How to Archive Products in Shopify: A Quick Guide

Managing your Shopify store effectively is all about striking the right balance between a clean storefront and comprehensive data retention. One common challenge is handling products that are no longer available for customers but still valuable for your business records. That’s where archiving comes in.

Archiving products in Shopify is more than just a way to declutter your storefront — it’s a smart, non-permanent solution for streamlining your Shopify inventory while keeping all essential product details intact. Whether you’re rotating seasonal items, phasing out discontinued products, or temporarily removing items for strategic reasons, archiving helps you maintain a polished and professional online presence.

But why archive instead of delete? What are the benefits of archiving products, and how does this feature empower you to manage your store more efficiently? From keeping your store organized to improving SEO and customer experience, archiving is a powerful tool every Shopify merchant should know how to use. Let’s explore how to archive products in Shopify, everything you need to know about this process, and why it’s a better alternative to deletion.

Why You Should Archive Shopify Products

Archiving products in Shopify can seem like just another feature, but it’s a game-changer for managing your online store. Whether running seasonal promotions, streamlining inventory, or phasing out outdated products, archiving helps you maintain a clean and professional storefront. But why exactly should you use this feature? Let’s dive in.

1. Keep Your Storefront Clean and Organized. Ever visited a store where old or out-of-stock items clutter the shelves? It’s frustrating, right? The same applies to your Shopify store. Archiving products allows you to remove items from the public eye while keeping them stored in your backend. This ensures your customers see only what’s relevant — no more confusion or frustration from stumbling upon unavailable items.
2. Prepare for Seasonal and Limited-Time Sales. Do you sell products tied to specific seasons or events? For instance, winter coats in summer or limited-edition holiday merchandise might not be relevant year-round. Archiving such products lets you temporarily remove them without losing their data. You can easily unarchive and relist them when the time is right.
3. Manage Inventory Without Deletion. Should you delete a product that’s out of stock or no longer relevant? Not necessarily. Archiving is a non-permanent solution, allowing you to retain important product details like descriptions, images, and sales history. This comes in handy when you plan to restock or reuse the information for future campaigns.
4. Improve SEO and Customer Experience. Here’s a question: Would you rather redirect customers from unavailable products to active ones, or leave them with a dead end? Archived products can be linked to active ones or collections, ensuring your store remains navigable and user-friendly. It’s a subtle yet powerful way to boost your store’s SEO by preventing broken links or irrelevant search results.
5. Save Time When Reviving Old Products. Planning to reintroduce a product? Instead of starting from scratch, unarchive the item, make any necessary updates, and you’re ready to go. Archiving saves you the hassle of recreating product pages, letting you focus on what matters — selling.

These are the questions to consider when you consider archiving your Shopify products:

• Are outdated products cluttering your storefront?
• Would archiving help streamline your inventory for better management?
• How does removing irrelevant products improve your customers’ shopping experience?

If even one answer is “Yes”, archiving products is a smart move for your Shopify store. Let’s see how to do that.

How to Archive Products in Shopify

Archiving products in Shopify is a great way to remove items from your online catalog without permanently deleting them. Follow these steps to archive a product in Shopify:

1. Visit your Shopify Products screen.
   
2. Find a product that should be archived and proceed to its product details page.
3. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click Archive product.
   
4. Confirm your intent.

You can archive products not only individually but in bulk using Shopify’s intuitive bulk action tools. Let’s break it down!

How to Archive Shopify Products in Bulk

Archiving Shopify products in bulk is even more straightforward:

1. Go to Shopify Admin -> Products.
   
2. Select products you want to archive. Note that you can use this method to archive a single Shopify product without visiting its details page.
   
3. Click More actions (three dots on the top right corner of the Products grid) and hit Archive products.
   
4. Confirm your intent.
   

Once archived, products are no longer visible in your storefront but remain accessible for review and potential reactivation in the future. This simple process ensures your catalog stays organized while giving you flexibility in product management.

How to Unarchive Products in Shopify

If it’s time to bring a product back into the spotlight — or if it was archived by mistake — don’t worry! Shopify makes unarchiving products a quick and straightforward process. Whether you’re preparing for a new sales season or simply correcting an error, unarchiving ensures your product is back on display and ready for customers to purchase. Let’s explore how to do it step by step.

