Theme store requirements
Use the following lists of requirements when creating your theme.
All themes must meet all of the following requirements to be published on the Shopify Theme Store. If your theme is missing any of the requirements in this list, then your submission will be rejected and you will need to make further changes to your theme before it can be resubmitted. To reduce your chance of rejection, you should also test your theme thoroughly.
Themes must be thoroughly tested before submission to ensure functionality and quality. Themes that haven't been tested thoroughly enough will be rejected without further review, and repeat offences may result in a suspension and/or permanent rejection.
Learn about the theme review process and how to submit your theme to the Shopify Theme Store.
1. Theme Store exclusivity
Anchor link to section titled "1. Theme Store exclusivity"Themes on the Theme Store must be exclusive to the Theme Store and can't contain external marketing material, so merchants can continue to benefit from the highest quality themes and the newest features.
All themes must meet the following exclusivity requirements:
2. Uniqueness from other themes
Anchor link to section titled "2. Uniqueness from other themes"If you're building a theme based on our reference theme, Dawn, or based on one of your own themes that's already listed in the Shopify Theme Store, then your theme needs to be substantively different. You must make meaningful changes and innovations to the design and functionality of the theme. Below are some cues that we look for:
Your codebase must have meaningful differences when contrasted with code from other themes.
The identity of your theme submission should be unique.
Your theme should have a clear industry focus.
Your theme should have an inventive art direction that distinguishes it from other themes.
Your theme should have a cohesive look and feel across all templates (for example, the index page, product and collection pages, blogs, search, and the cart).
Your theme should offer unique customization options or functionality that distinguish it from other themes.
A merchant shouldn't be able to purchase your theme and another theme that's listed in the Shopify Theme Store, and then customize the settings so that the themes are almost identical to each other.
3. Features
Anchor link to section titled "3. Features"Feature-rich themes support the varied needs of merchants, and enable each merchant to use a theme in a way that fits their business.
All themes must support the following features:
Learn more about migrating a theme to OS 2.0.
Learn more about discounts.
Accelerated checkout buttons must be supported on the following pages:
- Product page
- Cart page
The branded dynamic and accelerator checkout button colors must not be modified.
Learn more about accelerated checkout.
Learn more about gift cards.
Learn more about social media images.
Learn more about selling in multiple currencies.
Learn more about selling in multiple languages.
Learn more about setting up drop down menus.
Learn more about newsletter signups.
Learn more about pickup availability.
Learn more about related product recommendations.
Learn more about complementary product recommendations.
- A search template
- Predictive search functionality
Selling plans must be supported on the following pages:
- Cart page
- Customer page
Learn more about subscriptions.
Learn more about Shop Pay Installments.
Unit pricing must be supported on the following pages:
- Collection page
- Product page
- Cart page
- Customer page
Learn more about how merchants can add unit prices to products in the European Union (EU) and in Switzerland.
Learn more about adding images to product variants.
The branded Follow on Shop button colors must not be modified.
Learn more about Follow on Shop.
4. Templates, sections, and blocks
Anchor link to section titled "4. Templates, sections, and blocks"Merchants can use sections and blocks to arrange page templates, which provides more flexibility in their store's content, and allows them to control the look and feel of their online store without needing to edit code.
Template support requirements
Anchor link to section titled "Template support requirements"Themes must support the following templates and their formats:
Section support requirements
Anchor link to section titled "Section support requirements"Block and app block support requirements
Anchor link to section titled "Block and app block support requirements"Learn more about best practices for sections and blocks.
5. Lighthouse performance and accessibility
Anchor link to section titled "5. Lighthouse performance and accessibility"Performance and accessibility are important factors for merchants when they choose a theme for their online store. Optimizing your theme for performance and accessibility is key to the success of the merchants that you support, and the experience of their customers.
Lighthouse performance and accessibility requirements
Anchor link to section titled "Lighthouse performance and accessibility requirements"When verifying performance and accessibility scores, sections must contain actual images and content. The sections can't be empty.
Testing the performance of your theme
Anchor link to section titled "Testing the performance of your theme"You can quickly test the performance of your theme before you submit it to the Shopify Theme Store by running performance tests against a benchmark shop. If you want to test your theme before you submit it, then refer to these performance best practices.
