How to Remove Category Identifiers in Shopify's Dawn Theme for a Cleaner Storefront

By Tony Ng.
March 17th, 2025

Introduction

Running an effective Shopify store often involves making subtle tweaks that improve the visual appeal and user experience. One of the small but impactful issues that merchants occasionally face is the presence of a 'category identifier' (sometimes seen as a title or label) within product cards on their storefront. These labels, while informative, can clutter your store’s appearance or detract from other key content.

In this comprehensive guide, we’ll explore why these category identifiers appear, how to remove or hide them effectively in Shopify’s Dawn theme, and clarify the difference between approaches like using display: none vs. opacity: 0. We’ll also discuss potential pitfalls of each approach, some broader considerations when modifying a theme, and other best practices. By the time you finish reading, you’ll have a solid foundation to handle similar styling issues in other parts of Shopify (including advanced setups with Hydrogen). This article is authored by BemeApps AI, drawing from our expertise as Shopify Experts, content marketers, and entrepreneurs.

Understanding the Problem
Why Shopify’s Dawn Theme Labels Categories
Common Reasons to Hide or Remove the Category Identifier
Possible Solutions
Step-by-Step Guide: Editing Dawn Theme CSS
Alternative Approaches
Deeper Look at CSS Methods
Behind the Scenes: How Dawn Theme Structures CSS
Testing and Troubleshooting
Advanced Customization for Hydrogen
Best Practices and Final Checks
Bonus Tips for SEO and Branding
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Conclusion

1. Understanding the Problem

On any Shopify store, aesthetics play a pivotal role in driving conversions and fostering a pleasurable customer experience. The straightforward problem that many store owners face is the presence of an extra line of text below the product image, often listing a tag/category or some auto-generated label. In the Dawn theme, it might appear as a block of text labeled with .card__content or .card__heading.

Some people see it as redundant. Maybe it doesn’t match the branding, or perhaps it confuses customers about how products are grouped. Depending on your merchandise and strategic design approach, you might find it beneficial to remove or obscure this snippet of text.

Synonyms for “Category Identifier”

Label
Tag
Classification marker

Regardless of the naming convention, the issue remains consistent: store owners want the simplest card layout possible, highlighting the product image and name without extra distractions.

2. Why Shopify’s Dawn Theme Labels Categories

The Dawn theme, like most official Shopify themes, aims to showcase product information to visitors quickly and efficiently. Categories or tags can be valuable for some merchants who rely on these markers for easy product grouping. For example:

A clothing store might categorize items by “Men’s,” “Women’s,” or “Unisex.”
A bookstore might tag items by “Fiction,” “Non-Fiction,” or “Bestsellers.”
A home décor shop could highlight “Living Room,” “Bedroom,” or “Outdoor.”

This labeling system provides immediate context, and many store owners intentionally use it to guide customers through their catalog. However, if your design or branding calls for a minimal aesthetic, or your categories are already reflected in top-level navigation, these extra lines of text aren’t always desirable.

3. Common Reasons to Hide or Remove the Category Identifier

Visual Clutter: If the overall look of your store is minimalistic, that extra text under each product might disrupt the clean visual flow.
Repetitive Information: Sometimes the same category name is repeated across multiple product cards, and your users already know they’re browsing that category.
Focus on the Product Image: Large, high-quality images are often more persuasive. Reducing textual distractions can direct attention to the product image.
Brand Identity: You might have a distinct brand identity that feels incompatible with extra labeling.
Better Mobile Experience: On small screens, text can quickly crowd precious space that might be better used for product visuals.

Ultimately, removing or hiding the category identifier can be part of a broader branding strategy, ensuring the store layout stays consistent and on-target.

4. Possible Solutions

CSS Override: Use display: none; or opacity: 0; to hide or conceal the text.
Code Removal: Involves editing the Liquid templates to remove the snippet altogether. This is more advanced but can be a cleaner solution.
Alternative Layouts: Possibly adopting another layout option in the Dawn theme’s customizer, which may omit certain labels.
Conditional Logic: Only hide or show the label for specific collections or product types.

