How to Easily Add a Slider to Your Shopify Store in 2024

Adding a slider to your Shopify store is a great way to showcase multiple products or promotions in a single space. This guide will walk you through the detailed steps on how to add a slider on Shopify to assist you in highlighting key items and boosting your store’s visual appeal. 

By exploring this post closely, you can understand how this feature can impro

Related Posts:

• How to remove Powered by Shopify from your Shopify store?
• What Programming Language Does Shopify use?
• How to Backup your Shopify theme?

What is a Shopify slider?

A Shopify slider is a dynamic, interactive element that displays multiple images, videos, or promotions in a rotating or sliding format. It enhances a store’s visual appeal by showcasing key products or offers in a limited space, encouraging customer engagement without requiring them to scroll through the page.

Benefits of adding a slider to your Shopify store

When I added a slider to my Shopify store, it instantly made the homepage more dynamic and engaging, showcasing featured products and promotions at a glance. This change led to higher click-through rates and kept visitors on the site longer, boosting overall user experience and engagement.

From my own experience, plus the views of other merchants, adding a slider to your Shopify store can offer a wide range of benefits, including:

• Showcases Key Promotions: Sliders prioritize top deals, like a "Holiday Sale," helping customers see the best offers first. I saw a 20% increase in clicks after adding a seasonal slider.
• Grabs Attention Instantly: Sliders catch the eye immediately on the homepage. Featuring limited-time offers boosted engagement on highlighted items.
• Simplifies Browsing: With slider arrows, customers can easily browse collections without searching. This streamlined navigation keeps them focused on high-interest items.
• Creates a Polished Look: A well-designed slider elevates homepage appeal. After adding branded visuals in my slider, time on the homepage increased, signaling enhanced engagement.

How to add a slider on Shopify?

Let’s walk through the seven steps of how to add a slider to your Shopify store.

Step 1: Duplicate Your Theme

• In Shopify admin, go to Sales Channels > Online Store > Themes.
• Locate your theme and click Actions > Duplicate.
• Duplicating the theme creates a backup, so any errors won't impact your published version.

Step 2: Add a New Section

• In the duplicated theme, click Actions > Edit code.

Go to Edit code

• Navigate to the Sections folder, then click Add a new section.
• Name the file slider or something descriptive, like product_slider, then click Done.

Step 3: Define Basic HTML Structure

• In the slider.liquid file, add HTML for the slider. A basic example includes a container and individual slides:

<div class="slider">
  <div class="slide">
    <img src="image1.jpg" alt="Slide 1">
  </div>
  <div class="slide">
    <img src="image2.jpg" alt="Slide 2">
  </div>
  <div class="slide">
    <img src="image3.jpg" alt="Slide 3">
  </div>
</div>

Step 4: Add CSS Styling

• Add CSS in the same slider.liquid file, or alternatively in assets/theme.scss.liquid:

.slider {
  width: 100%;
  overflow: hidden; 
}

.slide {
  width: 100%;
  display: none; /* Initially hide all slides except the first */
}

.slide.active {
  display: block; /* Show the active slide */
}

• Adjust styles as needed to define the appearance and positioning of your slider.

Step 5: Add JavaScript Functionality

• In slider.liquid or in assets/theme.js, add JavaScript to control the slider’s behavior:

const slides = document.querySelectorAll('.slide');
let currentSlide = 0;

function showSlide(n) {
  slides[currentSlide].classList.remove('active');
  currentSlide = (n + slides.length) % slides.length;
  slides[currentSlide].classList.add('active');
}

showSlide(currentSlide); // Show the first slide initially

• Modify this code for autoplay functionality by adding a setInterval function to automatically change slides every few seconds:

setInterval(() => showSlide(currentSlide + 1), 3000); // Change slide every 3 seconds

• Then, you need to click Save button. 

Step 6: Include the Slider in Your Theme

• Open your main theme.liquid file from the Layout directory.
• Insert the following code where you want the slider to display:

{% section 'slider' %}

• Save all your edits before you finish creating sliders.

Step 7: Customize and Test

• Make any final adjustments to the HTML, CSS, or JavaScript for your slider in slider.liquid to match your store’s design.
• Test the slider thoroughly across different devices (desktop, tablet, mobile) to ensure it works smoothly and adapts responsively.
• Go back to your Shopify admin and live the duplicate theme by clicking Publish.

Notes:

• This guide covers basics; a fully responsive slider may need advanced JavaScript and CSS.
• Consider Swiper.js or Slick.js for smoother, more versatile sliders.
• Always duplicate your theme before editing to avoid permanent changes.
• Compress slider images to reduce page load time, improving SEO.
• Test on multiple devices to ensure the slider adapts well on mobile and desktop.
• For a better user experience, include arrows or dots for slide control.
• Verify performance across Chrome, Safari, Firefox, and Edge for consistency.
• If coding isn’t ideal, use slider apps available on Shopify for a simpler setup.

