Setting a featured collection to private on your shop allows you to hide it from public view and restrict access to only certain customers. This can be useful if you have a collection meant for wholesale buyers or if you want to reveal new products to select customers first before launching to the general public.
In this article, we’ll walk through the steps for making a collection private, as well as cover key factors to consider when using this feature.
Benefits of private collections
Some key benefits of setting a collection to private include:
- Ability to restrict product launches or wholesale offerings to select customers only
- Letting valued customers access upcoming or exclusive products first
- Hiding collections you don’t want visible to the general public
- Reducing clutter on your online shopfront
Who can access a private collection?
Only the following people will be able to view or purchase from a private collection:
- Customers who have received an access link or password for the collection directly from you
- Shop staff accounts you’ve granted access to
Search engines and other shop visitors will not be able to stumble upon or access a private collection. You’re fully in control of who can see it.
How to make a collection private
Making an existing collection private is straightforward in your Shopify admin:
- Log in to your Shopify admin and click “Products” in the left sidebar.
- Click “Collections”.
- Locate the collection you want to make private and click the Actions dropdown (3 dots icon).
- Select “Edit”.
- Check the “Private collection” checkbox.
- Click “Save” to make the collection private.
That’s all there is to it! The collection will now only be visible to customers you grant access to.
Here’s a screenshot of where to find the “Private collection” option:
Making a new collection private
When creating a new collection in Shopify, you can check the “Private collection” box right away to make it restricted access from the start:
Granting customer access
After making a collection private, you’ll need to decide which customers should be able to view and purchase from it. Here are some ways to grant access:
Send an access link
- Go to the private collection in your Shopify admin.
- Click “Share” and toggle on “Allow purchases”.
- Copy the shareable link.
- Send this URL to any customers who should have access.
They can simply visit the link to view the private collection.
Set a password
You can also password protect access to a private collection:
- In the collection’s Share options, toggle on “Require password”.
- Set a password customers will need to enter to view the collection.
- Inform selected customers of the password.
This is more secure than a share link since customers will need to provide the password each time.
Grant access at checkout
When customers are checking out items from a private collection, you can choose to permanently grant that customer access:
- Go to Orders in your Shopify admin.
- Click the order with private collection items.
- Scroll down and toggle on “Grant access to private products” for the customer.
This will allow the customer to view and purchase from the private collection moving forward.
Other considerations
Keep the following factors in mind when working with private collections:
Visibility in themes
Private collections will be hidden across all themes and sales channels connected to your Shopify store, including your main online storefront, Point of Sale channel, and any other theme or app.
Apps
You’ll need to check whether any apps you use are compatible with private collections. Some apps may not recognize if products come from a private collection. Test thoroughly when introducing private collections to ensure no conflicts.
Syncing changes
If you remove a product from a private collection, any customers who previously had access because they purchased that product will lose access as well. Be aware of how your changes can impact customer access.
Staff accounts
Don’t forget to grant your own staff accounts access to private collections if needed. Staff won’t automatically have visibility. Go to the collection’s Share options and add staff email addresses.
Frequently asked questions
Here are some common FAQs about private collections in Shopify:
Can customers create an account to save access?
No, customers don’t need to create an account on your Shopify store to access private collections. You simply grant them access directly from the Shopify admin and they can check out as a guest.
Do I have to manually grant each customer access?
Granting access one-by-one isn’t scalable. Many apps like Segment and Klaviyo can help you segment and mass email access to customers based on tags, purchase history, or other properties. You can also export a list of customers from Shopify to grant access.
Can I schedule access to end after a certain date?
Shopify doesn’t have built-in options to set an expiration date on access. You would need to manually revoke access when desired. However, some apps may exist to help schedule or automate removing customer access.
Do private collections impact SEO?
Private collections won’t be indexed by search engines, so they don’t impact SEO at all. Make sure to still have public collections and products that are indexable for organic search traffic.
Can customers save items to their cart from a private collection?
Yes, customers can add private collection products to their cart to purchase later. However, if you revoke their access before checkout, those items will disappear from their cart.
Conclusion
Setting collections to private is an easy way to curate access and create exclusivity for certain products and customers. Just be sure to plan out your access strategy upfront and properly test apps or themes to avoid issues. Overall, private collections give you more control and flexibility when merchandising your Shopify store.
| Collection Type | Public Access | Private Access |
|---|---|---|
| Public | All visitors | Password or link |
| Private | None | Permission required |