How to Make Products View Only on Shopify

How to Make Products View Only on Shopify is a common question asked by many store owners who want to display products without allowing customers to buy them. Some people use Shopify to showcase items for catalog purposes, private collections, or out-of-stock products they want to keep visible. If you're looking to do this, you may need the help of a Shopify Expert or a Shopify Expert Developer.

In this guide, you’ll learn step-by-step methods to make your products view-only. We’ll also explain when it makes sense to hire a Shopify expert or work with a Shopify SEO agency or Shopify consultant to make things easier and more professional.

What Does “View Only” Mean on Shopify?

“View only” means a product can be seen on your website, but the customer cannot buy it. You may want this for:

• Out-of-stock items
• Products coming soon
• Display-only collections
• Products for members only
• Showcasing your work without selling

This is helpful for stores that need to show items without letting people check out.

Why Store Owners Need View-Only Products

Sometimes store owners want to show what they offer without making those items available for sale. Maybe it's a seasonal product. Maybe you're testing interest before launching. Or maybe you're creating a catalog for B2B clients.

Whatever the reason, making products view-only lets you give information without pushing the buyer to purchase right away. This can help you gather interest, build email lists, or offer special previews.

And if you're running a wholesale store, you may want guests to see your products but allow only approved buyers to place orders.

This setup can be handled easily when you hire a Shopify expert who understands how to apply the right theme changes without breaking your store.

Methods to Make Shopify Products View Only

There are a few different ways to make this happen. Some are simple and fast. Others need a bit of coding. Let’s go over each one.

1. Remove the "Add to Cart" Button

This is the most direct method. Removing the "Add to Cart" button from the product page means customers can’t start the buying process.

To do this:

• Go to your Shopify admin
• Click Online Store > Themes > Actions > Edit Code
• Find the product template file
• Find the line with the button code
• Comment it out or delete it

This tells Shopify to show the product but not allow checkout.

If you're not comfortable editing code, it's best to hire a Shopify expert developer to do this for you.

2. Set Inventory to Zero

You can set the product inventory to 0 and uncheck the box that says "Continue selling when out of stock."

Shopify will then mark the product as "Sold Out" and customers can’t add it to the cart.

This trick is quick and easy. It requires no coding and works for most themes. But it's not the cleanest look. You might want the page to look more like a display page rather than an item that looks "out of stock."

3. Create a Custom Product Template

If you want some products to be view-only and others to be available for purchase, a custom template is the way to go.

Steps:

• Go to Online Store > Themes > Edit Code
• Duplicate your current product template
• Remove the "Add to Cart" section from this new template
• Save and rename it (e.g., "product.viewonly")
• Assign this template to the view-only product from the product settings page

This gives you control to decide which products should be view-only and which should be shoppable.

This method is often used by Shopify experts who manage stores with mixed product settings.

4. Use a Shopify App

There are apps like Locksmith or Advanced Product Visibility that let you hide purchase options or restrict checkout based on rules.

This can be helpful if you want products to be view-only for certain users, like visitors vs. logged-in users.

Apps are easy to install but may slow down your site or cost extra money. It's better to talk to a Shopify consultant before installing too many apps.

Add Custom Labels Like "Coming Soon" or "Preview Only"

You can also edit your theme to add labels like "Preview Only" or "Coming Soon" on product pages.

This tells users the product isn’t for sale yet. It looks professional and can be done by editing product templates or metafields.

A Shopify expert developer can help add these labels and make sure they look good across all devices.

SEO Still Matters for View-Only Products

Just because your product isn’t for sale doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be found on Google.

A Shopify SEO agency or SEO Shopify expert can:

• Add proper meta titles and descriptions
• Write product descriptions with keywords
• Use image alt text
• Create internal links to related products or blogs

SEO keeps your products in front of customers, even when you’re not ready to sell them. This is a great time to build awareness and get traffic.

How a Shopify Consultant Can Help

When you're not sure which method is best or how to do it right, a Shopify consultant can look at your store and give advice.

They help you plan your product setup, apply changes safely, and make sure your site works well.

This saves time, prevents errors, and makes sure your store is easy to manage.

Why Choose Aron Web Solutions?

If you want help from real experts, Aron Web Solutions is ready.

They offer:

• Trusted Shopify Experts
• Skilled Shopify Expert Developers
• Smart advice from Shopify Consultants
• Full support from Shopify SEO Experts

Whether you want to make just one product view-only or need a full catalog setup, they can do it.

They focus on making stores look great, work well, and bring in traffic.

You don’t have to figure this out alone. Hire a Shopify expert from Aron Web Solutions and get real results without the guesswork.

Final Thoughts

Making products view-only on Shopify is simple once you understand your options. From theme edits to custom templates, there are many ways to control how products appear.

Whether you want to tease a product launch, build a private catalog, or show off past work, these tools can help.

If you're ready to make these changes with confidence, reach out to Aron Web Solutions. Their team of Shopify Experts, Shopify Expert Developers, Shopify Consultants, and Shopify SEO Agencies will guide you every step of the way.