Theme Store listing page
When submitting your theme to the Shopify Theme Store, follow these guidelines when submitting your theme and writing your Shopify Theme Store listing page.
Theme zip file
Anchor link to section titled "Theme zip file"The first step to submitting your theme is uploading the theme ZIP file. Be sure to test your theme on your development store before you submit it to the Theme Store.
You can package the zip file using the Shopify CLI with the following command:
A ZIP validator assesses the contents of your .zip file, including the following:
- the name of the theme as specified, in the
theme_nameattribute thesettings_schema.json - the name and number of the styles included in your theme
You can’t change the theme name after uploading, so ensure that you follow the naming guidelines.
Theme review notes
Anchor link to section titled "Theme review notes"Describe the type of merchant that your theme is built for, and how the features of this theme help merchants to be successful in engaging and converting customers. This information isn’t shown directly to merchants, but helps our reviewers understand your goals for the theme, and it helps our operations team curate themes for collections and recommendations for specific merchant segments.
Theme review instructions
Anchor link to section titled "Theme review instructions"Provide instructions for testing your theme. Include any special setup that's required, such as admin settings. List the IDs and passwords for the demo stores so that reviewers can easily see and test the theme customization settings. Provide instructions on how to find the main features of your theme.
Theme price and value proposition
Anchor link to section titled "Theme price and value proposition"Theme price
Anchor link to section titled "Theme price"You can price your theme from $100 USD to $500 USD in increments of $10. Gage the amount of settings, level of design, size of the catalog it's built for, and the amount of development it took to build your theme, and then price your theme accordingly. Make sure to include the cost of providing high quality support when considering how to price your theme. You'll be expected to provide bug fixes and to answer questions about your theme. The quality of support you provide can affect how merchants rate your theme.
Theme tagline
Anchor link to section titled "Theme tagline"This is a one-line advertisement for your theme, using 70 characters or less. Taglines should be short, succinct, and they should sum up what makes your theme unique. Effective approaches to writing theme taglines are:
- Identify the unique purpose of the theme. For example, "Designed for your crowdfunding campaign" or "Tailor-made for modern apparel stores".
- Describe the style and benefit of the theme. For example, "A minimalist theme that puts your photography front and center" or "An editorial-inspired design that’s perfect for publishers".
- Avoid using the tagline to describe specific theme features.
- Avoid using technical words that might not be clear.
- Avoid overt uses of marketing language such as "world’s best", or overusing adjectives such as "stunning" or "amazing".
Metadata description
Anchor link to section titled "Metadata description"The metadata description is used by external search, and is shown in search engine results and link previews. Include keywords that are relevant to your theme to help with SEO, but ensure that your description is still readable. Use grammatical sentences rather than a string of keywords.
Industry fit
Anchor link to section titled "Industry fit"While themes can be customized for most merchant needs, select the types of businesses your theme works best for with minimal customization.
For example, if your theme includes features that are usually required by stores in a particular industry, then select that industry. Themes are included in industry collections based on your selections, and recommendations are made based on matches between theme industry and merchant industry data.
The following is the list of industries that you can select from for this field.
| Industry | Definition |
|---|---|
| Art and entertainment | arts & crafts supplies, collectibles, musical instruments, party supplies, etc. |
| Business equipment and supplies | safety equipment, laboratory supplies, medical equipment, food service supplies, signage, etc. |
| Clothing and accessories | clothing, jewelry, accessories |
| Electronics | computers, computer accessories, printers, mobile phones, mobile phone accessories, cameras, etc. |
| Food and drink | food, beverages, restaurants, meal kits, etc. |
| Hardware and automotive | vehicle parts and building materials, plumbing fixtures, power & electrical supplies, tools, etc. |
| Health and beauty | first aid, cosmetics, hair care supplies, shaving & grooming supplies, etc. |
| Home and garden | bathroom accessories, home decor items, household appliances, household supplies, kitchen & dining items, lawn & garden items, lighting, linens & bedding, etc. |
| Pet supplies | pet food, pet toys, pet accessories, etc. |
| Sports and recreation | sports equipment, exercise equipment, etc. |
| Toys and games | toys and games |
Catalog size
Anchor link to section titled "Catalog size"Optionally, select whether your theme is best suited for small or large catalog sizes. If you didn’t design the theme with a specific catalog size in mind, you can leave this field blank and your theme listing will show Any catalog size. However, recommendations and search results will be driven by selecting a value, but not by leaving the selection blank. For example, merchants looking specifically for themes suited to small product catalogs will be shown themes that are identified as such.
