Settings Naming Guidelines

This document outlines recommended naming conventions for public Instant Site theme settings. Consistent terminology across built-in and custom themes helps maintain a familiar experience. Using clear, widely recognized terminology in IS settings ensures that merchants encounter wording that aligns with common industry standards.

In practice, this means using predictable, easy-to-scan setting names that remain consistent with in-house Lightspeed themes.

Quick checklist

Before submitting your theme, take a moment to review the following:

Overall consistency:

• The terminology feels consistent with the Lightspeed Instant Site themes

• Similar functionality uses similar wording across sections

Capitalization:

• Section names use Title Case

• Button text uses Title Case

• Field text uses Sentence Case

• Helper text and placeholder text use Sentence Case

Clarity & simplicity:

• Field text is short and easy to scan

• Text describes what the merchants edit (not how it behaves)

• Unnecessary qualifiers are avoided (like Main, Promo, etc.)

• Section names aren’t repeated inside field labels

• Slides, cards, and tabs use simple numbering or clear nouns

Core principles

1. Keep the names short and clear

Name fields/tabs after what the user edits, not how it’s used or where it appears. The section already provides context, so additional qualifiers are usually unnecessary.

Recommended	Not recommended
Title	Section - Title
Description	Footer Description

2. Capitalization

Use Title Case (capitalize the first letter of each word) for

• Section names;

• Buttons.

Recommended	Not recommended
Featured Products (section name)	featured products
Delete Image (button)	Delete image

Use Sentence case (capitalize only the first word and proper nouns; articles, prepositions, and conjunctions are not capitalized) for:

• Field labels;

• Input names;

• Dropdown labels;

• Toggle labels;

• Placeholder text.

Recommended	Not recommended
Main title	main title
Category selector	Category Selector

3. Use natural, functional language for placeholders

Use descriptive language that clearly indicates what the field controls or what type of information it contains, rather than promotional or editorial language.

Recommended	Not recommended
Description	Premium Hero Message
Image	Eye-catching banner image

4. Avoid unnecessary qualifiers

Avoid adjectives like main, long, advanced, promo, featured, unless they clearly distinguish between two similar settings (e.g., Primary button / Secondary button).

Recommended	Not recommended
Title	Featured title
Image	Main promo image

5. Name sections based on purpose, not layout

Section names should reflect the business purpose or value of the section, not its position, structure, or visual layout.

Recommended	Not recommended
Announcement	Second section
Customer Reviews	Square with an image

6. Avoid repeating section names in the field names

The section title already provides context, so repeating it in field names creates redundancy and visual noise. This keeps labels clean and reduces redundancy.

Recommended	Not recommended
Title	Company Info Section Title
Description	Promo section description

7. Reuse existing terminology

When possible, reuse wording from built-in Instant Site themes. This helps to ensure that the user experience stays consistent across themes.

Recommended	Not recommended
Title	Heading
Description	Copy, text
Button	CTA, Primary Action

Instant Site settings glossary

This glossary defines the standard naming used in built-in Instant Site themes. Custom theme developers are encouraged to reuse this terminology to maintain consistency and reduce cognitive load for Lightspeed merchants.

If your theme introduces new section types or functionality, you may define new names as needed, while keeping alignment with established Instant Site terminology where possible.

Global structure

• Section - a configurable content block on a page (e.g., Header & Menu, Collection, About Us).

• Content (tab) - settings that control text, images, and data shown in a section.

• Design (tab) - settings that control the layout, appearance, alignment, and styling of a section.

Common section names

• Announcement

• Cover

• Header & Menu

• Collection

• Logo Gallery

• Category Showcase

• Sale

• Product Collection

• Promo Slider

• New Collection

• Video

• Customer Reviews

• About us

• Our Mission

• Company Info

• Delivery

• Payment Info

• Delivery & Payment

• Contacts

• Our Location

Common Content tab fields

• Title (avoid “Heading”)

• Subtitle

• Description (avoid “Copy”)

• Button/Primary button/Secondary button (avoid “CTA”)

• Tagline

• Announcement text

• Image

• Contact information

• Social profiles

• Review text

• Author

• Rating

• Address

• Hours

• Logo

Common Design tab fields

• Layout

• Mobile layout

• Background

• Content alignment

• Image

• Button

Button labels

• Add Button

• Add Social Link

• Add Contact Info

• Change Image

• Delete Image

• Add Hours

• Add Review