Theme support

References

Introduction

Before you customize your theme, make sure that you understand what level of support is available. If you're making basic customizations, then you can get support from your theme's developer. If you're making extensive changes to your theme, then refer to our list of additional resources for theme support.

To learn about customizations that Shopify doesn't support, refer to our design policy.

If you need help customizing your theme, then you can hire a Shopify Partner. Learn more about hiring a Shopify Partner.

Where to find support for your theme

The support that you can receive depends on who made your theme.

Support for free themes from Shopify

If you're using a free theme from Shopify, then Shopify Support might be able to help you with small changes to your theme. If you're on the Basic Shopify plan or higher, then you can use up to 60 minutes of free design support, used in 15 minute increments.

To learn more, review the Shopify Design Policy.

Support for paid themes

If you're not using a free theme from Shopify, then your theme was made by a third-party theme developer. To find support, you can view the support documentation for your theme, or contact the theme developer.

Note

Third-party theme developers don't provide customizations. If you need help customizing a paid theme, then you can hire a Shopify Partner. Learn more about hiring a Shopify Partner.

Steps:

  1. From your Shopify admin, go to Online Store > Themes.
  2. Find the theme that you want to edit, and then click Customize.
  3. Click Theme actions.
  4. Click View documentation or Get support.

Shopify Design Policy

If you're using a free theme from Shopify, then Shopify Support might be able to help you with small changes to your theme. Before contacting Shopify Support, check who provides support for your theme.

Because each theme works differently, the types of changes Shopify Support can make depend on the theme that you're using. To understand which customizations are available, find your theme in the list of supported themes.

If you're on the Basic Shopify plan or higher, then you can use up to 60 minutes of complimentary design support, or design time, which is tracked in 15 minute increments. To understand how many minutes a specific customization takes to complete, check the design time in the customization description.

Our team tracks the time that they spend on each theme modification request that you make. If you use the entire 60 minutes of complimentary design support, then you can hire a Shopify Partner for further help. Learn more about hiring a Shopify Partner.

You can also explore our additional resources for theme support.

Supported themes and customizations

Shopify Support can make some customizations to free themes from Shopify. Shopify Support assesses customization eligibility on a case-by-case basis. If you’re looking for a customization that isn't listed in the supported customizations for your theme, then Shopify Support might still be able to assist.

To ensure your customization results in positive growth for your business, consider what improvements you are hoping to get from this customization, and how it will affect your customers.

Limitations

Although Shopify Support is able to support a wide range of basic customizations, keep in mind that Shopify can't help with the following tasks:

  • Editing the checkout
  • Customizing or troubleshooting themes that contain significant code changes
  • Installing, removing, or modifying third-party apps (apps not developed by Shopify)
  • Customizing or troubleshooting third-party code (refers to code not developed by Shopify, including code from forums and Shopify Partners)
  • Customizing or troubleshooting content added via the rich text editor
  • Adding new fonts
  • Editing images (including cropping, adjusting color profiles, removing backgrounds)
  • Implementing changes that provide misleading or deceptive information to customers
  • Custom translation services (including order printer and e-mail notification templates)

Preparing to contact Shopify Support about a free Shopify theme

Before reaching out to Shopify Support, you should complete the following steps:

If your store setup is complete and the customization you are looking for isn’t possible using the theme editor, then you can contact Shopify Support to review the request.

Supported browsers

A theme's layout, browsing experience, and purchasing actions need to support the following browsers and releases:

Note

A release refers to the latest major version of a browser. For example, the latest two releases of Safari might be 10.x.x and 11.x.x.

Desktop browsers

  • Safari - latest two releases for Mac
  • Chrome - latest three releases for Mac and PC
  • Firefox - latest three releases for Mac and PC
  • Edge - latest two releases for PC

Mobile browsers

  • Mobile Safari - latest two releases for iOS
  • Chrome Mobile - latest three releases for Android and iOS
  • Samsung Internet - latest two releases for Android

Webviews and other applications

Themes must support browsing and purchasing actions when rendered in webviews for the following applications:

  • Instagram - latest release for Android and iOS
  • Facebook - latest release for Android and iOS
  • Pinterest - latest release for Android and iOS

Additional resources

Shopify doesn't support extensive or advanced theme customizations, there are several other support resources available.

Forum to discuss theme designs

The Shopify Design forum provides guidance on how to edit HTML, CSS, or Liquid to customize your online store. If you need help editing theme files, then try posting your question in the Shopify Design forum. You can also search through the postings for an idea of what other Shopify merchants are doing with their themes.

Forum for feedback on your store

You can ask for guidance and feedback on colors, fonts, and other design decisions for your store from the Feedback On My Store forum.

Support for apps

To get help with an app, go to Settings > Apps and sales channels, and then click Get support next to the app that you need help with in your Shopify admin.

If you need help with a third-party app that isn't installed on your store, then find the app on the Shopify App Store. In the Support section at the bottom of the app's page, refer to the app developer's documentation or send a message to the app developer.

Rich text editor

If you need help formatting your content with the rich text editor, then try installing an app to edit the pages in your store.

Web Performance report and recommendations

A fast online store can improve the shopping experience for your customers, make your store more discoverable, and increase conversion. You can learn how your store performs against industry standards and other Shopify stores similar to yours by viewing your Web Performance report. If you need help with your online store web performance, then refer to Improving your online store performance.

Additional functionality

To add additional functionality to your theme, such as a sidebar, image zooming, an extra slideshow, or infinite scroll, consider trying a different theme. If your theme doesn't have the functionality you want, then search the Theme Store to find a theme that better suits your needs. You can also search the Shopify App Store for a third-party app that offers the functionality that you're looking for.

Shopify Partners

Shopify Partners are experienced industry professionals who have extensive knowledge about creating, updating, and perfecting Shopify themes.

Learn more about hiring a Shopify Partner.