How Local is built
How Local is built: theme settings, section groups, sections with their own blocks, product grids made of blocks, and Flex sections with theme blocks.
Applies to: Local 4.2.1 and later. Added in: Local 1.0.0. Last checked: 2026-10-13 against Local 4.2.1.
Every Local page is made of sections, and most sections are made of blocks. Store-wide defaults live in Theme settings. Local has two kinds of blocks: blocks that belong to one section, and theme blocks that you can arrange freely inside the Flex sections.
Where to find it: the theme editor (Shopify admin → Online Store → Themes → Customize), where each section in the sidebar opens into its blocks.
Theme settings
Theme settings hold the defaults for the whole store: page width and spacing, fonts, colors, borders and shadows, product cards and badges, the cart, maps and more. Open them from the gear icon in the theme editor sidebar.
Sections use these defaults until you change their own settings. For example, every section uses the colors of Theme settings → Colors until you give it its own Background color. Start with Layout theme settings and Colors theme settings.
Header group and footer group
Two section groups appear on every page, above and below the page's own sections:
- The Header group holds the Announcement bar and the Header. See Header section.
- The Footer group holds the Footer, and any section you add to it. See Footer group.
Change them once and every page follows.
Sections and section blocks
A section is a full-width area of a page, for example a Featured collection, a Rich text or a Testimonials section. Add one with Add section; Local 4.2.1 has 37 sections, offered as 45 presets. See Sections.
Most sections hold blocks that belong only to them: the Testimonials section has Testimonial blocks, the Header has Mega menu and Info blocks, the product page has its Title, Price and Buy buttons blocks. These blocks cannot be added anywhere else, and they are documented on the page of their section.
Most sections also share the same groups of settings: a heading area, Section design (colors and margins), Custom card design, the SEO heading tag and Visibility. They are explained once, on General section styling.
Product grids are made of blocks
Product cards in Local are flexible. Every section with a product grid (Collection page, Featured collection, Search results, Products list, Shop the look and others) has its own product card blocks: Title, Price, Vendor, Rating, Quick buy, Local availability, Icons list, Dynamic text and more.
- The look of all product cards (image ratio, colors, button style) comes from Theme settings → Product card. See Product card theme settings.
- What each grid shows, and in which order, comes from the blocks you add to that grid. A featured collection on the home page can show the price and quick buy, while the collection page also shows local availability and icons.
Some of these blocks need setup before they show anything, for example Local availability (the store selector) or Icons list (metafields). See Product grid blocks.
Flex sections and theme blocks
The Flex sections are built differently. Flex slideshow, Flex grid, Flex cards and Flex columns hold cards, slides or columns, and inside them you add theme blocks: Heading, Caption, Text, Button, Quick buy button, Star rating, Image, Divider, Empty space, Content group and Custom Liquid. Theme blocks work the same in every Flex section and can be reordered freely, so you can build landing pages and promotions without code.
See Flex sections and Blocks.
Static sections: popups and the store selector
A few sections are part of every page but are not in a template or a group. They sit in the theme editor sidebar after the Footer group:
- Popups: cookie, image, newsletter and custom popups. See Popups section.
- Age verification and Exit intent popup. See Age verification section and Exit intent popup section.
- Store selector: your stores and the pickup location popup. See Store selector section.
You cannot add or remove these sections; you turn them on and fill them in.
Build a page
Open the page
In the theme editor, choose the page to edit from the menu at the top, for example Home page or Products → Default product.
Add a section
Select Add section and choose a section or one of its presets, for example Featured collection or Flex grid.
Add blocks
Select Add block inside the section and add its blocks: product card blocks in a product grid, cards and theme blocks in a Flex section.
Style it
Set the layout and colors in the section settings, the content in each block, and select Save.
Where do Theme settings fit in?
Theme settings set the defaults for the whole store: colors, fonts, buttons, product cards, the cart. Sections and blocks then override some of them, for example a section's own background color. Change a look everywhere in Theme settings; change one place in its section.
Which sections appear on every page?
The Header group and the Footer group, plus four static sections: Popups, Age verification, Exit intent popup and Store selector. You edit each of them once, and the change shows on every page.
Related pages
- General section styling: the settings most sections share.
- Product grid blocks: the blocks of product cards.
- Flex sections: the sections built from theme blocks.
- Blocks: every theme block.