Collection page templates define how product listing pages appear when shoppers browse a collection on your storefront. You control the layout, product grid, and supporting content, giving each collection a tailored shopping experience.
Create a collection template
In the Layouts & layers panel, click + and choose Collection — or open the Add layout menu. Instant asks how you'd like to start: build with Instant AI (describe what you want and the Agent generates it), pick a starting point from the Template Library under the Collection tab, or start from a blank canvas.
Use the Insert panel to add collection content — product grids, the collection title, descriptions, and supporting sections.
Publish the template
Collection data and assignments come from Shopify, so you publish the template before assigning collections:
Select the collection template in Layouts & layers.
Click Publish in the header bar.
If prompted, enable Instant Embed so collection data works on the live storefront.
Assign collections
After publishing, open Template settings with the gear icon next to the layout name in the top header (the panel opens as Collection template settings) and go to the General tab. Under Collections:
Search for the collections that should use this template.
Select them.
Click Assign collections.
You can assign an unlimited number of collections to one template. If you open this section before publishing, Instant shows Publish this template first.
Set as default template
On the General tab, use Set as default template to apply this layout to any collection without a specific assignment. This works well when most collections share one design.
Plan availability
Publishing collection templates requires the Starter plan or higher — on the Free plan the Collections group shows a Starter badge and prompts you to upgrade. Product page and collection templates share one combined publish limit (your plan's reusable templates):
Plan | Reusable templates (product + collection) |
Starter | 3 |
Pro | 5 |
Business | 10 |
On the Free plan you can design and preview collection templates but cannot publish them. Check Settings → Plans for your account's limits.
Dynamic collection data
Collection templates pull live product data from Shopify. When you add or remove products from a collection in Shopify, the listing updates automatically on your storefront. Republish only when you change the template design in Instant.
Design considerations
Product grid — balance how many products you show per row against readability, especially on mobile.
Collection hero — use the top area for the collection title, description, and a banner before the product grid.
Empty states — preview with a collection that has few or no products to check the layout still looks good.