Some Shopify product pages need more than a standard breadcrumb trail. A breadcrumb usually answers the question, “Where am I in the store hierarchy?” But a product page merchandising link answers a different question: “Where can I browse more products like this?”
This difference matters when a product belongs to a long category path. A breadcrumb from Breadcrumbs & Categories might show a complete trail such as Home > Outdoor Products > Bollards > Timber Bollards > Pyramid Top Timber Bollards > Product. That full path is useful for navigation, but it is too long if the store simply wants a small product page link that says See more Pyramid Top Timber Bollards.
This guide explains the cleanest way to add that kind of “See more [Collection]” link on Shopify product pages while keeping the original breadcrumb intact.
The real problem: breadcrumb text and merchandising link text are not the same thing
At first glance, it can feel natural to reuse the breadcrumb output as the “See more” link. The breadcrumb already knows the product’s collection path, so why not display it somewhere else?
The issue is that a breadcrumb is a path, while a “See more” link is usually a single destination. If you reuse the full breadcrumb string, the product page can become visually noisy:
- Breadcrumb: Home > Category > Subcategory > Collection > Product
- Bad secondary link: See more Home > Category > Subcategory > Collection
- Better secondary link: See more Collection
For most stores, the second line is not helpful. It reads like duplicated navigation instead of a clear call-to-action.
Do not replace the original breadcrumb
The safest implementation is to keep your normal breadcrumb exactly where it is and add the “See more [Collection]” link as a separate product page element.
Replacing the breadcrumb can create avoidable problems. Customers lose the full navigation trail, the layout may change unexpectedly, and the product page can become less consistent across templates. If your store uses breadcrumb schema or structured navigation logic, replacing the visible breadcrumb just to create a merchandising link is usually the wrong trade-off.
Instead, use the breadcrumb as a data source. Let Breadcrumbs & Categories resolve the product’s best collection path, then extract the final collection from that path and show it in a second location.
The recommended pattern
A robust setup has three parts:
- Render the normal breadcrumb. Keep the existing Breadcrumbs & Categories output in the regular breadcrumb area.
- Read the resolved collection path. On the product page, read the breadcrumb items after the app has resolved the product’s path.
- Display only the closest collection. Use the last collection item before the product name to create a separate link such as See more BFT High Security Bollards.
Where should the link appear?
The best placement depends on the product template, but the most common location is near the product title. For example, a store might want this order:
- Product title
- See more [Collection]
- Product ID or SKU
- Price
- Variant selectors
- Add to cart button
This placement works well because the customer sees the product name first, then immediately gets a way to browse related products in the same final collection.
For stores with many product templates, it is usually better to test the behavior on the default product template first. Once the link is correct, the same placement strategy can be reused on other product templates or applied only to the templates that need it.
Should this be an app block?
Not always. If the store only needs standard breadcrumbs, an app block is the cleanest approach. But a “See more [Collection]” link in a very specific product-page position may require custom placement logic.
In that case, a small JavaScript adjustment can be more flexible. The script can read the existing breadcrumb, find the final collection link, and inject a separate “See more [Collection]” element into the requested product page area.
The important part is that this custom link should not replace the original breadcrumb. It should be an additional element that uses the breadcrumb’s resolved path as its source.
Decision table: app block, theme code, or app-side script?
| Need | Best approach | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Show standard breadcrumbs on product and collection pages | Use the Breadcrumbs & Categories theme app block | It keeps the setup manageable and theme-editor friendly. |
| Change spacing, font size, or alignment | Use app settings or small CSS | Most visual tweaks do not need custom logic. |
| Add “See more [Collection]” near the product title | Use a custom script or app-side adjustment | The link depends on reading the resolved breadcrumb and placing only one item in a separate location. |
| Move the link to a different custom area later | Update the placement target in the script | The extraction logic can stay the same while the insertion point changes. |
Implementation checklist
Use this checklist before adding a one-level-up product page link:
- Confirm the desired text. Decide whether the link should say “See more [Collection]”, “More from [Collection]”, or another phrase.
- Confirm the destination. Usually, this should be the final collection in the breadcrumb path, not the product’s first Shopify collection and not the full path.
- Keep the breadcrumb in place. The original breadcrumb should remain visible in its normal location.
- Choose the placement. Common locations include under the product title, above SKU/Product ID, or above the price.
- Test products with long paths. Make sure the link uses only the closest collection.
- Test products in multiple collections. Confirm the link follows the product’s resolved breadcrumb path in Breadcrumbs & Categories.
- Test fallback cases. If a product does not have a usable collection path, decide whether to hide the link or point to a broader collection.
Example: turning a full path into a simple collection link
Imagine this breadcrumb on a Shopify product page:
Home > Car Park Equipment > Bollards > High Security Bollards > BFT High Security Bollards > Product
The customer does not need another copy of that full path under the title. The cleaner secondary link is:
See more BFT High Security Bollards
This works because the link sends the customer one level up from the product into the final collection, while the original breadcrumb still shows the complete hierarchy.
Why this is useful for Shopify stores with large catalogs
For small stores, a breadcrumb alone may be enough. But for stores with many product families, product types, parts, sizes, or industry categories, a separate “See more” link can be useful because it turns the product’s category context into a stronger browsing prompt.
This is especially helpful when customers land directly on a product page from search engines, ads, or email campaigns. They may not know the broader category yet. A compact “See more [Collection]” link gives them a quick way to continue browsing related products without forcing them to interpret the entire breadcrumb trail.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Replacing the breadcrumb by accident. The “See more” link should be separate from the breadcrumb.
- Using the full breadcrumb string as link text. This creates a long and awkward CTA.
- Hardcoding one collection name. This breaks when the same product template is used across many product families.
- Reading the wrong collection. Shopify products can belong to many collections, so the link should come from the resolved breadcrumb path, not a random collection assignment.
- Ignoring templates. If a store has many product templates, confirm where the script should run and where it should insert the link.
How Breadcrumbs & Categories fits into this setup
Breadcrumbs & Categories is useful here because it already resolves product breadcrumb paths based on the store’s category tree and product collection context. For a custom product-page link, you can reuse that resolved path instead of creating a second, separate collection-selection system.
For standard setup, use the app’s theme block and configuration options. For special layout requests such as adding a separate “See more [Collection]” link in a non-breadcrumb location, a custom script can read the existing breadcrumb and insert a separate link in the product template. You can review setup concepts in the Breadcrumbs & Categories documentation.
Final recommendation
If your Shopify store needs a “See more [Collection]” link on product pages, do not treat it as a replacement for breadcrumbs. Treat it as a separate merchandising link powered by breadcrumb context.
Keep the original breadcrumb visible. Extract the final collection from the resolved breadcrumb path. Then place a short link near the product title, SKU, or another high-visibility product information area. This gives customers both forms of navigation: a complete hierarchy and a focused link to more related products.
