Templates + targeting

Templates are the fastest way to scale ZenMerch across many products. Build a personalizer once, then apply it automatically via rules.

Key concepts: fields vs layers

• Fields: what the customer enters (text, options, uploads).
• Layers: what appears in the preview (text layers, image frames, backgrounds).

For accurate rendering, each field must be linked to the correct layer (e.g. text field → text layer, upload field → image frame).

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Build a template

1. Go to Templates → New template.
2. Add your fields (text, selects, color/pattern, upload).
3. Create layers and link each layer to the correct field.
4. Save and name the template clearly (e.g. “Engraving – Name + Message”).

Apply via targeting rules

Targeting rules can apply templates automatically based on:

• Product tags
• Product title match
• Vendor
• Product type

We recommend tag-based targeting for most stores because it’s easy to manage and very Shopify-native.

Shopify tag setup (recommended)

1. Shopify admin → Products → open a product.
2. In the product editor, find Tags and add a tag (example: zenmerch).
3. Click Save.
4. In ZenMerch, create a rule that targets products with that tag.

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Verify targeting

1. Open the tagged product page on your storefront.
2. Confirm the personalizer loads and the preview updates when you change fields.

If targeting isn’t applying

• Double-check the product was saved after adding the tag.
• Confirm you’re viewing the same theme you enabled ZenMerch on (Live vs Draft).
• Confirm the rule/template is enabled and not overridden by a more specific rule.
• Try a hard refresh or an incognito window to bypass cached storefront assets.