Target audience
Anchor link to section titled "Target audience"Optionally, select a maximum of three merchant segments or product types that your theme is particularly well suited for. The target audience is used to help merchants discover and focus on themes that were built with their own business niche in mind. For example, you can specify that you built your theme for merchants who sell in person, or merchants who have members-only stores.
If you're not able to tag your theme to the merchant segment that you're targeting using the available options in our list, then you can also use the listing’s meta description to help target the right merchants.
Styles and demo stores
Anchor link to section titled "Styles and demo stores"Demo store url
Anchor link to section titled "Demo store url"A separate form section is generated for each style that's included in your theme ZIP file. For each style, provide a link to a complete and fully functioning demo store that uses that style. Ensure that your demo stores meet Shopify’s demo store requirements before linking.
Industry shown in demo store
Anchor link to section titled "Industry shown in demo store"Select the industry represented in the images in your demo store. The value that you select is used to categorize themes as belonging to a particular set of industries. The categorization system doesn't rely on the images in demo stores, but is based on the features included in your theme.
Demo store meta description
Anchor link to section titled "Demo store meta description"Optionally, provide a meta description that's specific to this demo store. If you leave this field blank, then the theme-level meta description is used.
Demo store setup instructions
Anchor link to section titled "Demo store setup instructions"Optionally, provide a link to instructions for recreating the look and feel of your demo store. Merchants often want to recreate the design choices they see in the demo store.
Style accent color
Anchor link to section titled "Style accent color"Specify a hex code for the background color to use on the theme listing page. This background color appears behind screenshots of each theme style. The hex code that you provide will be given a lighter opacity to ensure proper contrast and readability for all headlines, text, and buttons.
Demo screenshots
Anchor link to section titled "Demo screenshots"For each demo, provide one mobile and one desktop screenshot of the home page.
Screenshot requirements:
- Desktop screenshot dimensions must be 1000px by 1248px.
- Mobile screenshot dimensions must be 750px by 1334px.
- Provide alt text for all images for accessibility and to improve SEO.
- Don’t include desktop backgrounds, added text, and browser windows in your screenshots. Crop them so that your images aren’t cluttered and don’t distract merchants from your theme.
- Your mobile screenshots can't be duplicates of your desktop screenshots.
Key highlights
Anchor link to section titled "Key highlights"Include three highlights that differentiate your theme for merchants. Your first highlight can be a video or a still image.
Video guidelines:
- Use videos to help showcase interactive or animated aspects of the theme, or versatility in theme setup that can’t be expressed in screenshots.
- Don’t use video for onboarding or tutorials. Save those for your theme documentation.
- Recommended length of a video is 2 minutes or less.
- Don't use the Shopify logo or name in your video.
- The video must be hosted on YouTube. You can turn off comments and set your video to unlisted to prevent unwanted monetization or replies.
You need to provide the embed URL for the video, for example,
https://www.youtube.com/embed/<video ID>.To find the embed URL:
- Click the Share tab of your YouTube video.
- Click Embed.
- Copy the
srcattribute from the iframe tag.
Static image guidelines:
- Provide a title (maximum 30 characters) and description (maximum 140 characters).
- Don’t use the Shopify logo or name in your images.
- Image dimensions must be 1600px by 1200px.
- Don't use animated gif images.
Theme features
Anchor link to section titled "Theme features"Look and feel attributes
Anchor link to section titled "Look and feel attributes"The look and feel attributes describe the visual design features of your theme. Although themes can be customized to fit most merchant needs, select the attributes that describe your theme with minimal customization. Look and feel attributes can describe the types of imagery that the theme uses, the intended customer experience, or the design aesthetics, among other things.
