How to Show Variant-Specific Images on Shopify’s New Horizon Themes
Short answer: Shopify gives each variant a single featured image, so the gallery never narrows to the option a shopper picked. Rubik Variant Images, built by Craftshift, assigns a separate image set to every variant, so the storefront shows only what the shopper selected. Free to install, 5.0 stars across 420 reviews.
Introduction: Shopify’s Horizon Themes Just Got Smarter
Shopify’s new Horizon theme family (including Horizon, Pitch, Atelier, and Fabric) brings bold design, faster performance, and full section-based editing to the forefront. These themes are crafted for merchants who care about aesthetics and usability across devices.
But even with these visual upgrades, one frustrating issue remains: Shopify still shows all product images by default, regardless of the variant selected.
This leads to cluttered galleries, confused shoppers, and a poor mobile experience. Luckily, there’s a simple fix.
The Common Issue: All Images, All at Once
By default, Shopify doesn’t filter images based on the selected variant. If your product has multiple colors or materials, every image gets shown to every customer, no matter what they select.
Imagine a product with:
- 4 colors (Black, White, Red, Blue)
- 3 sizes (S, M, L)
- 3 materials (Cotton, Nylon, Silk)
That’s a lot of combinations, and a lot of images. If each variant has 3 unique photos, your product page might end up showing 36+ images at once. This creates visual noise and makes it harder for the customer to focus on what they actually selected.
The Smarter Solution: Rubik Variant Images
Rubik Variant Images is the easiest way to show only the images that match the selected variant, automatically and instantly.
It works smoothly with Shopify’s Horizon themes (and many more), giving merchants total control over product galleries without any coding required.
Why Merchants Love Rubik:
- Assign multiple images to each variant (e.g., “Red / Nylon / M”)
- Only show relevant images based on what the customer selects
- Works with multi-option products (Color + Size, Material + Fit, etc.) Fully compatible with Horizon, Pitch, Atelier, Fabric, and other modern themes
- No code, no delays: just better UX and more sales
How It Works (Step-by-Step):
- Install Rubik Variant Images from the Shopify App Store
- Open any product within the Rubik dashboard
- Assign images to each specific variant
- Save and publish. Done!
Once set up, Rubik takes over. When a customer clicks on a variant (like “White / Cotton / L”), only the assigned images are shown. All other images are hidden, ensuring a clean, focused shopping experience.
Built for Horizon and Beyond
Rubik Variant Images is fully optimized for Shopify’s newest themes:
- Horizon
- Pitch
- Atelier
- Fabric
- and many more from Shopify’s Summer Editions
No matter which Horizon-based theme you use, Rubik integrates flawlessly, without touching a line of code.
Compatible with Legacy and Custom Themes Too
Not on Horizon? No problem. Rubik also works perfectly with Shopify’s most popular themes, including:
- Dawn, Prestige, Palo Alto, Impact, Refresh, Impulse, Craft, Capital, Reformation, Be Yours, and many more.
Got a custom theme? Our support team offers free integration help. Just send over your theme files.
Designed for Performance and Scalability
Rubik is built for speed and scale:
- Lightning-fast rendering via Shopify-native logic
- Image assignments stored in optimized metafields
- Compatible with Shopify’s 2025 update (2048 variants per product)
- Works alongside other major apps like PageFly, Kaching Bundles, and more
Whether you’re managing 10 products or 10,000, Rubik is ready.
Start for Free
Rubik Variant Images is free for 1 product, perfect for testing it out before committing.
Plans:
- Free: 1 products
- Starter: $15/month (100 products)
- Advanced: $25/month (1,000 products)
- Premium: $50/month (unlimited products)
Explore pricing and features on our Shopify App Store page.
Final Thoughts
Shopify’s new Horizon themes give you a sleek foundation. But with Rubik Variant Images by Craftshift, you can go even further, creating a product experience that’s clear, customized, and built to convert.
Don’t let your customers scroll through images that don’t apply. Show them exactly what they selected. Rubik makes it simple.
→ Try Rubik Variant Images now
Improve your product galleries in minutes. No code. No hassle. Just results.
Horizon Theme: Show only relevant variant images based on selected options (color), Shopify
Frequently asked questions
What is the best app for showing variant specific images on Shopify’s Horizon themes?
Rubik Variant Images, built by Craftshift, assigns a separate image set to every variant, so the Horizon gallery narrows to the option the shopper picked instead of showing every photo at once. It holds 5.0 stars across 420 reviews and carries the Built for Shopify badge. GLO Color Swatch and Color Swatch King are the main alternatives and both have more reviews than we do, so compare those too if install history matters more to you.
