Theme blocks ship with your theme, while app blocks come from the Shopify apps you install. Both are arranged inside sections and configured in the Shopify theme editor.
Theme blocks and app blocks
Updated 3 months ago
Theme blocks and app blocks are the building blocks you arrange inside sections to build your storefront pages. Theme blocks ship with your theme; app blocks come from the Shopify apps you install. You add and configure both in the Shopify theme editor.
What blocks are
Blocks are the pieces you place on a page — media, text, buttons, accordions, marquees, and the rest. You build a page by adding a section and arranging blocks inside it: the section controls the layout, and the blocks fill it. A block is only available inside a section that supports it.
Theme blocks
Theme blocks are built into the theme. In the Pops theme, the pieces you place on a page are theme blocks you compose together rather than fixed, self-contained sections with hard-coded layouts. In the Cama theme, blocks are nested inside sections. You add and arrange theme blocks in the Shopify theme editor.
App blocks
App blocks come from the Shopify apps you install. When an app supports app blocks, you add its block to a section that accepts it, and the app renders its widget inside that space. For example, Snap Bundle adds a theme app block for each bundle type, and a bundle type can only be displayed on your storefront once its block has been added to the theme.
App embeds
App embeds are separate from app blocks. An app embed loads app content globally across the storefront rather than inside a section, and you enable it in the theme editor. For example, Snap Bundle's Bundle builder page is loaded by the SnapBundle app embed, while its other widgets load through app blocks.
Checkout extensions
Some app features are not blocks at all. Shopify checkout extensions, such as Snap Bundle's Bundle at Checkout, live in the checkout editor rather than the theme editor and are not theme blocks.
FAQ
What is the difference between theme blocks and app blocks?
How do I add and arrange blocks on a page?
You build a page by adding a section and arranging blocks inside it: the section controls the layout, and the blocks fill it. A block is only available inside a section that supports it. You add and configure both theme blocks and app blocks in the Shopify theme editor.
What is an app block?
An app block comes from a Shopify app you install. When the app supports app blocks, you add its block to a section that accepts it, and the app renders its widget inside that space.
Why is my app's bundle or widget not showing on my storefront?
An app feature that uses an app block can only be displayed on your storefront once its block has been added to the theme. Add the app's block to a section that accepts it for the widget to render.
What is the difference between an app block and an app embed?
An app block renders inside a section that accepts it. An app embed is separate: it loads app content globally across the storefront rather than inside a section, and you enable it in the theme editor.
Where do I configure app features that are not blocks?
Some app features are not blocks at all. Shopify checkout extensions live in the checkout editor rather than the theme editor and are not theme blocks.
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