Taming Your Collections: How to Customize 'Sort By' Options in Shopify's Prestige Theme

Hey there, fellow store owners! Let's talk about something that might seem small but can make a huge difference in how your customers browse your products: the 'Sort by' options on your collection pages. Getting these just right can streamline the shopping experience and highlight what you want your customers to see first.

Recently, a lively discussion popped up in the Shopify community about customizing these very options, specifically for stores using the popular Prestige theme. User ejonesss (Elizabeth) kicked things off, asking how to remove a whole list of 'Sort by' options from her site, including 'Most Relevant', 'Best Selling', and all the alphabetical and date-based sorting options. She was on Prestige 9.3.0 at the time and had already tried a few different codes without luck.

The Initial Idea: Language Editor (and Why It Didn't Stick for Everyone)

The first suggestions from community members WebsiteDeveloper and efegokdemir pointed towards a neat, no-code solution: using the theme's language editor. This method is often a lifesaver for minor text tweaks without diving into Liquid code.

Here's how that method works:

1. From your Shopify admin, go to Online Store > Themes.
2. Find your Prestige theme, click the ... (three dots) button, and select Edit default theme content.
3. In the search bar, type "sort".
4. You'll see a list of labels for each sorting option. For any option you want to hide, replace its text with a single blank space (don't leave it completely empty!), then click Save.

This approach is generally safer because you're not touching the theme's core code. However, for Elizabeth, this didn't quite do the trick. As the conversation evolved, it turned out she was actually on Prestige 10.3.0, not 9.3.0, which can sometimes change how these settings behave. This is a crucial reminder: always double-check your theme version! Efegokdemir was super helpful here, asking for Elizabeth's store URL to investigate further, which is a great community practice.

The CSS Shortcut: Hiding Options with Style (The Solution that Clicked!)

After the language editor didn't work out, Moeed jumped in with a direct CSS approach. He suggested that previous replies might not work (possibly referring to the language editor method given the version discrepancy), and offered a CSS snippet that proved to be the winning solution for Elizabeth!

This method doesn't remove the options from the code, but it visually hides them using CSS. It's a quick and effective way to clean up your dropdown menu.

Here's how to implement Moeed's CSS solution:

1. First, always duplicate your theme as a backup! Go to Online Store > Themes, click the ... next to your theme, and select Duplicate.
2. From your Shopify admin, go to Online Store > Themes.
3. Click the ... (three dots) button next to your active theme and select Edit code.
4. In the file editor, find the theme.liquid file.
5. Scroll to the very bottom of the theme.liquid file and paste the following code right above the tag:

Moeed even shared a screenshot of the result, showing how clean the dropdown looked afterwards:

Elizabeth confirmed this "worked out perfectly!" – which is always great to hear in the community!

The Deeper Dive: Liquid Code for True Removal (A Cleaner Approach)

While Moeed's CSS solution worked beautifully for hiding the options, efegokdemir and devcoders also provided a more robust Liquid-based solution. This method actually filters out the unwanted options from the theme's code, meaning they're not just hidden but completely removed from the output. This can be a cleaner approach for long-term maintenance and potentially minor performance/SEO benefits, as the browser doesn't even render the hidden elements.

Here's how to implement the Liquid code solution:

1. Again, duplicate your theme as a backup!
2. From your Shopify admin, go to Online Store > Themes.
3. Click the ... (three dots) button next to your active theme and select Edit code.
4. Use the code search (usually a magnifying glass icon) to look for collection.sort_options.
5. You should find a loop that looks something like {% for option in collection.sort_options %} or {% for sort_option in collection.sort_options %}.
6. Before this loop, add the following line to define the sort options you want to hide:

{%- assign hidden_sort_values = 'most-relevant,best-selling,title-ascending,title-descending,created-ascending,created-descending' | split: ',' -%}

7. Inside the loop, immediately after the opening {% for ... %} line, add this conditional statement:

{%- if hidden_sort_values contains sort_option.value -%}
  {%- continue -%}
{%- endif -%}

So, the completed section should look roughly like this (adjusting sort_option.value if your loop uses option.value):

{%- assign hidden_sort_values = 'most-relevant,best-selling,title-ascending,title-descending,created-ascending,created-descending' | split: ',' -%}

{%- for sort_option in collection.sort_options -%}
  {%- if hidden_sort_values contains sort_option.value -%}
    {%- continue -%}
  {%- endif -%}

  

{%- endfor -%}

Important Note: If your search for collection.sort_options returns more than one loop, make sure to apply this same logic to each instance. Themes often have separate sorting menus for desktop and mobile, and you'll want consistency across both!

Which Method Should YOU Use?

Both the CSS and Liquid methods are valid ways to customize your Prestige theme's sort options. Moeed's CSS solution is fantastic for a quick, visual fix, and it's less intrusive than editing Liquid files directly. If it works for your theme and your needs, it's a great choice!

The Liquid code approach offers a "cleaner" removal at the source. It's ideal if you prefer not to have any hidden elements in your HTML, or if you're comfortable making direct code edits. Efegokdemir even called devcoders' similar Liquid approach a "nice catch" and "cleaner."

Ultimately, the best method depends on your comfort level with code and your specific theme version. Always, always test changes on a duplicated theme first, and then on your live store during off-peak hours!

It's awesome to see the community come together to solve these kinds of specific customization challenges. Being able to tailor your store's functionality, even in small ways like sorting options, really helps create a unique and efficient shopping experience for your customers. Happy customizing!