Fixing the Wobbly Upsell: How We Made Our Shopify Page Shine Again

Once upon a time, in the chaotic world of online retail—yes, I know, it's slightly dramatic to call it that—there was our tiny little store, merrily trying to sell everything from dazzling accessories to those impossible-to-get-right tech gadgets. Then, as we were innocently tinkering with our site, one of us attempted an upsell feature, and it decided to take center stage in the Theater of Chaos. The flamboyant "You may also like" bar wanted to show off its snazzy JavaScript skeleton to everyone, right there under our product description. As endearing as that sounded, we needed a fix.

Enter the Code Wrangler's Den. That's right, we're diving into the deep end of Shopify's Capital theme—kind of like a treasure hunt, but for web developers. So, put on your favorite hat, perhaps a quirky pirate hat—because why not—and let's steer this ship back to friendly shores. Follow along, because we're not alone in this adventure. Let's find our way back together, with me narrating our journey like some budget David Attenborough of the coding world.

Step 1: Identifying the Mischief-Maker

It all starts with the picture—or lack thereof. Similar to that time when we mistakenly baked a sugarless cake, overlooking an essential ingredient can lead to an unpleasant surprise, like missing elements or mishandled code. Grab the compass, or in our case, access to Shopify's back-end.

Navigate to the Editor: Head to Shopify Admin, where our mighty control room lies. Like looking through old photo albums, find ‘Online Store’ and select ‘Themes’. Here, you’ll see your active theme—in this delightful case, 'Capital'.
Explore the Code Editor: Select ‘Actions’ then ‘Edit Code’. A treasure trove of .liquid, .scss, and .js files now awaits, ripe for exploration.

Step 2: Fixing with Graceful Elegance

Like a gentle breeze after an arduous hike, fixing this issue isn't about bulldozing through the code. We meticulously untangle each line, much like de-knotting that string of holiday lights your cousin swore he'd organized last season.

Pinpoint the Culprit: In the code editor, gravitate towards product.liquid, like bees to a particularly tempting flower. Scroll until "You may also like" section catches your eye. We recently discovered that this often lurks in a snippet file—a crafty way themes maintain modular code.
Review the Troublesome Lines: Does some HTML appear slightly off? Perhaps the upsell section tries too hard and spills JavaScript guts. We’re looking for unwanted tags or unclosed elements. It could happen to anyone, no shame there! If you notice any rogue HTML tags or misaligned JavaScript, that’s our suspect.

Step 3: Pulling the Right Strings

Ah, the familiar sound of typing. As we sat around, armed with coffee and fortified by countless 'just one more episode,’ we understood that fixing code is like perfecting a recipe, sometimes requiring a tiny salt pinch for perfection.

Add or Fix Any Code: Should the syntax be wonky—indeed, that's a technical term—edit it. Ensure all tags nestle comfortably with others, perhaps similar to marshmallows and hot cocoa. Missing or misplaced closing tags often leave the site befuddled.
Check the CSS or JavaScript: Dive deep—like going after the last Pringles can piece—into CSS styles or the associated JavaScript snippet if the layout continues with its circus act. Regularly, CSS or JavaScript can baffle standard HTML rendering.

A typical edit in a snippet might look like this:

<div class="upsell-items">
  {%- for product in products -%}
  <a href="{{ product.url }}" class="upsell-product">{{ product.title }}</a>
  {%- endfor -%}
</div>

Step 4: Test Like a Discerning Food Critic

Once the changes are done, it's time for the ultimate test. Call it Quality Control or simply ensuring we haven't replaced one problem with another—our store needs verification.

Preview the Changes: Beneath ‘Themes’, click ‘Preview’. We follow the path from homepage to product pages, observing if our labor bore the intended fruit.
Check Across Devices: Jump amid gadgets like a frenetic tech reviewer juggling yields from a gadget expo. Confirm the feature’s elegance on desktop and mobile, as our energetic shoppers frequently switch platforms.

Finally, as the curtain closes on this code odyssey, relish this: we’ve learned that even digital hiccups add unique sentences to the ongoing story of our store. It shows growth, perseverance, and the comforting presence of a community that always guides each other home—that’s us, after all, the adventurers on this path together.