Stop Your Shopify Collections from Reloading the Page: A Step-by-Step Guide to a Smoother Shopping Experience

Once upon a time, during the angst and triumph of an ambitious Black Friday sale, my e-commerce partner and I encountered a puzzling conundrum. Our freshly minted holiday collections page, curated meticulously with gift sets, was playing hard to get. You click, it reloads—but no, it doesn’t whisk you away to explore the new treasures of that collection. A series of frustrating clicks later, we felt as though we were stuck in a digital groundhog day. Our cherished collections were trapped in some kind of Shopify purgatory, denying us and, most importantly, our shoppers from the joy of seamless browsing. We knew we had to solve this.

Fast forward, armed with determination and a love of figuring things out, we discovered the steps to resolve this issue. Today, we’re sharing this journey with you to ensure your customers glide through your collections as smoothly as Santa on a well-greased chimney.

Understanding the Issue

First, let’s wrap our heads around what's happening. When you click on a collection and it stubbornly reloads the same page, it screams JavaScript or liquid code mishaps. Shopify’s themes sometimes come with a hiccup or two, especially when customizations meet default settings. Let's jump into how we untangled this web of confusion.

Step 1: Examining the Collection Links

Let’s pause here just like we did when we noticed the issue padding quietly on our site. Start by inspecting the collection links that are supposed to behave but don’t. A right-click, followed by “Inspect” (oh, how we miss the delight of discovery), opens up the console. Check if these links point toward the proper URLs (‘cause without a proper address, how will they find their home?). They should redirect to URLs like /collections/workwear instead of re-linking to the page in disguise.

Step 2: Reviewing Your Theme's Code

Oh, the code. Sometimes as warmer than grandma's apple pie on a chilly evening, other times as cryptic as hieroglyphics. We entered our theme's collection-list.liquid or similar file (you'd think script drama might ensue, but hold onto your hat, it's all part of the chase).

Head to Online Store in your Shopify admin.
Click on Themes.
Choose Actions on your live theme, then Edit Code.

Here’s where we dig. Search for code resembling:

<a href="{{ collection.url }}">

Ensure it’s actually there! Misshaped links love to lurk.

Step 3: Audit JavaScript Involvement

JavaScript is like a good pair of shoes – when it fits, everything works. Sometimes, custom scripts cause marvelous spells and chaos all at once by overriding links. Bet you wouldn’t want that, would you?

Explore assets and poke through your JavaScript files if any script modifies links or attaches events that prevent navigation.

Step 4: Check for Snippet Oddities

Oh, snippets! They sneak into different files, quietly working or quietly seething. These potential troublemakers either enhance your site or become a wrinkle. Sometimes you’ll find that a custom snippet – designed perhaps for visual delight – alters logic in unexpected, obnoxious ways.

{% include 'snippet-name' %}

Keep an eye for weirdness here.

Step 5: Test, Test, and Test Some More

After fiddling, testing transforms from obligation to sport. Head back to your theme editor and religiously test the collections. Click with the enthusiasm of a thousand curious cats and make sure the pages now guide users as kind, mindful shopkeepers should.

Seek Help When Needed

If tech tangles your patience, don’t worry. Shopify's support ninjas await valiantly, ready to hack through the problem jungle. It’s alright to raise a hand and shout for backup. We all need a tech warrior on our side from time to time.

Conclusion

Our journey to untangle the mystery behind the rogue-reloading collections was like crafting a fine potion: trial, error, discovery. We turned a frustrating loop into an enlightening chase. There’s a peculiar joy in finally getting it right, a bit like finding your favorite book signed by the author unexpectedly.

May your Shopify page transitions be smoother, your collections click through gloriously, and your customers return merrily. Until next time, let’s keep these digital doorways swinging open like a warm welcome on a chilly evening.