Targeting and image replacement

Collages target differently from badges, product sets, and buttons. Where those elements overlay on top of one or more images, a collage replaces a single chosen image with the composed grid. This article explains the model and how to set it up.

You configure all of this from the Placement tab of the collage form.

How collage targeting differs

Other shop-wide elements use three targeting modes (all products, specific products, specific product image) and apply on top of an image. Collages skip those modes entirely and use image replacement:

• The collage targets exactly one product.
• The collage replaces exactly one image on that product.
• The replacement is render-time. The storefront gallery shows the composed collage image in the slot the original image used to occupy.

This makes collages well-suited for creating a hero composition (a bento layout, a side-by-side product breakdown, an annotated lifestyle shot) that takes the place of a stock product image.

Configuring image replacement

In the Placement tab:

1. Pick the product. Use the product picker to select the product the collage will be inserted on.
2. Pick the image to replace. The gallery thumbnails for the product are shown. Click the image you want to swap out.

By default, the collage is inserted after the last image in the gallery (so the original image still appears, and the collage sits at the end). You can change this to replace a specific image position, in which case the collage takes that image's slot.

Where the original image goes

The original image is not deleted from the product in Shopify. It continues to exist as part of the product's media. On the storefront, the collage simply takes the visual slot where the original image used to be displayed; the original image is hidden from the gallery for as long as the collage is active.

If you disable or delete the collage, the original image returns to its slot.

Pre-composed image storage

Once a collage is saved, LinkSpot composes the grid into a single image and uploads it to your Shopify Files library. The storefront serves this composed image directly, so loading the collage is no different from loading any other product image. The composed image is cached on the collage record and regenerated when you change the content or layout.

Tips

• Use collages for hero product images (a bento of lifestyle shots, a feature breakdown), not for global storefront elements that should follow many products.
• If you want the same composition to appear on more than one product, create a separate collage per product targeting the same content.
• For each collage, you target exactly one product and one image. There are no "all products" or "by tag" modes for collages.