Key takeaways
- Product tags can act as labels if your theme supports displaying them on product pages.
- Metafields offer cleaner, structured label data that can be displayed via Theme Editor dynamic sources.
- For custom-positioned, styled labels (e.g., “Vegan”, “Handmade” with icons), use Fudge.
- Labels improve trust and help buyers filter products by attributes they care about.
Custom labels give buyers immediate context at a glance - “Vegan”, “Handmade”, “Ships Today”, “Limited Run”. They work as micro trust signals and as product differentiators on busy collection pages.
Why you can trust us
We’ve worked with hundreds of Shopify merchants on product pages and conversion elements. We also built Fudge — an AI storefront editor with a 5.0 rating on the Shopify App Store.
Method 1 - Product tags as labels
The simplest method. Add a tag to a product and Shopify (or your theme) can display it visually.
Step 1. Open the product in the admin.
Step 2. Find the Tags field in the right sidebar.
Step 3. Add your label tag (e.g., “vegan”, “handmade”, “limited”).
Step 4. Save.
Step 5. View the product page. Check whether your theme displays tags anywhere visible.
Many themes display tags as clickable pills or labels somewhere on the product page or collection grid cards. If yours does, tagging is all you need.
Related: Add a Hover Image on Shopify Product Cards.
Related: Add Custom Liquid Logic in Shopify.
Related: Customize Your Shopify Product Page.
Limitation: The appearance is controlled entirely by the theme. You can’t easily control position, colour, or whether an icon appears next to the label text.
How to add tags to Shopify product pages
Tags appear in a few places depending on your theme:
- On the product page, usually below the title or below the description
- On collection grid cards, often overlaid on the product image
- In search results and filtering sidebars
To check: add a tag, save, and visit the product page and a collection that includes the product. Look for the tag appearing anywhere. If it does, note the position - that’s what your theme renders natively.
Method 2 - Product metafields for structured labels
For labels that need to be consistent and structured across many products, metafields are the better choice.
Step 1. Go to Settings > Custom data > Products > Add definition.
Step 2. Create a definition for each label type, or use a single “Labels” field that accepts a list of values.
For example:
- Name: “Product attributes”
- Type: List of single-line text
- Values: “Vegan”, “Handmade”, “Organic”
Step 3. Open each product, scroll to the metafield section, and select the applicable labels.
Step 4. In the Theme Editor, add a block to the product page and connect it to this metafield via the dynamic source option.
This gives you structured data that can be displayed in a consistent format across your whole catalogue.
Related: Add Metafields to Shopify Products.
Related: Add Structured Data in Shopify.
Method 3 - Custom styled labels with Fudge
If you need labels in a specific position, with icons, or with a custom visual style that your theme doesn’t support natively, Fudge can build this.
Example prompts:
-
“Add small pill-shaped labels below the product title for any attributes in the product metafield ‘attributes’. Style them with a light green background and a small leaf icon for ‘Vegan’, and a dark grey background for ‘Limited’.”
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“Show ‘Handmade in the UK’ as a text label with a small flag icon, positioned below the price on the product page, for products tagged ‘handmade-uk’.”
Fudge generates the Liquid code as a draft. You review it and publish when it’s right.
Good label examples for different store types
Beauty and skincare: Vegan, Cruelty-Free, Fragrance-Free, Dermatologist Tested, Paraben-Free
Food and supplements: Organic, Gluten-Free, Non-GMO, Keto-Friendly, Dairy-Free
Apparel: Handmade, Fair Trade, Recycled Materials, Limited Run, Pre-Order
Home goods: Made in USA, Sustainable, 1% For the Planet, B-Corp
Labels vs. badges - what’s the difference?
Functionally similar. The distinction is visual:
- Badges are overlaid on product images - small, high-contrast, positioned in a corner.
- Labels appear below titles or prices as text or pill elements - less aggressive, more informational.
Both signal product attributes. Use badges for urgency or status signals. Use labels for factual product attributes.
FAQ
Metafields if labels are structured and consistent across many products (Vegan, Organic, Made in UK). Tags if labels are loose, ad-hoc, or used by your theme's existing badge system. Tags are simpler to add but harder to query later; metafields are more setup but cleaner for large catalogues.
Not natively in the Theme Editor's tag display - icons require code. Either embed an SVG icon in your theme's product card Liquid based on the metafield value, or use a tool like Fudge to generate the section with icons. Apps like Smart Product Filter and Search also include icon-label support.
Most themes show tags somewhere by default, but some hide them entirely. Check the Theme Editor → Product section settings for a "Show tags" toggle. If there isn't one, the theme renders tags only in the collection card or not at all - you'd need a code change to display them on the product page.
Three to five maximum. More than five becomes visual noise and dilutes the signal. Pick the labels that genuinely differentiate the product or address common buyer concerns - "Vegan, Cruelty-Free, Fragrance-Free" beats a row of 12 small icons.
Indirectly. Labels themselves don't directly help rankings, but they can support it: structured metafields can populate JSON-LD product schema (additionalProperty, material), making your product visible for richer Google product results. Don't expect tag-based labels to help SEO; metafield-based ones can.
