AssetGuard

Shopify product image not showing on the storefront: what to check

· Nevarion Technologies LTD · Last verified

If a product image shows in your Shopify admin but not on your store, it is almost always one of four things: the product isn't active or isn't published to the Online Store, the image file doesn't meet Shopify's requirements, your own browser is showing an old copy, or the theme or an app is getting in the way. Check them in that order. The first two take a minute.

1. Product status and publishing

Archived products are removed from your online store. A product in Draft is not ready to sell, and a product that isn't published to the Online Store sales channel won't appear on the store.

  1. In your Shopify admin, go to Products and open the product.
  2. Check that the status is Active.
  3. In the Publishing section, click the adjust icon and make sure the Online Store channel is selected.
  4. Click Done, then Save.

Note that unarchiving a product sets it to Draft, so set it back to Active afterwards.

2. The image file

Shopify's product image requirements are an image up to 5000 x 5000 px (25 megapixels) and under 20 MB. Accepted formats include PNG, JPEG, WebP, GIF, HEIC, TIFF, BMP and SVG. If an upload was refused or the file is unusual, the image may never have attached properly. Open the product, remove the image, and upload it again. If the upload is refused for size, see the 25 megapixel limit.

3. Rule out your own browser

Shopify's troubleshooting guide suggests clearing your browser cache and cookies, then trying an incognito window, another device, or mobile data. Also check that a VPN or firewall isn't blocking Shopify. If the image appears in incognito or on your phone, the store is fine and your browser had an old copy.

4. Test with another theme

Install a fresh copy of your theme or a free theme from the Theme Store and look at the same product. If the image shows there, the problem is in your theme's code or settings. If it is missing in every theme, check your admin settings and apps. Shopify suggests restoring a previous version of the affected file from the code editor's Timeline view if a recent edit caused it, after copying the current contents first.

5. Check apps

If you recently installed or updated an app that touches the storefront, uninstall it temporarily. If the image comes back, contact that app's developer. If not, the app isn't the cause. Remove recently added apps one at a time so you know which one it is.

Only one variant is wrong?

Then it is probably an image assignment problem, not a missing file. See variant image not changing.

Many images, not one

When the same thing is happening across many products, open a handful of the affected product pages and look at the image address. If it points to a file that no longer exists, it is a broken link, not a display problem. Run the free checker on your store to list images on your pages that don't load, then fix them at the source. Missing product images on Shopify covers each cause in more detail.

Sources