In this guide, the fastest and simplest approach to demonstrate is the CSS override. Do note, though, that diving into theme.liquid or the relevant product card snippet can entirely remove references to category identifiers. Each approach has pros and cons, which we’ll explore below.

5. Step-by-Step Guide: Editing Dawn Theme CSS

Let’s dig into the most direct approach — applying a CSS override. The Dawn theme keeps styles in .css files stored within its ‘Assets’ directory.

Step 1: Access Your Theme

Log in to your Shopify Admin.
Go to Online Store -> Themes.
Next to your Dawn theme, click Actions.
Select Edit Code.

Step 2: Open the Relevant CSS File

In the left sidebar, scroll and look for Assets.
Find a file named component-card.css or similarly named official style file for your theme. Click it to open.

Step 3: Integrate the Code Snippet

Scroll to the bottom of the CSS file.
Add your new rules. For hiding the entire label block, you might use:
```
.card__content {
    display: none !important;
}
```
Alternatively, if you just want to make the heading text transparent:
```
h3.card__heading {
    opacity: 0 !important;
}
```
Save the file.

Step 4: Preview Your Store

Click Preview to see your store.
Check that the category identifier or label text no longer appears.

This relatively easy fix is accessible to even novice store owners who want a quick solution.

6. Alternative Approaches

While adding a CSS snippet is the simplest path, you may prefer or need a thorough code removal in your theme’s Liquid files. This approach is more advanced. Typically, removing it directly in the Liquid files means you find a snippet referencing {{ product.tags }} or a comparable variable, then remove or comment it out.

Potential Liquid Edits

Locate references within card-product.liquid or product-card.liquid.
Identify lines like <h3 class="card__heading">{{ product.whatever }}</h3>.
Remove or comment out the code ({% comment %} ... {% endcomment %}).

Although this might produce the cleanest result, novices should proceed carefully. A single incorrect character can break your entire theme. If you’re new to coding, keep a backup and test thoroughly.

7. Deeper Look at CSS Methods

When it comes to hiding an element, many store owners wonder: Which is better, display: none or opacity: 0?

`display: none`

The element is taken out of the document flow, so surrounding elements behave as if it’s not there.
The user won’t be able to highlight it or click it, which is typically what you want for text removal.

`opacity: 0`

The element remains in the layout flow but becomes invisible.
Could be beneficial if your overall design depends on the block’s spacing and removing it might throw off spacing.
Visitors can still highlight or click the invisible text.

For the purpose of removing a category identifier, display: none is usually the recommended approach. However, if you have specific spacing concerns or want to preserve the layout’s structure, opacity: 0 might be a solution.

8. Behind the Scenes: How Dawn Theme Structures CSS

Shopify’s Dawn theme organizes its styles using a modular approach, where different components live in separate .css files. This structure ensures that each element, like product cards, footers, or cart pages, has its own dedicated file. When you target these files for custom changes, it makes troubleshooting simpler because you know precisely where your modifications live.

Key things to note:

Updating your theme: If you switch to a major new version of Dawn, your overridden CSS might carry over if you do a manual copy. You might need to re-apply your custom snippets if you start fresh with an entirely updated theme.
CSS loading order: In some cases, if you place your code in an older section of the file or in a different file altogether, other rules might overwrite your snippet. That’s why we add !important; to increase specificity.

9. Testing and Troubleshooting

Quick Testing Strategies

Use a Duplicate Theme: Always make a copy of your live theme to test modifications.
Preview URL: Check the changes on various browsers and devices.
Mobile Experience: Work on ensuring that the removal of the category identifier doesn’t break the mobile layout.

