-
Create a Collection for Out-of-Stock Products:
- In Shopify Admin, go to Products > Collections.
- Create a new collection (e.g., “Out of Stock”).
- Use a manual collection and add out-of-stock items to this collection.
-
Hide the Collection from Navigation:
- Don’t link this collection in your store’s main navigation, ensuring it’s only accessible through search.
-
Add a Note for Out-of-Stock Products:
- Edit the product descriptions or add a banner/notice that indicates whether the product will return.
-
Ensure Products Remain Searchable:
- Don’t remove out-of-stock products from the Online Store sales channel. This allows them to remain indexed for search.
Topic summary
Goal: Keep sold‑out products discoverable via the homepage search but hidden from shop/collection browsing, similar to WooCommerce’s “search only” visibility.
Current setup: The merchant unpublishes sold‑out items from the Online Store sales channel, which removes them from both the storefront and search results.
Guidance offered:
- Keep out‑of‑stock products published to the Online Store; unpublishing removes them from search entirely.
- Use a metafield (custom field) or theme logic to hide sold‑out products from collection grids while still allowing search indexing.
- Add a “Notify me” restock button and set up an email automation to alert customers when items return.
- Workaround: Put sold‑out items into a dedicated “Out of Stock” collection hidden from navigation, and add notes in descriptions about restock status.
Merchant’s concern: Hiding a collection from navigation may not prevent discovery because customers can browse other collections, potentially exposing sold‑out items.
Status: No built‑in “search‑only” toggle in Shopify was identified. The thread remains open; suggested path is keeping items published and using metafields/theme customizations plus restock notifications.