How to Enable Vertical Thumbnails on Shopify (No Apps Needed!)

Many premium Shopify themes include vertical thumbnails by default—and that's no coincidence. Vertical thumbnails offer a sleek, space-efficient way to display product images, making it easier for shoppers to explore your products without endless scrolling.

Unfortunately, high-quality vertical thumbnail implementations are rare. Most available apps replace your store’s original slider with a clunky, bloated alternative that slows down page speed and introduces bugs. These third-party solutions often feel disconnected from the rest of your theme and can negatively impact your store’s performance.

That’s where EZFY Vertical Thumbnails comes in. Instead of replacing your existing slider, we enhance it by injecting lightweight, vertical thumbnails directly into your current layout. No performance issues. No lag. No bloat. Just blazing fast, native functionality—installed in minutes, with zero coding skills required.

You'll learn how to:

• Create a new section inside your Shopify theme.
• Add the ezfy-vertical-thumbnails code.
• Customize the layout directly from your theme editor.

Before starting: 👉 Click here to download the code 👀 Click here to view a live demo

Step 1: Adding the vertical thumbnails code to your theme

1. From your Shopify admin, go to Online Store > Themes.
2. On the right side of your current theme, click the three dots (⋯), then select Edit code.
   
   
3. In the left-hand sidebar, locate and click on the Sections folder.
4. Click the Add a new section button at the top of the folder.
   
5. In the popup window, make sure the liquid option is selected.
6. Name the new file exactly ezfy-vertical-thumbnails and click Done.
   
   
7. Open the file you downloaded earlier and locate the file named ezfy-vertical-thumbnails.txt.
8. Copy all the code inside it and paste it into the section file you just created.
9. Click the Save button at the top right of the code editor.
   
   

Step 2: Enabling the section in your product page

1. On the top left of your Shopify admin, click the three dots (⋯), then select Customize theme.
   
   
2. At the top center of the theme editor, click on Home page > Products > Default product to open your product page template.
   
   
   
3. On the left sidebar, click the Add section button.
4. Search for ezfy-vertical-thumbnails and select it.
   
   
5. Once added, drag the section to the very top of the section list to ensure it loads before other product page elements.
   
   
6. Now, still on the left sidebar, locate and click the Product information section.
7. Under the Layout options:
   • For Desktop layout, choose Thumbnails.
   • For Mobile layout, enable Show thumbnails.

Click on Save and you're all set.

Step 3: Customizing the vertical thumbnails

1. In the left sidebar, click on the ezfy-vertical-thumbnails section to open its settings.
2. Browse through all the available customization options such as spacing, alignment, breakpoint control, and more.
3. Adjust the values to match your brand’s design and preferred user experience.
4. When finished, click Save to update the changes.

Wrapping Up

You’ve now successfully added vertical thumbnails to your Shopify product pages using EZFY’s lightweight, high-performance solution. Unlike bloated apps that override your entire slider and slow down your store, this method keeps your original slider intact—ensuring a seamless and fast user experience.

With full control over customization and design, you're free to tweak the layout to perfectly match your brand. Whether you're adjusting spacing, styling, or simply testing new image display formats, this section empowers you to experiment confidently.

Best of all, you can easily run A/B tests to see what layout converts better for your customers—without compromising your site's speed or stability.

Happy optimizing, and if you ever need help or want to explore more powerful enhancements, EZFY is here to support you!