The look and feel values attributes are optional. If your theme doesn't match any of the available attributes, then you can leave them blank. However, this data allows the grouping of aesthetically similar themes, so that when merchants are exploring one theme, they can also look at and compare with themes that share similar design features.
Select the features that your theme supports without needing additional code. Having features that are associated with a particular industry or business type helps your theme rank higher in relevant categories and recommendations for merchants. However, to make setup easier for merchants, your theme should only contain the features that are most useful to your target merchant segment.
| Category | Feature tag | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Merchandising | ||
| Image display | high resolution images | Theme is optimized for high quality, large images |
| image galleries | Display multiple images at once in a thumbnail grid or tiled mosaic-style layouts | |
| image hotspot | Tag images with interactive hotspots for popups or additional information | |
| image rollover | Show different images or info when hovering over an image | |
| image zoom | Allow close-up view of images | |
| lookbooks | Display a portfolio of images that feature a product line or collection | |
| slideshow | Display multiple images one at a time in a carousel | |
| Product details | color swatches | Display color options for a product on the product page |
| ingredients/nutritional information | Show an ingredients list or nutritional information for a product | |
| product options | Show available product options such as finishes, brands, or colours on collection pages | |
| product tabs | Present product details across multiple tabs or sheets on the product page | |
| product videos | Include a video on the product page | |
| shipping/delivery information | Show information such as shipping options and estimated delivery time | |
| size chart | Display a size chart for products | |
| usage information | Show usage information for a product | |
| Visual effects | animation | Include animations, such as page transitions, scrolling, or animated cart actions |
| Marketing and conversion | ||
| Conversion optimization | cross-selling (complete the look) | Show products commonly purchased together |
| quick view | View product details in a popup without leaving the current page | |
| recently viewed | Show products that a visitor has recently looked at | |
| recommended products | Show products based on customer behavior or past purchases | |
| stock counter | Show current stock levels for a product | |
| store locator | Provide map or direction to physical location | |
| Email capture | back-in-stock alert | Prompt to collect email info for notifying when product is back in stock |
| customizable contact form | Create a custom contact form with additional fields and content | |
| Promotional content | blogs | Use advanced blogging features such as surfacing blog posts on product and collection pages, or support for muliple blogs and reader comments |
| event calendar | Show a feed or calendar of upcoming events | |
| in-menu promos | Embed images and promotional content into your navigation | |
| press coverage | Highlight media coverage and press mentions | |
| product badges | Add stickers or labels to product images to highlight sales, new items, top sellers, or other product features | |
| promo banners | Add a banner announcing sales, discounts, or events | |
| promo popups | Add a popup announcing sales, discounts, or events | |
| promo tiles | Add custom promo elements alongside product images | |
| Trust/social proof | age verifier | Require age verfication before purchase or entering the site |
| FAQ page | Provide an FAQ page to answer visitor questions about anything from returns to shipping | |
| product reviews | Automatically integrate with Shopify Product reviews app and display reviews on product pages | |
| trust badges | Display badges indicating secure payment and checkout | |
| Cart and checkout optimization | ||
| carts and checkout | cart notes | Allow customers to add notes to their order |
| gift wrapping | Allow customers to select gift wrapping as part of their order | |
| in-store pickups | Allow customers to select a local pickup option instead of delivery | |
| quick buy | Allow customers to add products to the cart without leaving the page | |
| slide-out cart | Make cart accessible from any page | |
| sticky cart | Keep add to cart button visible as customers browse and scroll | |
| Product discovery | ||
| Navigation and filtering | back-to-top button | Provide a button that takes customers to the top of the page. |
| breadcrumbs | Show a set of links that tells the customer where they are in the site and allows them to return to a previous page | |
| collection page navigation | Provide navigation menu or sidebar links on collection pages | |
| enhanced search | Enable predictive or smart searching | |
| infinite scroll | Continuously load content at the bottom of a page so that customers don't have to click to the next page | |
| mega menu | Configure menu navigation that provides multi-column drop-down navigation | |
| product filtering and sorting | Allow customers to filter products on the collection page by features such as size, color, or brand | |
| sticky header | Provide a header that's visible in the same position as customers scroll down a page | |
| Product highlights | recently viewed | Allow customers to see a set of products that they recently viewed |
| recommended products | Provide a set of recommended products that are associated with the product page or collection that a customer is currently looking at | |
Stores using your theme
Anchor link to section titled "Stores using your theme"After your theme is published and you've made some sales, then you can optionally provide URLs and screenshots of some of the shops that use your theme, up to a maximum of five stores. These examples can help showcase your theme in use.
