Updating Surge Theme

Understanding Theme Updates

We categorize updates using the x.y.z naming convention (e.g., 1.0.1, 1.1.0, 2.0.0).

• Major Releases (x.0.0): These include fundamental and foundational fixes, new larger features, or new blocks and settings.
• Minor Releases & Patches (0.y.z): These happen regularly to fix minor bugs or introduce smaller enhancements.

Stay Informed: You can view our Roadmap to see what is coming next and our Changelog to see a history of what has changed.

Note on Mandatory Updates: While not all updates are mandatory, they are recommended. If you aren't in a rush, you don't need to update immediately. If a feature is ever scheduled for deprecation, you will receive multiple warnings months in advance.

Method 1: Fresh Theme Upload (Major Updates)
For major updates where foundational changes occur, you must download the latest ZIP file and upload it to your store. Because of the scale of these changes, customizations will need to be re-applied manually.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Access Your Files: Visit surgetheme.com/account or base.surgetheme.com.
2. Verify License: Enter your license key or log in to your account.
3. Download ZIP: Find the latest version and click Download to save the ZIP file to your computer.
4. Upload to Shopify: In your Shopify admin, go to Online Store → Themes, click Add theme, and select Upload ZIP file.
5. