Animated Gifs For Shopify Product Pages

Can I use GIF images on my Shopify store? If so, where?

We usually get this question from people who are looking to add some interest and additional information to their product pages, and it’s a good one.

In short, the answer is yes, you can use GIFs. This post is a quick breakdown that will have you up and running with GIFs right away.

Most Shopify themes will accommodate animated GIFs on product pages.  These are often used to show different angles of a product, or to give it a ‘360 view’.

They can look fantastic when done properly. Not only does it show off your product to full effect, but it gives the customer a sense of interaction with the product — it’s about as close as people can get to actually playing with the item.

Remember the old idea that possession is 9/10s of the law? Using animated GIFs for Shopify product pages to demonstrate the look and feel of the item is the next best thing in the e-commerce space.

Here is a resource to buy animated gifts for your store:

Using Animated GIFs On Product Pages

Here’s a nice example from our friends (and clients) at the wonderful Memobottle:  https://www.memobottle.com/products/a6-memobottle

(Or you can see the rotating version of this GIF here.)

Normally, you can simply upload the animated .gif image file straight into your product images, and it will work. In other words: Go to Admin > Products > Your Product. In the images, drag in your animated GIF file (Note: You’ll need to have created your animated GIF first!). Just like you normally would:

Using Animated Gifs on Your Homepage or Theme Settings

If you’re looking to use animated GIFs on other parts of your Shopify store, you’re going to have to get into the weeds a bit more. You’ve got to get into your theme settings to use animated gifts for your homepage slider and other sections, so it isn’t as easy as it is on product pages.

To be honest, apart from the product pages, I wouldn’t recommend using GIFs extensively on your site. On a homepage or carousel, they can be distracting, and they can create a lag in the download speed of your pages.

(We also covered other conversion and usability strategies in our Tear Down Series, here, here and here.)

If you’re determined, though, Shopify has a guide here on how to manage it. They cover how to use a GIF file for your logo, and how to use GIF files for your homepage slider or carousel.

Have you got questions or comments on using GIFs? Leave them in the comments below and we’ll get back to you shortly.

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