively impact conversions.
Common Shopify Filter Issues
Filters Not Showing
This usually happens because:
- The theme doesn't support filtering
- Filters aren't enabled in the theme settings
- The data source isn't populated correctly
Missing Filter Values
Check whether products have the required metafield or option values assigned.
Incomplete product data often causes filters to appear empty.
Duplicate Filter Options
Differences in naming conventions such as:
- Blue
- blue
- Dark Blue
can create multiple filter values.
Standardizing product data helps avoid this issue.
Advanced Filtering Requirements
If native Shopify filters don't meet your needs, consider third-party solutions or custom development. However, review your product data structure first, as many filtering challenges can be solved through better catalog management.
Final Thoughts
Custom filters play a critical role in improving product discovery on Shopify and Shopify Plus stores. By allowing customers to quickly narrow down products based on relevant attributes, filters create a smoother shopping experience and help drive higher conversions.
For most merchants, Shopify's Search & Discovery app combined with product options, metafields, and metaobjects provides everything needed to build powerful filtering experiences. As your catalogue grows, investing time in clean product data and thoughtful filter design will have a significant impact on both customer experience and sales performance.
At Propero, we help brands create scalable product discovery experiences through custom storefront development, catalogue optimization, and advanced Shopify solutions that improve usability and drive growth.
Get in touch with our Shopify experts today to discuss your store requirements and discover the best filtering solution for your catalogue.