---
title: Alignment and width
url: https://support.troopthemes.com/guide/emerge/alignment-and-width/
theme: Emerge
theme_styles: Cafe, Elements
---

# Alignment and width in Emerge

Open a section in **Edit theme**, not **Theme settings**.

![Emerge Image with text overlay section settings](https://support.troopthemes.com/_images/emerge/alignment--section-settings.jpg)

Pick a default **Text alignment** per template and keep supporting sections on it: **left** for catalogs and long copy, **center** for heroes and short announcements, then back to your default. The section's **Mobile** → **Text alignment** setting is separate.

**Maximum container width** is on each section: contained for text-heavy blocks, **Full width** for slideshows and large photography. A useful rhythm is full-width hero → contained story → full-width collection.



## Text alignment (Emerge)

Left, center, or right, plus a mobile control.

Emerge heroes and Cafe-style banners often center. Collection grids and long copy usually read better left-aligned. Pick a default for each template (home vs collection vs page) and stick to it.

Product card alignment is global under **Theme settings** → **Product grid**.

## Maximum container width (Emerge)

Extra small through Full width.

Full width is natural for slideshows and image-with-text-overlay. Contained widths keep FAQ, rich text, and newsletters readable. A contained heading over a full-width [shape](https://support.troopthemes.com/guide/emerge/section-shapes/) is a common Emerge move: the color or wave goes edge to edge, the words stay in a column.

## Mobile (Emerge)

Center short banners on mobile even if desktop is left-aligned in a split layout. Check the preview; shapes plus large type plus center alignment can stack into a long scroll.

> **Width, then shape**
>
> Set container width before you pick a shape style. A close wave on a narrow contained section looks different from the same wave at Full width.

## Product grid (Emerge)

**Text alignment** for product cards is in **Theme settings** → **[Product grid](https://support.troopthemes.com/guide/emerge/product-grid/)**, not the collection section.

## Ask Sidekick <img src="/_images/sidekick-icon.png" alt="" class="sidekick-icon"> (Emerge)

Open [Sidekick](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/shopify-admin/productivity-tools/sidekick) from the theme editor toolbar (top right, next to the device preview icon), or press `⌘.` (`Ctrl+.` on Windows). Alignment and width choices are easy to second-guess in isolation, ask it how a layout choice reads.

> "Should my hero text be centered or left-aligned for a laid-back, cafe-style homepage, and what Maximum container width fits it?"

It'll reason through the trade-off with you rather than you flipping the setting back and forth to compare.

![Opening Sidekick from the theme editor toolbar](https://support.troopthemes.com/_images/emerge/sidekick--theme-editor.png)

## Troubleshooting (Emerge)

- **The wave is full-bleed but the heading is a narrow column**: that can be correct. If it looks accidental, set **Maximum container width** to Full width, or put the shape on a neighboring full-width section.
- **Product cards didn’t follow**: **Product grid** text alignment, not this section.
- **Mobile is a long centered stack**: lower heading **Mobile size** in Typography, or drop Extra large spacing, before you turn the shape off.