Archive a product in Shopify
Archiving takes a product off sale while keeping its record, its sales history, and its place in collections. This tutorial archives the Trail Crew Tee, the safe choice when a product might come back, instead of deleting it for good.
Written · Shopify admin, desktop steps · 5 minutes read
The worked example
| Product | Trail Crew Tee |
| Action | Archive |
| Visible on storefront | No |
| In main product list | No, moved to Archived tab |
| After unarchiving | Status becomes Draft |
Download the record: trail-crew-tee-archive-record.csv (108 bytes).
An archive record for the Trail Crew Tee: the action, the date, and the status it returns with.
1Open the product
From your Shopify admin, go to Products and click Trail Crew Tee. Archiving starts from the product details page.
2Choose Archive product
Click More actions, then click Archive product. A dialog asks you to confirm, because archiving hides the product from the storefront at once.
3Confirm the archive
In the dialog, click Archive product. The product moves to the Archived tab of the Products page and leaves the main product list.
4Check the storefront
Open the product page as a shopper would. The archived product is hidden from the online store, so a customer following an old link will not find it for sale.
5Know what stays behind
Archiving a product does not remove it from any collections it is in. It stays listed in the Collection items section in the admin, but customers cannot view it, because archived products are hidden from the online store.
6Unarchive it the same way when it returns
To bring the product back, open it from the Archived tab and click More actions, then Unarchive product. The product comes back with its status set to Draft, so set it Active again before it can be sold.
The arithmetic
No money figures are involved here.
| Figure | Number |
|---|---|
| Products archived | 1 |
| Products deleted | 0 |
| Products kept in collections | 1 |
| Status after unarchiving | Draft |
One product is archived and none is deleted, so the record and its history survive. The product stays in its collections in the admin, hidden from customers until it is unarchived.
Held at the counter
Archiving is not deleting. An archived product can be brought back with its details intact. A deleted product is permanently removed and cannot be restored, so archive first whenever a return is possible.
Archived products stay in collections. A collection that held the product still lists it in the admin, even though customers cannot see it. If the collection looks short, check whether a member is archived before adding a replacement.
Unarchiving does not make it live. An unarchived product comes back as Draft. If you forget to set it Active and publish it again, the product stays off sale and the return never reaches the storefront.
Sources
- Adding and updating products — Shopify's help pages: the archive and unarchive steps, the Archived tab, and that unarchiving sets the status to Draft.
- Product status and availability — Shopify's help pages: archiving does not remove a product from its collections, and archived products are hidden from the storefront.