Top 5 Shopify Slider Apps to support your slider adding  

In case the coding guide above seems to be a bit complex for you to apply, then the top 5 Shopify slider apps below can assist you in quickly adding the sliders to your store:

1. Image Slider Pro

Image Slider Pro is a Shopify app designed to add versatile image sliders to showcase products, banners, or logos. Features like custom captions and links make it easy to guide customers directly to products or promotions. I appreciate its bulk upload and responsive design, making setup fast and viewing seamless on mobile.

Highlight Features:

• Unlimited image and logo sliders
• Customizable captions and links
• Bulk image upload for faster setup
• Responsive and mobile-friendly design
• Adjustable autoplay and speed settings
• Direct URL linking to products
• Hover-to-zoom effect on images

Pricing: 

• Free plan
• Basic Plan: $6.99/month
• Pro Plan: $9.99/month
• Premium Plan: $19.99/month

Rating: 4.8/5⭐

2. GG Product Page Image Slider

GG Product Page Image Slider enhances product pages with customizable image and video sliders, improving visual presentation and navigation. I particularly liked its zoom and variant image features, which make product details more accessible.

Highlight Features:

• Image sliders with thumbnail previews
• Video slide support with autoplay options
• Zoom and magnify functionality for images
• Variant-specific image displays
• Mobile-optimized for swipe functionality
• 3D/AR media support

Pricing:

• Free Plan
• Pro Discounted: $4.99/month
• Pro: $8.99/month

Rating:  4.9/5⭐

3. Reputon Testimonials Slider

Reputon Testimonials Slider helps Shopify stores build trust by showcasing customer testimonials, photo reviews, and video reviews. I found its customizable layouts useful for creating an engaging, visually appealing display of social proof.

Highlight Features:

• Collects and embeds customer testimonials, photo reviews, and video reviews
• Import reviews from Google, Amazon, and other platforms
• Multiple display options: slider, carousel, grid
• Customizable review request forms
• QR code and email link for easy review collection
• Social proof integration with TikTok and YouTube

Pricing:

• Free Plan
• Premium Plan: $5.99/month

Rating: 4.8/5⭐

4. POWR: Image Slider | Slideshow

POWR Image Slider offers a flexible slider solution for Shopify stores, allowing for creative displays in carousel or hero formats. The app’s image protection and SEO options enhance professionalism and search visibility, which I find ideal for maintaining brand quality.

Highlight Features:

• Multiple layouts (slider, carousel, hero)
• Customizable transitions and autoplay
• Disable right-click for image protection
• SEO alt text for each image
• Mobile-responsive with swipe support
• CTA buttons for engagement
• Custom CSS and JS support

Pricing:

• Free Plan
• Starter Plan: $4.49/month
• Pro Plan: $11.99/month
• Business Plan: $89.99/month

Rating: 4.3/5⭐

5. SmartBN: Banner Slider

Banner Slider is designed to display various types of image sliders, from banners to video sliders, on your Shopify store. I find its bulk upload and preview features save time, making setup easier and faster.

Highlight Features:

• Create unlimited sliders and banners
• Supports full-width, video, and catalog sliders
• Bulk image upload for quicker setup
• Preview sliders before publishing
• Responsive design for all devices
• Embed sliders using custom code

Pricing:

• Free Plan: 1 slider, 3 slides
• Basic Plan: $15.99/month

Rating: 4.5/5⭐

FAQs

What’s the simplest way to add a slider to my Shopify store?

You can use a slider app from the Shopify App Store, which integrates seamlessly with your store’s theme. Many apps offer drag-and-drop customization, making setup quick and easy.

Can I add a slider without coding knowledge?

Yes, most Shopify slider apps are user-friendly and require no coding. They offer templates and straightforward settings to help you get started right away.

What type of content works best in a Shopify slider?

Use high-quality images for featured products, seasonal promotions, or new arrivals to catch visitors’ attention. Keep text minimal to maintain a clean, impactful look.

How does adding a slider benefit my Shopify store?

A slider visually highlights important content, enhancing user engagement and potentially increasing click-through rates. It allows you to showcase multiple offers or products without cluttering the page.

What should I consider when choosing a slider app for Shopify?

Look for responsive design, customizable layouts, and good support options to ensure it fits your theme and functions smoothly across devices. Check reviews for user experience and app reliability.

Conclusion

This article has explained the step-by-step process of adding a slider to your Shopify store, helping you enhance visual appeal and improve product promotion. To make the most of this slider feature, you should ensure to select images that highlight key products or offers and update your slider regularly to keep your homepage fresh and engaging.