How to change your Shopify theme without losing content
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Changing your Shopify theme can give your store a fresh look and better functionality without compromising the essential content you’ve built.
In this guide, we’ll walk you through the steps to smoothly change your Shopify theme while keeping your products, collections, and other critical data intact.
Follow these tips to ensure a seamless transition, avoid potential pitfalls, and maintain the user experience and SEO that your store depends on.
Why change your Shopify theme?
Most people started out on Shopify started with a free Shopify theme like Dawn. However, as their store grows bigger, they need a more complete solution that free themes can’t no longer accommodate.
Or, sometimes, people just want to try different themes before they decide to stick with a final option. Since there are so many themes on the market at the moment, it can be hard for you to pick the best Shopify themes for your store.
How to change your Shopify theme
Step 1: Prepare your new theme
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If you bought from the Shopify Theme Store:
After purchasing, the theme will automatically be added to your Shopify admin under Online Store > Themes. Customize it by going to the Customize section, where you can add branding, adjust layout, and tweak content. -
If you bought from ThemeForest or other third-party sources:
Download the theme file (usually a .zip file) after purchasing. In your Shopify admin, go to Online Store > Themes, and click Upload theme. Select the downloaded .zip file and upload it to Shopify. Once uploaded, click Customize to make necessary changes before previewing or publishing.
Step 2: Preview your store with the new theme
Click Actions next to your new theme and select Preview. This allows you to view how your store will look with the new theme without making it live.
Step 3: Publish your new theme
Once you’re satisfied with the design and functionality, click Actions and select Publish.
There will be a confirmation window pop-up to make sure that you really want to change your theme.
If you are ready, click Publish. Your store will now go live with the updated theme for customers to see.
Can you change a Shopify theme without losing content?
Shopify makes it as easy as possible for users to change their theme. However, many people wonder what kind of content you will lose when you change to a new Shopify theme. Here are the details.
Content that will carry over when changing Shopify theme
Most of your store data on Shopify is stored in a different place than the theme files, so when you change your Shopify theme, everything should be transferred without a hitch.
These contents include:
- Your navigation
- Your pages
- Products
- Collections
- Blogs
Since you edit these sections from the Shopify Dashboard, they won’t be affected at all when switching themes.
Content that will not carry over when changing Shopify theme
- Changes in the Shopify theme editor: When you customize a theme and make changes such as adding banner images or adding, or changing sections, these changes will not carry over.
- Changes in the theme’s code: Everything you edit in the code of a theme will stay with the files of that theme only.
- Certain Shopify apps: There are some Shopify apps that make changes to the theme files. These apps might not work properly when you switch themes.
How a Shopify theme can affect your store
Choosing the perfect Shopify theme for your store cannot be taken lightly. Your Shopify theme will decide more than just the appearance of your store.
Your Shopify theme will decide the performance and loading speed of your store. 57% of users will leave a website after waiting for 3 seconds for a page to load.
Your Shopify theme will decide what features you have in your store. If you cannot find the feature you need then you will have to pay extra or hire a Shopify expert to add that feature for you.
Most visitors report that their first impression of a website is its design, meaning that the design of the homepage of your store will be one of the key factors to keep them around.
Finally, your Shopify theme will determine if your visitors have a good user experience in your store.
Conclusion
In conclusion, changing your Shopify theme is a straightforward process that allows you to refresh your store’s design without losing critical content like products, collections, and customer data.
By following the steps to prepare, preview, and publish your new theme, you can seamlessly transition to a new look while retaining essential elements of your store.
If you are afraid you might break something when changing Shopify themes by yourself, you can contact NextSky to get the best advice and instructions.
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