Shopify’s limit — and why you should aim lower
Shopify accepts images, including GIFs, up to 20MB (see the size limits page for the source). That’s generous, but a 20MB GIF can take several seconds to appear on a phone connection, and product pages are judged in the first second. For a GIF in the product description, 3–5MB is usually a better target: just drag the slider down.
Product GIFs that sell
- Shoot on a tripod — a fixed camera means the background never changes, and GIF only stores what changes. The same 5MB can hold two or three times longer.
- One feature per GIF — a 3-second loop of the zipper, another of the fold, another of the size comparison. Each stays sharp and is easy to place next to the matching text.
- Crop to the product — square crops match Shopify themes’ product grids and keep detail high.
- Label it — add the product name, a price or a “New” badge as a text layer, or your logo as a transparent PNG. Each layer can appear only for part of the loop.
Matching your store background
If you use rounded corners, set the “Outside background” color to your theme’s page color. GIF can’t do semi-transparency, so matching the background is what makes the corners look smooth instead of jagged.