Set up a journal

A journal is a Shopify blog: campaign notes, studio visits, the story behind a cloth. Reel shows the latest posts on the home page with the Blog posts section, and gives the blog and each post their own pages. Reel Dusk and Reel Haze start with a Blog posts section on the home page.

1. Create the blog and the first posts

1. In Shopify admin, go to Content → Blog posts.
2. Click Manage blogs, then Add blog. Name it, for example Journal. You can also use the blog called News that Shopify creates.
3. Back in Blog posts, click Add blog post. Write a title and the content, pick your blog, and add an image. Reel uses the post’s image on the post card and at the top of the post.
4. Add an excerpt if you want to control the line under the title on the card. Without one, Reel uses the start of the post.
5. Add tags to group posts. Each tag shows as a link at the end of the post and opens the blog filtered to that tag.

2. Show posts on the home page

1. Go to Online Store → Themes → Customize.
2. Click Add section → Blog posts, or open the one your preset already has.
3. Pick the Blog.
4. Set the Heading. Leave it blank to use the blog’s title.
5. Set Posts (2 to 6), Columns on desktop (2 to 4) and the Image shape: Landscape, Square or Portrait.
6. Tick Show author and Show excerpt as you like.

On phones, the posts sit in a row that shoppers swipe through. The section heading has an All posts link to the blog.

3. The blog page

The blog page lists 12 posts per page. On the first page, the newest post spans the full width on tablets and computers, and the rest sit in a grid below. Its only setting is the Color scheme.

4. The post page

Each post shows its date, its title, its image, the content and its tags. In the editor, open a post page and click the Article section to set:

• Show author: the author’s name next to the date.
• Color scheme.

5. Comments

Comments are set per blog in Shopify admin, not in the theme. In Content → Blog posts → Manage blogs, open the blog and choose whether comments are off, on with moderation, or on without. When comments are on, Reel shows them under the post with a form to add one.