🔍 Tags vs. Metafields – What’s the Difference?
Both tags and metafields help structure your Shopify products—but they’re used for slightly different purposes:
Feature | Used For | Visible On Storefront | Editable in Shopify Admin | Use Cases |
Tags | General product labeling | ✅ Often | ✅ Yes | Filters, collections, triggers |
Metafields | Storing specific product data (structured) | ❌ (Usually backend) | ✅ Yes | Apps, templates, syncing, logic |
💡 Why Tags Matter (Especially for Shopify)
Tags are used extensively within the Shopify ecosystem—both in the backend and customer-facing side of your store. Here’s why they’re valuable:
🧭 Improve navigation: Power Shopify’s search, filters, and smart collections
⚙️ Enable automation: Use tags to trigger marketing flows or syncs with third-party apps
🔍 Boost SEO: Enriched metadata (like tags) helps Google understand your product pages
📦 Simplify stock management: Tag products by theme, collection, season, or vendor for easier tracking
🏷️ Customize store experience: Tags can define what shows on landing pages, promotions, or custom storefronts
⚙️ How Tags Work in Dropstitch
There are three ways to add and manage tags:
1. Default Tags
Default tags are applied to every product automatically. These are useful for things like your store name, product type, or permanent identifiers.
To add a default tag:
Go to Settings → Preferences → Tags
Click + Add Tag
Toggle on “Default Added to Product”
Save it—done!
2. Linked Tags from Grid Data
You can create dynamic tags based on product fields in the grid. This means Dropstitch will automatically turn field values (e.g. brand, size, football team) into tags.
For example:
A product with “Arsenal” in the “Football Team” column will get tagged with
ArsenalIf “Vendor” is set to “Nike”, a
Niketag will be created
This is perfect for automating tags using AI-powered or manually filled attributes.
How to set it up:
Create a tag
Under Linked Product Field Key, choose a column from the grid
Dropstitch will watch that field and use its value as a tag
3. Editing Tags in the Grid
Want to manually fine-tune tags? You can easily do that in the Listing Grid.
Click on the “Tags” cell for any product
You’ll see a dropdown with your available tags
Add or remove tags with a single click
Tags that are not already applied by default or via linked data will appear in the dropdown
This makes it simple to tag manually when needed—without losing automation.
🌈 Visual Customization
You can color-code your tags to stay visually organized. For example:
Red for seasonal tags
Blue for garment types
Yellow for sizing or fit
This helps when you’re working in large grids with multiple columns.
🧬 How Metafields Work in Dropstitch
Metafields allow you to store structured data in Shopify that can be used for themes, apps, syncing, or filtering logic.
You can map any Dropstitch column—custom, AI-powered, or system field—to a Shopify metafield.
Two Ways to Set Them Up:
🔗 1. Link Existing Shopify Metafields
If you’ve already set up metafields in your Shopify store (e.g. age_group, chest, or target_gender), you can connect them to Dropstitch fields.
To link an existing metafield:
Go to Settings → Metafields
Click Link Existing Metafield
Choose the Shopify metafield and map it to a Dropstitch column
➕ 2. Add New Metafields via Dropstitch
Want to start fresh? Dropstitch can automatically create new metafields in your Shopify store and link them to your data.
To add a new metafield:
Click Add Metafield
Select the Dropstitch field you want to store
Dropstitch will create the metafield in your Shopify admin under the
my_fieldsnamespace
You can then access these metafields directly in Shopify or use them in your theme/custom apps.
🎯 Best Use Cases
Use Tags When:
You need Shopify filters or smart collections
You want to trigger marketing flows or apps
You need visible labels on the frontend
Use Metafields When:
You want to store specific product data that doesn’t belong in core Shopify fields
You need integration compatibility (e.g. Google Shopping, size guides, 3rd party apps and tools)
You’re working with advanced themes that call custom values
✅ Summary
Tags and metafields are both essential to structuring a clean, automated Shopify store. In Dropstitch:
Tags can be added by default, linked to product data, or edited manually
Metafields can be created or linked and mapped to any field in the grid
Both are easy to configure and designed to save you time and reduce manual work
Use tags for frontend filtering and Shopify logic. Use metafields for structured backend data, syncing, and advanced app integrations.
Together, they make your listings smarter, cleaner, and fully optimized for Shopify.
Tags and Metafields are a foundational part of Shopify product management, and Dropstitch gives you powerful, flexible ways to manage them. Need help deciding how to set your tags up? Message us—we’re happy to guide you.