Masthead is updated through the Shopify Theme Store. Updates are free for stores that own the theme, and bring new features, fixes and support for new Shopify features. The current version is 1.0.0; the changelog lists what each version changed.
Find your version
In your Shopify admin, go to Online Store. The version number is shown with your published theme, and with each theme in your draft themes. When a newer version is available, a notification takes the place of the version number.
Update to a new version
- In Online Store, click the update notification on Masthead to open the details.
- Click View release notes if you want to read what changed.
- Click Add to draft themes. Shopify adds an updated copy of your theme to your draft themes. Your live theme is not changed.
- Click Review on the updated copy and check it, using the list below.
- When you are happy with it, click Publish.
Your previous version stays in your draft themes after you publish the new one. If something is wrong, publish the old version again and you are back where you were.
What carries over
The updated copy keeps the work you did in the theme editor:
- Your theme settings: colors, typography, layout and the rest.
- Your pages: the sections and blocks on every template, with their content and settings.
- Your header and footer.
- App embeds and app blocks, with their settings.
If the theme's code was edited
Shopify includes code edits in the update where they don't conflict with what the update changes. Edits that do conflict are left out, and have to be copied into the new version by hand. The same applies to code that an app added to the theme's files.
Edited code is the usual reason an update needs extra work. If you or a developer changed the theme's code, compare the updated copy with your live theme carefully before you publish. Our support covers the theme as we ship it; we can't merge custom code into a new version for you. A Shopify Partner can.
To keep updates simple, make changes in the theme editor where you can, and add apps through app blocks and app embeds instead of code. Changes made that way always carry over.
What to check before you publish
- The home page, a product page, a collection page and the cart, on mobile and desktop.
- The header and footer: menus, the logo and the announcement bar.
- A product with several variants: pick each option and add it to the cart.
- Any app that shows something on your storefront, such as reviews or a wishlist.
- Any code changes you rely on.
Shopify's own guide has more detail: Updating themes.