Testing the accessibility of your theme
Anchor link to section titled "Testing the accessibility of your theme"You can quickly test the accessibility of your theme before you submit it to the Shopify Theme Store by running accessibility tests against a benchmark shop. If you want to test your theme before you submit it, then refer to these accessibility best practices.
Including well-designed page types in your theme enables merchants to build all of the elements they need to run their online store.
Layout page requirements
Anchor link to section titled "Layout page requirements"
Product page requirements
Anchor link to section titled "Product page requirements"The following attributes of the form
object must be used:
form.email
form.name
form.message
The following attribute of the gift_card
object must be used:
send_on
Collection page requirements
Anchor link to section titled "Collection page requirements"Collection List page requirements
Anchor link to section titled "Collection List page requirements"Cart page requirements
Anchor link to section titled "Cart page requirements"Page requirements
Anchor link to section titled "Page requirements"Blog page requirements
Anchor link to section titled "Blog page requirements"Article page requirements
Anchor link to section titled "Article page requirements"Search page requirements
Anchor link to section titled "Search page requirements"404 page requirements
Anchor link to section titled "404 page requirements"Gift Card page requirements
Anchor link to section titled "Gift Card page requirements"Customer page requirements
Anchor link to section titled "Customer page requirements"Password page requirements
Anchor link to section titled "Password page requirements"7. Consistency and functionality
Anchor link to section titled "7. Consistency and functionality"Building a theme that functions properly and consistently ensures that merchants can rely on the quality of your theme.
All themes must meet the following functional requirements:
8. Browser compatibility
Anchor link to section titled "8. Browser compatibility"Ensure that your theme lets merchants access the same information and experience across different browsers.
Desktop browser requirements
Anchor link to section titled "Desktop browser requirements"A theme's layout, browsing experience, and purchasing actions must support the following desktop browsers and releases:
Mobile browser requirements
Anchor link to section titled "Mobile browser requirements"A theme's layout must meet the following mobile browser layout requirements:
A theme's layout, browsing experience, and purchasing actions must support the following mobile browsers and releases:
Webviews and other application requirements
Anchor link to section titled "Webviews and other application requirements"Themes must support browsing and purchasing actions when rendered in webviews for the following applications:
All themes must meet the following requirements, so their assets are delivered by the Shopify platform in an optimal manner.
10. Search engine optimization (SEO)
Anchor link to section titled "10. Search engine optimization (SEO)"Effective SEO helps you build better relationships with your audience, improve the merchant experience, and drive more people to your theme.
All themes must meet the following SEO requirements:
Learn more about SEO best practices.
11. Accessibility
Anchor link to section titled "11. Accessibility"Accessibility for your theme is essential to providing an inclusive experience for both merchants and customers. An accessible theme is designed so that it can be used by everyone, including people with vision impairment.
All themes must meet the following accessibility requirements:
Learn more about accessibility best practices.
12. Social media
Anchor link to section titled "12. Social media"Social media links help merchant grow their followers.
All themes must meet the following requirements for social media:
13. Settings
Anchor link to section titled "13. Settings"It's important to organize and name things in a way that won't confuse merchants who are building a store with your theme. Using clear, simple names and a simple setting structure for elements such as sections and presets makes your theme easier to use and navigate.
