PARKER OPENTheme documentation

Shopify theme

Parker Open — Setup guide

Parker Open is the variant of Parker for stores where the catalogue is grouped not by an author but by any entity: a brand, an origin, a winery, an ingredient, a franchise, an artist, a teacher… Same design, two styles — Classic and Contemporary — switchable in Customize → Theme settings → Style.

The theme works out of the box. Everything below is optional: if you don't create a field, the theme simply hides that data — nothing breaks. Start by naming your entity (section 1); the rest reproduces the full demo store.
EntityThe collection that groups products: brand, origin, ingredient… (in Parker: the author)
CategoryA free text field for filtering: rarity, type, goal, grape…
Technical sheetFive free fields with your own labels: format, size, dose, vintage…
Contents
  1. Name your entity
  2. Technical sheet
  3. Styles
  4. Product metafields
  5. Collection metafields
  6. Collections
  7. Pages
  8. Examples by sector
  9. Digital products
  10. Languages
  11. FAQ

1. Name your entity

Customize → Theme settings → Entity. This is what replaces “Author” everywhere:

SettingExampleWhere it shows
Singular nameIngredient, Brand, OriginEyebrow on the entity page, search placeholder
Plural nameIngredients, Brands“Collections” tab, entity counter
“Meet” labelMeet, About the brand, The originEyebrow of the entity block on the product page
Recommendations headingSame brand, More from this originHeading of related products
Grid headingProducts, Records, CardsTitle above the products on the entity page (can be overridden per section)
Mixing types in one store (books and supplements and coffee)? Set the global name to something neutral and override it per collection with the custom.entity_label metafield (section 5): “Author” on the writer's page, “Ingredient” on the magnesium page, “Origin” on Ethiopia's.

2. Technical sheet

Customize → Theme settings → Technical sheet. The product page shows up to seven rows; each row is hidden when the product has no value for it:

RowMetafieldLabel
Categorycustom.categorySetting “Category label” — also names the catalogue filter
Datecustom.publication_date or custom.publication_yearSetting “Date label” (Vintage, Release, Published…)
Field 1–5custom.field_1 … custom.field_5Settings “Field label” 1–5

3. Styles

The palette and typography switch together in Customize → Theme settings → Style.

4. Product metafields

Create them in Settings → Custom data → Metafields → Products, with scope “All products”. The namespace.key and type must match exactly:

NameNamespace & keyTypeUsed for
Entitycustom.authorSingle line textEntity name under each product. The key is called author for compatibility with Parker; customers only see the label.
Quotecustom.quoteMulti-line textFeatured quote on the product
Categorycustom.categorySingle line textSheet row + catalogue filter
Datecustom.publication_dateDateSheet row (month & year), sorting. Alternative: custom.publication_year (Integer)
Field 1custom.field_1Single line textSheet row. Also used as the credit in the home “Product of the month”
Field 2–5custom.field_2 … custom.field_5Single line textSheet rows

Optional:

NameNamespace & keyTypeUsed for
Size guidecustom.size_guideMulti-line textSize table on merch (col|col per line)
⚠️ The entity lives in two places: the custom.author metafield (to display it) and the product's Vendor field (so entity collections gather their products automatically). Use the same name in both.

5. Collection metafields

Settings → Custom data → Metafields → Collections:

NameNamespace & keyTypeUsed for
Subtitlecustom.subtitleSingle line textLine under the entity name (e.g. “Sidamo, 1,900 m”)
Quotecustom.quoteMulti-line textQuote on the entity page
More detailscustom.detailsRich textCollapsible “More details” block under the product grid: full story, benefits, how to use, awards… Hidden when empty. Heading and initial state in Customize → Entity page.
Entity labelcustom.entity_labelSingle line textOverrides the entity name on this collection only. Empty = the global name.

6. Collections

CollectionHandleTypeCondition
CataloguebooksAutomatedProduct type = Product (or whichever you use). The handle is kept for compatibility — the home links to it.
FeaturedfeaturedAutomatedTag = Featured
MerchmerchAutomatedProduct type = Merch
(each entity)name-in-lowercaseAutomatedVendor = “Entity name”

Entity collections also need: template entity (Customize the collection template → choose “entity”; author is accepted too), an image (portrait, logo, landscape of the origin…), and the metafields from section 5.

7. Pages

PageTemplateNotes
Entitiespage.entitiesEntity list (brands, origins…). The demo home links to /pages/authors: create the page with that handle or edit the links in Customize → Hero / Banner pair.
Aboutpage.about
Contactpage.contact
FAQpage.faq
Selectionpage.featuredCatalogue + featured (optional).

8. Examples by sector

StoreEntityCategoryFields 1–5
Specialty coffeeOrigin (Ethiopia, Colombia)Process (washed, natural)Altitude · Variety · Roast · Notes · Farm
SupplementsIngredient (Magnesium, Collagen)Goal (sleep, skin)Dose · Format · Quantity · Allergens · Vegan
Trading cardsFranchise / SetRarityNumber · Condition · Language · Year · Artist
WineWineryType (red, white)Vintage · Grape · ABV · Appellation · Ageing
Multi-brand fashionBrandGarment typeComposition · Size · Colour · Origin · Care
CoursesTeacher / SubjectLevelDuration · Format · Language · Certificate · Start

9. Digital products (ebooks, courses, plans)

Shopify doesn't deliver files or access by itself: you need an app. The theme needs nothing special — the digital product is created like any other (page, entity, price) and the app handles delivery after payment.

10. Languages

The theme's default language is English, with Spanish included. To add another language, install Translate & Adapt (free, by Shopify) → add the language → Auto-translate → review. The theme emits hreflang and includes a language + country/currency selector in the footer.

FAQ

What's the difference with Parker?

Parker is built for books: author, ISBN, pages, genre. Parker Open keeps the same design and structure but lets you name the grouping entity and the technical-sheet fields yourself. If you sell books, use Parker; anything else, Parker Open.

Why is the entity metafield called custom.author?

For compatibility with Parker and its import files. Customers never see the key — only the label you set in Theme settings → Entity.

Can I mix books, supplements and coffee in one store?

Yes. Set a neutral global entity name and override it per collection with custom.entity_label. Each product still links to its own entity page.

The entity collection shows no products.

Entity collections gather products by Vendor. Make sure each product's Vendor field matches the entity name exactly.

The category filter doesn't appear in the catalogue.

It only shows when at least one product has custom.category filled in.

The country/currency selector doesn't appear.

It only shows when your store has more than one market/currency. Set up at least two in Settings → Markets.

Fonts & images credits: fonts under the SIL Open Font License; demo images from Unsplash. See the CREDITS.md file included with the theme.