Layout

Layout design is the process of arranging visual elements such as text, images, and shapes on a page.

Apps have a variety of available layouts. These layouts adapt the app body content to every screen size and device type. Selecting the proper layout for the task at hand will benefit your app's merchant experience.

The responsive layout grid.

The Polaris Layout component provides built-in responsiveness. The following breakpoints are applied in the Shopify admin. Take these into into consideration when you build your app.

BreakpointMinimum viewport sizeMaximum viewport size
xs0489px
sm490px767px
md768px1039px
lg1040px1399px
xl1440px
A responsive app on a desktop and mobile device.

Must Do

Design your app to be responsive and adapt to different screen sizes and devices. This ensures a seamless user experience across various platforms.
Different app body widths on a desktop and a mobile device.

App body width

App body width

The following table shows recommended sizes for the app body width.

The Polaris Page component is an easy way to align the app body with the rest of the Shopify admin and make it simpler to update layouts over time.

BreakpointDefault app body widthBehavior
xs0 – 489pxFlexible, always full width
sm442px – 719pxFlexible, always full width
md480px – 751pxFlexible, always full width
lg752px – 950pxFlexible, then fixed width at 998px
xl950px fixedFixed width

The Polaris Layout component offers various layouts to match the complexity of your app.

Various layouts, including single and two-column.

The single-column layout enables merchants to scan content from top-to-bottom and focus on a single, obvious task.

Most often, an app’s homepage uses the single-column layout in a default-width page. However, if your app feels more like a dashboard, then you can also use the two-column equal width or three-column layout.

A full-width page with a single column layout that displays a list of products. The width captures each column of product information.

Must Do Updated

For resource index pages, use a full-width page. This is helpful when merchants are dealing with lists of data that have many columns.

Two-column layouts allow merchants to view more content at once. This is helpful for visual editors or content-dense pages.

A content editor with a two column layout for editing multiple and related content types.

Must Do Updated

For visual editors, use a two-column layout. This allows merchants to preview the outcome of their edits in real-time.

The settings layout lets merchants quickly scan and find groups of settings that are related to each other.

A settings layout with a thinner column on the left with a title and description, and a wider column on the right with form elements.

Must Do Updated

For settings pages, use the app settings layout to provide merchants with clear context about your app's configuration options.

Spacing helps your app maintain a pleasant experience by keeping interface components well-positioned with consistent visual rhythm.

For more information on spacing, visit the Polaris spacing guidelines.

Components on a 4px spacing grid.

The 4px spacing grid

The Shopify admin is built on a 4px spacing grid. Following this grid is a great way to offer a seamless app experience. You can use Polaris spacing tokens to achieve this.

The density of elements in a layout can greatly impact your app’s readability and usability.

Make your app efficient and easy to use by providing the right density at the right moment, for the right task.

Low density and high density patterns.

Must Do

Use looser spacing for low-density layouts. Use tighter spacing for high-density layouts.
Various layouts with alternating amounts of information density on the same page.

Do Not

Don't change information density within a single page, otherwise your app can feel disjointed.

Most of an app’s content exists in containers. Containers compartmentalize content and create a natural hierarchy between parts of an interface.

A paragraph of text placed directly on the gray background of an app, outside of a container.

Do Not

Don't place paragraphs of text directly on the background. This reduces legibility and makes scanning the page difficult for merchants.

Cards structure your app’s content so that merchants can scan information easily. Cards act as containers and can be static or interactive.

The Polaris Card component provides an easy way to segment content, while still respecting Shopify’s App Design Guidelines.

A page with various containers that are visually consistent with each other.

Must Do Updated

The majority of your app’s content should live in a container, such as a card. This creates visual structure and rhythm that helps merchants find information quickly.
A card with two CTAs. The primary CTA is a button that's labeled "Upload image" and the secondary one is a link that reads "View templates".

Must Do

Cards that offer interactivity, such as calls to action (CTAs) and buttons, should have at most one primary styled action.

Tables are helpful for summarizing many object instances. Use the Polaris Data table component for relatively simple summaries, and the Index table when you have a lot of data to show.

Refer also to the Polaris Pattern for Resource index layout, when you are summarizing resource objects.

A table featuring dropdown menus and text buttons.

Must Do

Actions in tables must use secondary action styling, such as a text button, minor icon, or dropdown menu. Don't use primary style buttons in tables.

Tip

Tables can easily become visually cluttered when there are many cells in a row. Reduce clutter in your table rows by revealing actions only when that row is hovered or in focus state.