Common Pitfalls

Cache: Sometimes, Shopify or your browser caches older CSS. Force-refresh or clear your cache.
Improper File Placement: If you paste CSS in the wrong file, you won’t see results.
Missing Brackets or Semicolons: Minor syntax errors can break your entire stylesheet.

10. Advanced Customization for Hydrogen

For those venturing into Shopify’s headless commerce approach using Hydrogen, you can replicate similar logic but on the React component side. Instead of purely relying on .css overrides, you might:

Conditionally Render Components: Decide if you even want to include the category label in your product card component.
Use a Global CSS or a Module: If the label is still rendered but you want to hide it, replicate the same display: none approach.

Headless setups give you greater control over the front-end experience, meaning you can remove category identifiers at a deeper level. This approach often appeals to more advanced developers who need extensive customization.

11. Best Practices and Final Checks

Backup Your Theme: Download or duplicate the theme before making file changes.
Comment Your Code: When you add custom code in .css files, mark it with a comment explaining what it does.
Use a Versioning System: If your store is high-traffic or mission-critical, consider storing your theme code in a version control system.
Mobile Friendliness: Always check for how changes appear on smaller screens.
Keep an Eye on Updates: If you update or switch themes, be ready to re-insert your custom modifications.

12. Bonus Tips for SEO and Branding

Leverage Meta Tags: Removing category labels in the UI shouldn’t mean you lose the SEO benefits of categorizing your products. Make sure your categories are still recognized in your store’s SEO settings.
Custom URL Structures: In Shopify, you can define how product URLs look. Even if you hide category labels on the front-end, your store’s structure can still reflect these categories for better indexing and discoverability.
Highlight Your Brand Aesthetic: Once that extra label is gone, your product images will gain visual dominance. Ensure your photography is high quality and consistent to reinforce branding.
Focus on Navigation Menus: Instead of displaying category identifiers on product cards, build an easy-to-use navigation menu or filter system so customers can quickly find product groups.

13. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q1: Can I revert these changes if I decide I need the category identifier back?

A: Absolutely. All you have to do is remove or comment out the code snippet you added in your theme files. If you went the Liquid (template) removal route, just restore the lines you had deleted or commented out.

Q2: Is this approach recommended for every theme or just Dawn?

A: While the specifics of which .css file to edit might differ if you’re using non-Dawn themes, the general approach of adding display: none or removing code from the Liquid files is common across all Shopify themes.

Q3: Does removing the category identifier speed up my site?

A: Not significantly. Hiding or removing text is more of a cosmetic choice than a performance improvement. However, a leaner design can improve perceived speed if pages look less cluttered.

Q4: Will removing the category identifier affect SEO?

A: Typically no, because this is a visual label on your storefront, not a core piece of metadata or link structure. You’re simply hiding text on the page. If you want to keep SEO signals, ensure the relevant categorization is still reflected through navigational structure and meta tags.

Q5: How can I contact BemeApps Team for advanced assistance?

A: You can approach us through the Shopify Experts directory or by direct email to discuss custom design, advanced coding, extended functionalities, or store modifications. We’re always here to take on specialized tasks and help your eCommerce business thrive.

14. Conclusion

Polishing your Shopify store’s front-end visuals can have a dramatic effect on how customers perceive your brand. By removing or hiding the category identifier in the Dawn theme, you can achieve a cleaner, more refined layout that puts product imagery and essential details front and center.

Remember, you have multiple avenues to accomplish this. A simple CSS fix can handle the job if you prefer minimal fuss. For advanced merchants or developers, diving into the Liquid files or using a headless commerce approach with Hydrogen can give you more nuanced control. Whichever method you choose, maintenance and testing are crucial to making sure updates don’t break your customizations.

We hope this extensive guide has given you a solid understanding of not just how to remove that category identifier, but also why you might want to, and how to tailor the process to your unique store needs. If you’re looking for personalized guidance, BemeApps AI is at your service, ready to help you navigate these modifications and other eCommerce enhancements.

Author by BemeApps AI