1. Go to Admin -> Products and click Archived.
   
2. Find the product that you want to unarchive and open its details page.
3. Click Unarchive product either on the right or at the bottom of the page.

Why choose archiving over deleting while the latter may seem a simpler solution? Let’s find out.

Archiving Shopify Products vs. Deleting Them

When managing your Shopify inventory, deciding between archiving and deleting a product is a critical choice. While both actions remove the product from your storefront, the outcomes are drastically different. Let’s break it down.

Archiving a product moves it to the Archived tab on the Products page. This action hides the item from your customers, but it doesn’t erase the product’s details. All essential information — like descriptions, images, and sales history — remains intact. Archiving is like pressing “pause” on a product without losing anything valuable.

Deleting a product, on the other hand, is a permanent action. Once deleted, all the product’s data — including images, variants, and analytics — is lost. If you need to reintroduce the product later, you’ll have to create it from scratch. This makes deletion a better fit for products you’re absolutely certain you’ll never sell again.

Here is why archiving is the smarter choice:

• Preserve Product Data: Unlike deleting, archiving keeps your product’s details safe. You can unarchive it anytime, saving you the trouble of rebuilding the page.
• Temporary Solutions: If you’re temporarily removing a seasonal product or a discontinued line, archiving is the perfect solution. It’s easy to reinstate products when needed.
• Maintain Sales History: By archiving, you retain historical data that can help you analyze past performance and plan future campaigns.
• Avoid Mistakes: Deleted products are gone for good, which can lead to headaches if you delete the wrong item. Archiving offers a non-permanent option that’s easy to reverse.

Deleting is ideal for items that are outdated, irrelevant, or discontinued with no intention of restocking. For instance, a one-time collaboration product that won’t return might be a candidate for deletion. Still, you can preserve it by creating a backup.

How to Safeguard Your Products with Backups Before Deleting or Archiving

Before you delete a product in Shopify, it’s essential to create a backup. What if you just archive it? Well, it is also recommended to create a backup to avoid a situation when you accidentally delete this product from your archive.

Creating regular backups is considered a good practice that ensures your product data — descriptions, metadata, pricing, and more — remains secure and accessible for future use. While Shopify’s native export tool offers basic backup functionality, a more advanced solution like the Import & Export Tool by Firebear takes your backups to the next level.

Why Choose the Import & Export Tool by Firebear?

• Automated Backups: Set up scheduled backups that run automatically, so you never have to worry about losing product data.
• Flexible File Formats: Create backups in various formats, such as CSV, XLSX, or even maintain a live Google Sheets spreadsheet that updates automatically.
• One Centralized Backup File: Keep all your product backups in one location, such as Google Sheets, for easy access and real-time updates.
• Powerful Import Features: Beyond backups, the tool lets you import products, customers, and order fulfillment data with advanced options like automation, support for multiple file formats, and AI-based mapping to streamline your workflows.

Backing up your products not only protects your store’s data but also simplifies restocking or relisting archived items. With Firebear’s Import & Export Tool, you’ll gain access to industry-leading features that go far beyond Shopify’s native capabilities.

Ready to Level Up Your Product Management?

Contact us today to learn how Firebear’s Import & Export Tool can transform your Shopify store with its robust backup, import, and automation features.

Conclusion: Elevate Your Shopify Management with Archiving

Now, you know how to archive products in Shopify either individually or in bulk. it is a simple yet effective way to keep your store organized, enhance customer experience, and retain valuable product data for future use. Unlike deletion, which erases your hard work and history, archiving allows you to take products off your storefront without permanently losing their details. This flexibility is especially useful for seasonal items, limited-time products, or inventory you might want to relaunch down the road.

For even greater control over your product management, consider pairing Shopify’s archiving feature with a robust solution like the Import & Export Tool by Firebear. Not only can you automate backups and maintain them in multiple file formats, but you can also manage all your product data in one place, like a live Google Sheets spreadsheet that updates in real time. Plus, with powerful import capabilities and AI-driven features, you’ll streamline everything from product updates to customer and order data management.

Ready to transform your Shopify store management? Learn how to create Shopify products with our intuitive guide and follow our blog for more tips.

FAQ: Archiving Products in Shopify