I have created multiple product templates - was this the right thing to do?

Shopify Discussion
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Topic summary

A user created multiple product templates to display unique text and videos for each product, but now faces the issue of having to manually update shared sections (like a multi-column block) across all templates whenever changes are needed.

The Problem:

  • Shared sections appear on homepage and all product pages
  • Any update requires repeating the same change across multiple templates
  • This approach is time-consuming and inefficient

Recommended Solution:

  • Use a single shared product template instead of multiple templates
  • Implement metafields to handle product-specific content (unique text, videos) without duplicating templates
  • Create reusable sections for content that appears across multiple pages
  • This allows one-time updates that automatically apply everywhere

The discussion remains open, with one community member confirming this is a common issue and providing the structured approach above to streamline future maintenance.

Summarized with AI on October 25. AI used: claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929.
1

Hi Everyone,

I have a question - I have created multiple product templates (and other templates for delivery, about us, contact etc) and I have realised that if I change a section that is consistent across multiple templates, I have to make that change multiple times!

For example: I have a multi column section on my home page which is also on all product pages, If I update some of the text on my home page in the future (which will undoubtably happen) I will have to spend time making this change across my website.

So the question is, should I have setup the product & page templates in a different way to avoid having to make multiple updates across my website?? I feel this is going to be time consuming in the future and I want to make sure I am setup in the most efficient way.

NOTE: The reason I setup multiple product templates was because each product has unique text next to the product, a unique video on the page, and when I was updating the text or video, it was making the change across all products.

Cheers

Matty

2

Hellow

3

Hi @harper1989,

Great question, and yes, there’s a more efficient way to set this up so you don’t have to update the same section across multiple templates.

Here’s the idea:

  • Instead of creating a new template for each product, you can use one shared product template.

  • For the parts that need to be different (like unique text or video), you can use metafields. These let you change the content per product, without touching the template.

  • For sections that appear on multiple pages (like your multi-column block), it’s better to create a reusable section and include it in your templates. That way, if you update it once, it updates everywhere.

This setup saves a ton of time and keeps things much easier to manage in the long run.

1 Like