Updating the theme

Vellora updates are free. Shopify delivers them, and updating never changes your live store until you choose to publish the new version. See the changelog for what each version changes.

How updates work#

When a new version of Vellora is available, Shopify shows a notice on the theme in Online Store → Themes, in place of the version number. From there you can read the release notes and add the new version to your theme library.

Shopify adds the new version as a draft named "Updated copy of" your theme. Your published theme stays as it is. Shopify copies these to the new version:

• Theme settings, such as colors, fonts and cart options
• Templates, sections, blocks and their settings, including templates you created
• App embed and app block settings
• Text you changed with Edit default theme content
• Code edits, when they don't conflict with the new version

After it adds the update, Shopify tells you whether your code edits were included. If they couldn't be, you need to copy them over by hand. See Keep your custom code.

Before you update#

1. Duplicate your live theme. In Online Store → Themes, open the theme's menu and choose Duplicate. The copy is your backup.
2. Download a theme file. From the same menu, choose Download theme file. Shopify emails you a .zip of the theme, which is useful if you need to compare code later.
3. Note your code changes. If you or a developer edited theme files, list which files changed. If you don't know, compare your theme with a fresh copy of the same version, or use a theme comparison app from the Shopify App Store.

Update the theme#

1. Go to Online Store → Themes and find Vellora.
2. Select the update notice, read the release notes, then add the update to your theme library.
3. Wait for Shopify to finish. The new draft appears in your theme library with a message about your code edits.
4. Choose Customize on the draft and check your most important pages: home, a collection, a product with variants, the cart, search and any custom pages.
5. Check apps that add blocks or embeds, and any custom CSS. If an update renamed a class your CSS targets, your CSS stops applying.
6. When everything looks right, publish the draft.

Your previous theme stays in the theme library. If you find a problem after publishing, publish the previous theme again while you fix it.

Keep your custom code#

Changes stored as settings carry over on every update. Edits to theme files only carry over when they don't conflict with the new version. To make updates easy:

• Use the theme editor first. Add code with the Custom Liquid section or Shopify's custom CSS fields instead of editing theme files. Both are saved as settings.
• Use app blocks and app embeds. Apps that add blocks or embeds don't edit your theme files, so there's nothing to copy.
• Keep a record. If you edit files, keep a list of each file and the change, or mark your changes with a Liquid comment so you can find them again.
• Copy, don't overwrite. When Shopify couldn't include your edits, open the same file in the new draft and add your change to the new code. Don't paste an old file over a new one, or you'll undo the fixes in the update.

If an update breaks a feature you didn't customize, contact support with your store URL, the version number and the page where it happens.