Custom code

Balm is built to be shaped from the theme editor, without code. If you or a developer do edit the theme code, read this page first.

Duplicate the theme before any code change

Before you edit a single file, make a copy of the theme: in your admin, go to Online Store, Themes, open the ... menu of Balm and choose Duplicate. Make your changes on the copy, preview it, and publish it only once it works. Your live theme stays untouched, and you can go back to it at any moment.

Get help from a Shopify Partner

Code customizations are outside the scope of Balm support. For custom features, design changes or integrations, we recommend working with a Shopify Partner: developers and agencies vetted by Shopify, listed in the Shopify Partner Directory.

Try the editor first

Many changes need no edit to the theme files:

The Custom Liquid section, and the Liquid blocks of the product page and of the content sections, accept your own Liquid, HTML and app snippets.
Shopify's Custom CSS field, at the bottom of each section's settings and in Theme settings, takes CSS scoped to that section or to the whole store.
The Apps section and app blocks place app content without touching the code.

Code added this way is kept when you update the theme.

Theme updates and your code

When you update Balm, Shopify installs the new version as a separate copy and carries over your theme editor settings and content, but not the changes you made in the theme files. Keep a list of every file you changed and why, so the changes can be applied again to the new version.

What support covers

Balm support covers the theme as shipped. When a problem shows up on a theme whose code was modified, we may ask you to reproduce it on an unmodified copy of Balm first. See Support.