Basic requirements
Anchor link to section titled "Basic requirements"Theme editor event requirements
Anchor link to section titled "Theme editor event requirements"Style requirements
Anchor link to section titled "Style requirements"Use this | Don't use this |
---|---|
Logo position on large screens
|
Logo position on large screens
|
Theme sections
|
Theme sections
|
Use this | Don't use this |
---|---|
canceled | cancelled |
catalog | catalogue |
center, centered | centre, centred |
color | colour |
customize | customise |
dialog | dialogue |
gray | grey |
organize | organise |
Use this | Don't use this |
---|---|
Use a custom logo | Use a custom logo? |
Technical specification | Format | Example |
---|---|---|
Image size | [numeral] x [numeral]px (required/recommended) | 64 x 64px required |
Image size with format | [numeral] x [numeral]px [.format] (required/recommended) | 1200 x 300px .jpg recommended |
Word / character count | [numeral] words (max) | 32 words max |
Text format | Use basic HTML to format text |
Terminology requirements
Anchor link to section titled "Terminology requirements"Use this | Don’t use this |
---|---|
home page | homepage |
top bar | meta-nav, search bar |
bottom bar | below footer, legal |
slideshow | slider |
checkout (when naming settings) |
check out |
heading | title |
subheading | sub-heading |
body text | main text |
signup | sign-up, sign up |
favicon | shortcut icon, website icon |
sidebar | side bar |
button label | button name |
social media (when naming sections or settings) |
social, social sharing |
social media icons | social media buttons |
navigation (to refer to all navigational elements) |
menus, menu |
main menu (to refer to primary navigational element) |
navigation, menu |
secondary menu (to refer to secondary navigational element) |
navigation, menu |
footer menu (to refer to a menu located in the footer) |
navigation, menu |
cart type (with "drawer", "page", and/or "modal" options) |
Ajax, Ajaxify, Ajax cart |
.png | PNG, png, .PNG |
use (for actionable options that include a next step, such as uploading a file) |
show, enable |
show (for options that allow the merchant to show or hide a basic element) |
use, enable |
enable (for options related to apps or plugins, or something that will significantly modify the theme layout) |
use, show |
Section name guidelines
Anchor link to section titled "Section name guidelines"Each section in a theme needs a name. Section names appear in the section picker and in the sidebar listing the sections in a template.
Section names should relate to the section's function, for example Header
, Product list
, Slideshow
, or Image gallery
.
Refer to Shopify's theme terminology list to make sure that you name sections using the right Shopify terms.
Suggested section names
Anchor link to section titled "Suggested section names"- Header
- Featured products
- Featured collections
- Slideshow
- Image gallery
- Logo list
- Newsletter
- Map
- Blog posts
- Testimonials
- Footer
Preset name guidelines
Anchor link to section titled "Preset name guidelines"Section presets are predefined configurations of sections that merchants start with when adding content.
Preset names should relate to the type of content in the preset, for example Image and text
, Map
, Columns
, or Blog articles
.
Refer to Shopify's theme terminology list to make sure that you name presets using the right Shopify terms.
Content placeholders
Anchor link to section titled "Content placeholders"If your preset features images, videos, or icons, then you should display placeholder content so that the merchant can get a better idea of how the content looks before they add their own media.
In your presets, use the following content placeholders:
Type of content | Placeholder |
---|---|
Images that aren't products or collections Adjacent images without margins |
Image icon |
Lists of logos | Logo icon |
Slideshows Images with overlaid text Full-width images |
Lifestyle image |
Videos | Default YouTube video ID |
14. Theme design and UX
Anchor link to section titled "14. Theme design and UX"A theme is crucial to a merchant's brand identity, as it represents the merchant to the world in a visual and interactive manner. A theme should have purposeful direction and strong elements of design, but also provide a degree of flexibility that empowers merchants to take full control of their brand image.
When building Shopify free themes, and assessing themes from our Theme Store Partners, a detailed rubric is used to review the design and UX components of the theme. This ensures that the theme is confidently addressing vital areas such as art direction, consistency, typography, layout, and customer UX.
Learn more about design best practices.
Use the following rubric as a guide to better design your custom theme builds.
Art direction
Anchor link to section titled "Art direction"Your theme should have a clear and consistent visual appeal which conveys a message to its target demographic.
Score | Description |
---|---|
Meets requirements |
|
Improvement needed |
|
Critical improvement needed |
|
Your theme should have a good flow of content, hierarchy, balance, contrast, white space, responsiveness, grid, and alignment.
Score | Description |
---|---|
Meets requirements |
|
Improvement needed |
|
Critical improvement needed |
|
Consistency
Anchor link to section titled "Consistency"Your theme design elements should be consistent across all pages.
Score | Description |
---|---|
Meets requirements |
|
Improvement needed |
|
Critical improvement needed |
|
Accessibility
Anchor link to section titled "Accessibility"Accessibility encompasses the inclusion of implementations such as (but not limited to) keyboard navigation, screen reader compatibility, high contrast coloration, and thoughtful font selection to provide users with alternative means of navigating a system with comprehensive ease.
