How to remove powered by Shopify

The powered by Shopify tag is a minor nuisance. But it's your website, so you should have complete control over how it feels. That’s especially true if you're already paying for it. Fortunately, getting rid of that hag is quick and easy.

Why is “Powered by Shopify” there?

Simply put, it's there for branding. They add that to the bottom of every page by default for the same reason that McDonald's puts their logo on every bag of fries.

But as far as branding goes, Shopify, while probably the best online store available, is closer to Nike than Gucci. People will happily pay thousands of dollars for a Gucci bag covered in large Gs. And while there's a little prestige to Nike, the swoosh is just part of your shoes.

Why remove the “Powered by Shopify” tag?

Shopify is well-known enough that leaving it there probably won't hurt your reputation and brand. But it's not exactly prestigious or vital, so it won't help either.

So if you're feeling kind of meh about whether or not to leave it there, here are a few things to consider:

• White labelling: Who owns your store? Is it you, or is it Shopify? Making sure that the entire website matches your brand's identity is important.
• Design control: If you care about your store, you probably care about every single detail. Chances are slim that the "powered by Shopify" tag was what you envisioned when you designed your site.
• Professionalism: You wouldn't walk into a business meeting with a price tag hanging off of your suit jacket. Appearances are important for a business.
• They’re not paying you: If you're wearing an Adidas tracksuit with three stripes, you're advertising two things. The first is that you might be associated with the Russian mafia. Secondly, you're advertising for Adidas. And they don't have to pay you a penny for it. Just like how Shopify will never pay you to have that tag.
• Simplicity: Minimal design is all the rage. Even if you have a lot of content, it's important to keep things clean and distraction-free. That tag is just one more distraction.

How to remove the “Powered by Shopify” tag

In order to remove the tag, you’ll need to make changes to your theme. You should be able to remove it easily with most themes by changing the settings. But you might also have to dig into the code on some themes.

Change the content

Here’s how to edit the theme through the settings:

• From the left menu, click Online Store.
• Choose Themes from the submenu.
• Click the three-dot button in the lower-right-hand corner of the current theme (it’s next to customize.)
• Choose Edit default theme content.
• In the filter search box at the top of the Theme Content page, type “powered.”
• Change the Powered by Shopify box to whatever you want.

If you just delete the message, you’ll still see the default tag of “Powered by Shopify.” If you want to remove it completely without replacing it, tap the space bar once in the box and leave a single space in place of any text.

Edit the code

Shopify makes it easy to muck around in the guts of your shop. They do that by providing an easy-to-learn language extension of HTML, called Liquid.

Most people should be able to edit things with Liquid. But some people just aren’t wired that way. If you’re one of those people, don’t worry, these are simple steps and the code method is the best.

• Once again, select Online Store > Themes from the left menu.
• Click the theme’s three-dot menu button.
• Choose Edit Code.
• Type “footer” into the search bar at the top of the left-hand file directory.
• Click the “footer.liquid” file to open it.
• Use the find command (Ctrl/Command-F) to open the search box and scan the document for “powered.”
• Remove the {{ powered_by_link }} code snippet, curly brackets and all.

If you make a mistake, don’t panic. The undo feature (Ctrl/Command-Z) is your friend. Shopify also saves backup copies of your work. You can find them in the Recent changes drop-down in the upper-left-hand corner of the code editor.

Go headless

Shopify gives you complete control over the look and feel of your storefront. But getting your hands dirty with that raw code can be overwhelming for absolute beginners.

Heck, the whole storefront can be somewhat overwhelming. You may want a fully customized, simple, no-code solution that suits your exact needs.

Even if it's not overwhelming, you might want to add other access points for your storefront in multiple locations, like your personal and/or professional websites, blog, or a landing page.

Whatever the case, you can start from scratch without minor annoyances like the "Powered by Shopify" tag getting in the way. Because, no matter which template you pick, you'll always want to change something. Starting from scratch can be the easiest way.

That can be done with a "headless" solution. All that means is that you'll have full access to the power of Shopify without using the full Shopify storefront interface.

There are a number of tools that will let you create a custom storefront without all the complexity. By using integrations, you can tie almost any modern tool into the Shopify engine.

Create a sales form with a tool like Paperform that will be safe, secure, and allow you to conduct business on any website—Shopify or otherwise.

Go ahead, remove the "Powered by Shopify" tag and let your brand be the hero!

But remember: every brand is unique. And every brand deserves to express its uniqueness without distractions. The key is to create an experience that's purely your brand, without representing a company that you're not getting paid by.

For easier, more holistic customization, try Paperform. With Paperform you can build secure sales pages that integrate with any website (not just Shopify), or can be hosted on a standalone webpage. It's like a mini website, without the upkeep. Get started free today.