A copy of your theme is a private place to work. Customers keep seeing your live shop while you change the copy, and you publish the copy only when it is ready. It is also your backup: if something goes wrong, the old version is one click away.
When to make a copy
- Before you redesign a page or try a new style.
- Before you update Acanthus to a new version.
- Before you, a developer or an app edits the theme's code.
- Before a big sale or launch, so you can prepare it ahead of time.
Duplicate the theme
Go to Online StoreThemes.
On Acanthus, open the … menu and select Duplicate.
The copy appears under Theme library, named "Copy of Acanthus". Open its … menu and choose Rename to give it a name you will recognize, such as "Acanthus – autumn launch".
Work on the copy and preview it
Select Customize on the copy to change it in the theme editor. To see it as a customer would, open its … menu and choose Preview. You can share a preview link with someone else from the same menu; it works for a limited time and only shows that copy.
Publish when it is ready
On the copy, open … and select Publish. It becomes your live theme at once, and the previous one moves to your theme library, untouched. To go back, publish the previous one again.
Anything you change on the live theme after making the copy is not in the copy. Keep your edits in one place, or note them down and repeat them before you publish.
Keep your library tidy
Shopify keeps up to 20 themes in your library. Delete copies you no longer need from their … menu. Keep at least one recent backup of the live theme.
Does duplicating copy my products and pages?
No. Products, collections, pages, menus and customers belong to your shop, not to the theme, so every copy shares them. A copy holds only the theme: its sections, settings, pictures chosen in the editor and code.
Will a copy slow down my shop?
No. Only the published theme is served to customers.
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