Make sure that you have permission to feature these stores on your listing. Make sure to check on these stores occasionally, as stores can change or become inactive over time.
Screenshot guidelines:
- Image dimensions must be 779px by 1000px.
The following types of stores can't be used to showcase samples of your theme:
- adult product stores
- stores with violent or hateful content
- stores selling restricted substances
- any stores that don’t meet our Terms of Service standards
Tracking and analytics
Anchor link to section titled "Tracking and analytics"Get data on visits to your page.
Google analytics code
Anchor link to section titled "Google analytics code"To track page views for your theme listing using Google Analytics 4, enter your measurement ID. Learn more about tracking your listing traffic.
Full-funnel theme install attributions
Anchor link to section titled "Full-funnel theme install attributions"To provide full details of the theme installation funnel, the Shopify Theme Store uses Google Analytics 4's Measurement Protocol for server-side events, on theme installation on purchase. To receive these events, you must use Google Analytics 4 with your theme listing, and have entered an API secret generated in the Google Analytics UI.
The following events are sent to Google Analytics and display in the real-time view. However, event parameters might take up to 24 hours to propagate and need to be added as an event-scoped custom dimension.
| Event name | Parameters | Description |
|---|---|---|
shopify_theme_install |
|
Sent when a merchant finishes purchasing and installing a theme |
To generate an API secret:
- Log into Google Analytics.
- Click the Admin icon in the bottom left corner.
- Click Data Streams under Property settings.
- Select the measurement stream that corresponds to the Measurement ID which you've added to your app listing.
- Click Measurement Protocol API secrets.
- Click Create to generate a new API secret.
To add the API secret to your app listing:
- Log in to your Partner Dashboard.
- Click Themes.
- Click the name of your app.
- Click Edit Theme Store Listing.
- In the Tracking and analytics section, enter your Google Analyitics 4 measurement ID.
- Enter your API secret.
- Click Save to save the changes as a draft.
- Click Update published listing to publish the changes.
Google e-commerce events
Anchor link to section titled "Google e-commerce events"To enhance tracking for e-commerce related interactions, the following events have been implemented:
| Event name | Parameters | Description |
|---|---|---|
view_item |
|
Sent when a partner views a theme's details page |
add_to_cart |
|
Sent when a partner clicks the Try theme button |
Google remarketing code
Anchor link to section titled "Google remarketing code"To add Google remarketing code to your theme listing, enter the number that follows var google_conversion_id = in the remarketing tag that you received from Google. We don't currently support specific tag remarketing lists. Learn about Google remarketing.
Facebook pixel ID
Anchor link to section titled "Facebook pixel ID"To add Facebook Pixel tracking to your theme listing, enter the ID number for your theme from the Facebook Event Manager. Learn about Facebook pixels.
Contact and support
Anchor link to section titled "Contact and support"Theme submission contact
Anchor link to section titled "Theme submission contact"Provide a contact email address for the review team to communicate with you about your theme submission. If no contact email is provided, then the business email for your partner account is used. To prevent our email messages from being caught in spam filters, add theme-submissions@shopify.com and noreply@shopify.com to your email provider's allowed address list.
Theme review notifications
Anchor link to section titled "Theme review notifications"Provide an email address to notify you when a merchant reviews your theme, or when existing reviews are updated or deleted.
Support and documentation
Anchor link to section titled "Support and documentation"You're required to provide a way for merchants to get help through a contact form, as well as provide a link to the documentation for your theme. We encourage partners to have a CRM software such as a help desk set up to help manage merchant tickets. A contact email address isn't sufficient for the long term. See Supporting your theme for more details about how to successfully support merchants.