Score | Description |
---|---|
Meets requirements |
|
Improvement needed |
|
Critical improvement needed |
|
Customer UX
Anchor link to section titled "Customer UX"Your theme should provide a clear purchase flow through the collection, product, and cart pages.
Score | Description |
---|---|
Meets requirements |
|
Improvement needed |
|
Critical improvement needed |
|
Merchant UX
Anchor link to section titled "Merchant UX"Your theme should have clear and simple options for merchants to customize the look and feel of their shop.
Score | Description |
---|---|
Meets requirements |
|
Improvement needed |
|
Critical improvement needed |
|
15. Font picker
Anchor link to section titled "15. Font picker"Font picker fields can be used to capture a font selection for various theme elements, such as the base heading font.
Font pickers must have the following settings:
Learn more about setting fonts.
16. Color system
Anchor link to section titled "16. Color system"Selecting the right foreground and background colors enhances the effectiveness of your theme.
Learn more about color system best practices.
17. Responsive images
Anchor link to section titled "17. Responsive images"Responsive images are important to the user experience. With the shift to smaller devices, developers face new challenges to ensure that images load quickly, regardless of screen size.
All themes must meet the following image requirements:
18. Naming themes and theme styles
Anchor link to section titled "18. Naming themes and theme styles"Choosing a great name for your theme is important when submitting it to the Theme Store. Your theme name helps merchants understand your theme, and ultimately, helps them choose your theme as the right one for their unique needs.
Theme and theme style naming requirements
Anchor link to section titled "Theme and theme style naming requirements"Theme name guidelines
Anchor link to section titled "Theme name guidelines"Use the following guidelines to help you choose the right name for your theme:
- Summarize, or allude to, the purpose of the theme.
- Give the merchant an idea of what to expect when using the theme, the core ideas behind the theme, and the theme's target demographic.
- Use a noun for the name. Nouns are more suitable for creating product names that stick, have identity, and create a lasting impression. A noun can better define the focus of the theme, and offer a better understanding of the shopping experience being offered.
- Use a name that's easy to spell and pronounce. This will help merchants with recall and search.
- Work across different dialects. Since some words and phrases can have different meanings in different regions, you should consult with an idiom dictionary.
- Use a name that's different from theme names on different platforms.
Theme style name guidelines
Anchor link to section titled "Theme style name guidelines"Use the following guidelines to help you choose the right name for your theme style:
- Reflect the design and aesthetics of the theme style.
- Use an adjective for the theme style name. Adjectives are great for describing colours, fonts, and design.
- Compliment the theme name, not compete against it. Merchants often mistake theme styles for theme names, which causes confusion when they contact support to request help with their themes.
- Use a common thread to connect multiple style names for one theme.
Increasing clarity and discoverability
Anchor link to section titled "Increasing clarity and discoverability"For clarity and discoverability, consider the following guidelines when naming your theme and theme style:
- Don't use trendy names. Trends fade, and theme names should transcend trends.
- Don't use unusual spellings. Not only are unusual spellings more difficult to remember, but they’re also more susceptible to autocorrect errors, and they limit discoverability by merchants.
- Don't use lengthy names. Even if you’re trying to be descriptive, creating a long name can hurt a merchant’s ability to remember what your theme is called.
- Don't use the same name as a theme on a different platform.
- Don't use the same name for both the theme and the theme style.
- Don't use multiple style names that are identical to existing theme names.
19. Theme versions and release notes
Anchor link to section titled "19. Theme versions and release notes"Theme versions help merchants easily identify which theme they have, so that they can determine which features are available, or if there are more recent versions to update to.
When you submit your theme to the Shopify Theme Store, either for the first time or for an update, the theme needs to have a version number and release notes that highlight the main features of the version.
20. Demo stores
Anchor link to section titled "20. Demo stores"Setting up a demo store is a great way to showcase your theme's features and functionality, and to provide merchants with real-world examples of how they can use your theme. A demo store that's beautifully designed and functions flawlessly lets merchants explore and interact with your theme, and helps them understand if your theme is right for them.
To build your demo store, you can use a Shopify development store free of charge.
