GLOSSARY
Shopify and eCommerce terms, in plain English.
Forty-six terms you will hear in every store build, migration and growth conversation — defined the way we explain them on calls, with a page per term for the ones that matter most.
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301 redirect
A permanent redirect from an old URL to a new one. The backbone of an SEO-safe migration.
Read more →A
A/B testing
Showing two versions of a page to split traffic and measuring which converts better.
Read more →Abandoned checkout
A shopper who reached checkout and left. Shopify records it; email and SMS flows recover it.
AEO (answer engine optimisation)
Making your store the source that ChatGPT, Perplexity and AI Overviews cite when answering.
Read more →AOV (average order value)
Revenue divided by orders. Bundles, free-shipping thresholds and upsells move it.
Read more →B
B2B on Shopify
Company accounts, price lists, net terms and rep ordering built into Shopify Plus.
Read more →Bundles
Several products sold as one. Native on Shopify via the Bundles app or Shopify Functions.
Read more →C
Checkout Extensibility
Shopify’s app-based way to customise checkout, replacing checkout.liquid and Scripts.
Read more →CRO (conversion rate optimisation)
Changing a store so more visitors buy, measured with tests rather than opinions.
Read more →Customer accounts
Shopify’s passwordless accounts with order history, subscriptions and B2B features.
Read more →D
Draft order
An order created by a merchant on a customer’s behalf; common in B2B and phone sales.
Read more →Discount functions
Custom discount logic written with Shopify Functions instead of Scripts.
Read more →G
GEO (generative engine optimisation)
A near-synonym for AEO: optimising for generative AI answers.
Read more →H
Headless commerce
A storefront built separately from Shopify’s theme layer, talking to it through APIs.
Read more →K
Klaviyo flows
Automated email and SMS sequences triggered by behaviour: welcome, abandoned cart, post-purchase.
Read more →L
llms.txt
A plain-text file that tells AI crawlers what a site is about and which pages matter.
Read more →LTV (lifetime value)
Total revenue from a customer over their relationship with your store.
Read more →M
Metafields
Custom fields on products, collections, customers and orders — the way you extend Shopify’s data model.
Read more →Migration
Moving a store from one platform to Shopify: products, customers, orders, URLs and rankings.
Read more →O
Online Store 2.0
Shopify’s theme architecture with sections on every page and JSON templates.
Read more →P
POS
Shopify Point of Sale: selling in person from the same inventory and customers as online.
Read more →R
Returns and exchanges
Shopify’s native returns plus apps such as Loop for self-serve exchanges.
Read more →S
Sections
Editable blocks of a Shopify theme that merchants can add, reorder and configure.
Read more →Shopify Markets
Selling in multiple countries from one store: currency, language, duties and domains.
Read more →Shopify Plus
Shopify’s enterprise plan: B2B, checkout customisation, higher limits and more staff accounts.
Storefront API
The GraphQL API that headless storefronts use to read products and create checkouts.
Read more →T
V
Variants
The versions of a product: size, colour, material. Shopify allows up to 2,048 per product.
Read more →W
Webhooks
Notifications Shopify sends to another system when something happens, such as an order.
Read more →Wholesale channel
Selling to retailers at trade prices, on Plus via B2B or on standard Shopify via apps.
Read more →Missing a term?
Email hello@thecreativelabs.io and we add it, usually within the week.
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- Fixed-scope quotes, no hourly surprises
Prefer to talk? Book 20 minutes with Haniel or call +1 855-764-4977