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.
Responsive grid layout
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.
| Breakpoint | Minimum viewport width | Maximum viewport size |
|---|---|---|
xs | 0px | 489px |
sm | 490px | 767px |
md | 768px | 1039px |
lg | 1040px | 1399px |
xl | 1440px | ∞ |
Design your app to be responsive and adapt to different screen sizes and devices. This ensures a seamless user experience across various platforms.
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.
| Breakpoint | Default app body width | Behavior |
|---|---|---|
xs | 0 - 489px | Flexible, always full width |
sm | 442px - 719px | Flexible, always full width |
md | 480px - 751px | Flexible, always full width |
lg | 752px - 950px | Flexible, then fixed width at 998px |
xl | 950px fixed | Fixed width |
Layout options
The Polaris Layout component offers various layouts to match the complexity of your app.
Single-column layout
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.
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 layout
Two-column layouts allow merchants to view more content at once. This is helpful for visual editors or content-dense pages.
For visual editors, use a two-column layout. This allows merchants to preview the outcome of their edits in real-time.
Settings layout
The settings layout lets merchants quickly scan and find groups of settings that are related to each other.
For settings pages, use the app settings layout to provide merchants with clear context about your app's configuration options.
Spacing
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.
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.
Information density
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.
Use looser spacing for low-density layouts. Use tighter spacing for high-density layouts.
Avoid changing information density within a single page, otherwise your app can feel disjointed.
Containers
Most of an app's content exists in containers. Containers compartmentalize content and create a natural hierarchy between parts of an interface.
Avoid placing paragraphs of text directly on the background. This reduces legibility and makes scanning the page difficult for merchants.
Using cards
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.
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.
Cards that offer interactivity, such as calls to action (CTAs) and buttons, should have at most one primary styled action.
Using tables
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.
Actions in tables should use secondary action styling, such as a text button, minor icon, or dropdown menu. Avoid using primary style buttons in tables.
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.
