Update Reign to a new version

When a new version of Reign comes out, you do not edit your current theme in place. You install the new version as a separate theme, set it up to match your live store, then publish it once it looks right. Your live store stays untouched while you work.

A theme update is not automatic. Your live theme stays on its current version until you choose to move. Plan an update for a quiet trading period so you have time to check everything before it goes live.

Before you start

• Note which version of Reign your store runs now, and which version you are moving to.
• If you (or an agency) edited the theme code by hand, those edits do not carry over to a new version. List them first so you can reapply them after the update.
• Keep your current live theme in place until the new one is published. It is your fallback.

Update steps

The flow below follows Shopify's standard theme update process.

1. Get the new version of Reign. How you receive it depends on how the update reaches you (see the note at the end).
2. In your Shopify admin, go to Online Store then Themes.
3. Add the new Reign version to your theme library so it sits alongside your live theme, without publishing it.
4. Open the new version in the theme editor and set it up to match your live store: sections, blocks, content, and theme settings.
5. Preview the new version end to end. Check the home page, a collection, a product page, cart, and checkout entry on both desktop and mobile.
6. When the new version looks right, publish it. Your old theme moves out of the live slot but stays in your library.

Carrying your settings across

Theme settings and page content do not move between two separate themes on their own. You have two ways to bring them across.

• Copy settings by hand. Open both themes in two browser tabs and reapply your choices in the new version: colors, typography, sections, blocks, and their content. This is slower, but you see every setting and can drop anything you no longer want.
• Copy the settings file. Shopify themes store editor settings in a settings file inside the theme code. You can copy that file from your old theme into the new one. This carries settings in bulk, but only do it when both themes are the same major version of Reign. Across a large version jump, settings can shift between versions and a bulk copy can break the new theme. When unsure, copy by hand.

Either way, set this up on the unpublished copy and check it before you publish.

After you publish

• Walk through the live store once more: home, a collection, a product, search, cart.
• Reapply any hand-edited code changes you listed earlier. A new version replaces theme code, so those edits are gone until you add them back.
• Keep the previous theme in your library for a week or two. If something is wrong, you can republish it in one click while you sort out the new version.

Tips

• Never edit the live theme to update it. Always work on a separate, unpublished copy so customers never see a half-finished change.
• App embeds and third-party code added through other apps are tied to your store, not the theme, so most carry over. Still check anything app-driven (reviews, upsells, custom blocks) after publishing.
• If the update is large, write down your key settings (brand colors, fonts, header and footer layout) before you start. It makes rebuilding by hand faster and gives you a reference if a bulk copy goes wrong. If you started from a preset, see Install Reign and choose a preset for which panels hold those settings.