Keep a copy before major changes
Duplicate your current theme in Shopify before major layout changes or code edits. Give the copy a useful name and date. Keep custom code changes and installed app details in a separate record; a theme ZIP is not a backup of the store’s products, orders or customer records.
Review an update on an unpublished copy
- Read the release notes and identify changes affecting your templates, apps or custom code.
- Use the update/install path available in Shopify. Keep the working theme published while you review the new copy.
- Compare Theme settings, menus, templates, selected resources, images, translations and app blocks. Do not assume every manual code change transfers automatically.
- Test desktop and mobile navigation, variants, add to cart, search, filters, pagination, contact and newsletter states.
- Publish only after review. Keep the previous working copy so you can return to it if needed.
Keep instructions and screenshots aligned
The instructions in this draft use the English editor labels. Screenshots show selected controls rather than every possible layout. If a setting is renamed or moved in a later release, the corresponding instructions and screenshot should be updated together. Your store content and Shopify’s editor layout may look different.