Use the theme editor

You set up Alpha Start in the Shopify theme editor. Changes appear in the preview right away, and customers see them only after you save.

Open the theme editor

1. In your Shopify admin, open Online Store → Themes.
2. Click Customize next to Alpha Start.

The editor shows a preview of your store in the middle and the page structure in the left sidebar. To edit another page, such as a product or collection page, choose it in the page selector at the top of the editor.

Two kinds of settings

Section settings

Sections are the parts of a page: the header, the footer and the content in between. Settings of a section apply only to that section.

1. In the left sidebar, click the section, for example Header.
2. Change its settings in the panel that opens.
3. To change a block inside a section, expand the section in the sidebar and click the block.

Theme settings

Theme settings apply to the whole store: logo, colors, fonts, page width, catalog menu, product cards, search, cart, contact information and social media.

1. In the left sidebar, click the Theme settings icon.
2. Click a group, for example Colors or Product cards.
3. Change the settings in the group.

In this documentation, a path such as Theme settings → Product cards means: open theme settings and then the Product cards group.

Preview on mobile

Use the device switcher at the top of the editor to preview your store on a mobile screen. Alpha Start switches to its mobile layout on screens up to 1024px wide: the header becomes a compact row and the catalog opens in a full-height menu.

Save your changes

Click Save in the top-right corner of the editor. Until you save, your changes are only visible in the editor preview.

About the defaults in this documentation

The Default column in the reference tables shows the value built into each setting. The theme style you chose when you installed Alpha Start can start with different values, so your settings may not match the defaults listed here.