Development stores with developer previews enabled can't be transferred. Don't enable any developer previews when creating demo stores.
Demo store requirements
Anchor link to section titled "Demo store requirements"Demo store recommendations
Anchor link to section titled "Demo store recommendations"When designing your demo store, consider the following recommendations to help you showcase the full potential of your theme. The following recommendations aren't mandatory requirements that need to be met for submission.
- Identify the source of any product images used in the product description.
- Use the latest version of your theme in your demo store.
- Incorporate built-in Shopify features to showcase the power and capabilities of your theme.
- Illustrate the versatility and variability of your theme, by including examples such as a product that's on sale, a sold-out product or variant, a product with multiple variants, and a gift card product.
21. Documentation and contact forms
Anchor link to section titled "21. Documentation and contact forms"Having clear, detailed, and accessible information about your theme helps merchants feel supported and helps to reduce support issues. Creating organized and effective documentation is important to your overall success as a Theme Partner.
Documentation and contact form requirements
Anchor link to section titled "Documentation and contact form requirements"Merchant-facing theme documentation
Anchor link to section titled "Merchant-facing theme documentation"You need to keep your documentation up to date as changes occur within Shopify and you update your theme. As you support merchants using your theme, be sure to identify any gaps in your theme documentation and make updates as necessary.
Your theme documentation should include an FAQ section and any other relevant information that you feel could help address potential support questions that merchants might have.
Clear support policy
Anchor link to section titled "Clear support policy"Consider specifying your support policy in your theme documentation. As a Theme Partner, you must support bug fixes and answer any merchant questions regarding your theme. You might want to provide additional services to merchants such as customizations, app-integrations, and help with theme updates, but you can't include these services in the cost of your theme.
Clarity on custom two-column MDX tutorials
Anchor link to section titled "Clarity on custom two-column MDX tutorials"If you offer custom coding tutorials in your documentation, then specify whether the custom tutorials are supported. Also, include a warning to merchants in your tutorials that they should duplicate their theme before editing their code, and include a suggestion that merchants hire a Shopify Partner for help.
Contact forms
Anchor link to section titled "Contact forms"Your contact form lets merchants contact you. You should include your contact form in your theme documentation. If you use a modal for your contact form, then make sure that it's mobile friendly and linkable from the Theme Store. Try to avoid fields that ask merchants about budget, phone numbers, project type, or other unnecessary questions. You can have a form outlining your agency work on a separate page, but the contact form that you link to from the Theme Store should comply with the following guidelines.
Field | Guideline |
---|---|
(First and Last) Name Field | |
Email Address Field | |
Store URL Field | Include an example URL for clarity, such as http://www.storename.myshopify.com. |
Description of Problem Field | This should be a text-area field. |
File Upload Function | Allow merchants to highlight their issues with images. |
Auto-responder Function | The auto-responder is triggered when the contact form is submitted to reduce the amount of merchants contacting Shopify and Theme Partners asking if their support requests have been received. |
Theme Name | Provide the theme name if you offer multiple themes. |
Subject | If you include this field, then it should auto populate the email subject line. |
22. Supporting your theme
Anchor link to section titled "22. Supporting your theme"As a Theme Partner, you're responsible for supporting merchants who use your theme. Being merchant-focused, providing quality support, and having a collaborative attitude with Shopify is essential for the success of your theme.
Merchant support requests are submitted through your contact form, which you should link to from the Shopify Theme Store and your theme documentation.
Merchant support requirements
Anchor link to section titled "Merchant support requirements"Estimating the support workload
Anchor link to section titled "Estimating the support workload"Being a Theme Partner is a full-time job, and supporting merchants who use your theme is a large part of that. All of our current Theme Partner have dedicated support teams working for them. If you become a Theme Partner, then you’ll need to consider how to balance Theme Partner work with any other jobs that you're currently doing. New Theme Partners typically underestimate the amount of time that they'll need to allocate to support.
"Merchant support is by far the most challenging part of being a Theme Partner"
-- Archetype themes
To understand how much effort is required to support a theme, Shopify merchants currently generate thousands of support tickets each month for the paid themes in the Shopify Theme Store, and support requests continue to grow as more merchants join the platform.