Canvas Recap: 3 new features that will transform your Shopify store building

At Instant, we believe that building a powerful, high-converting Shopify store should be simple and fast. Today, we’re thrilled to recap Canvas, our first-ever live product event, where we unveiled groundbreaking features designed to elevate the way you build, customize, and enhance your Shopify store. 

Let’s break down each new feature and see how they’re set to transform your page building experience with Instant.

A look back on our journey

For those of you who are new here, Instant is a visual, no-code Shopify page builder. We know that building custom, professional Shopify pages can be time-consuming and expensive, and Instant was built to solve this problem. 

Since launching on the Shopify App Store on February 6, 2024, Instant has quickly become the go-to tool for over 12,000 Shopify merchants worldwide. Our mission from day one was to make store customization accessible to everyone—no coding needed. Along the way, we’ve rolled out updates like our Figma to Shopify Plugin, Product Templates, Animate on Scroll, Theme Sections, and Multiplayer Mode for seamless team collaboration.

With your support, Instant has evolved into a platform that helps you build visually stunning, high-converting stores quickly. And we’re just getting started. 

Here’s what’s next in our journey:

Introducing the newest features from Canvas

1. Grid: A new way to build Shopify pages

The Grid feature brings a familiar design-tool experience directly into Instant, enabling you to build Shopify pages with unparalleled ease. Now, instead of fussing with technical properties like spacing and positioning, you can create layouts with total visual freedom.

• Freeform canvas: The Grid gives you a flexible, drag-and-drop environment where elements can be resized and repositioned with a few clicks (Just like you’re using your favorite design tool!)
  
  

• Responsive design made simple: As you design, elements placed on the Grid automatically scale across devices, making responsive design easier and reducing the need for custom adjustments.
  
  

• Seamless Figma integration: With our Figma to Shopify plugin, you can copy Grid designs directly from Figma, bringing your concepts to life on Shopify faster than ever.

Grid is transforming the design experience with a new way to build on a true freeform canvas—where building for Shopify feels like designing in your favorite design tool.

2. Components: Build once, use everywhere

Components will save you time while ensuring design consistency across your store. This feature allows you to turn any element—buttons, product cards, even entire sections—into reusable blocks that you can drop into any part of your store.

• Turn anything into a component: Save anything as Components and access them from the Component view, allowing for quick drag-and-drop functionality.
  
  

• Instant updates across your store: When you edit the main component, every instance across your store updates instantly, so you can keep your design consistent without extra effort.
  
  

• Example use case: Imagine creating a custom “Add to Cart” button that you can use on every page. Any style updates to this button are applied store-wide, saving you time and ensuring a cohesive look.

Components will launch this Fall, helping you streamline your design process and scale effortlessly as your store grows.

3. Overlays: Capture attention with custom pop-ups and overlays

With the new Overlays feature, Instant lets you create eye-catching pop-ups to engage visitors and enhance the shopping experience. Overlays are perfect for highlighting special offers, collecting emails, and encouraging specific actions on your site.

• Customization freedom: Position overlays anywhere on the page, adjust sizing, and add elements like videos, images, and text.
  
  

• Multiple trigger options: Overlays can appear based on page load, scroll percentage, or even with specific interactions like button clicks. The options are endless for creating engaging user experiences.
  
  

• Pre-built templates: Access a new category within the template library featuring overlay templates like size charts, email pop-ups, and more, so you can get started fast.

With overlays, your Shopify store can engage customers dynamically and drive conversions by capturing their attention at just the right moment.

Key Instant features to boost your store

While these new features take center stage, Instant remains packed with powerful tools that give Shopify merchants the edge they need to grow:

• Figma to Shopify Plugin: Quickly transfer your designs from Figma, offering unmatched creative freedom.
  
  

• Animate on Scroll: Make your store interactive with smooth scroll animations.
  
  

• Multiplayer Mode: Collaborate live with your team, clients, or partners.
  
  

• Customs Sections: Enhance your Shopify theme beyond its limitations.
  
  

• eCommerce Essentials: From sliders to color pickers, Instant provides all the basics you need to enhance any store.

These features work together to provide Shopify merchants like you with a comprehensive platform for visually stunning, conversion-focused online stores.

Looking forward with Instant

The Canvas event showcased how our newest features can open up possibilities for your Shopify store—from more flexible design to time-saving components and engaging overlays. Whether you're aiming to build dynamic layouts, capture leads, or streamline your design process, these features are designed to make it simpler.

Ready to elevate your store? Try out all the latest features and start building today.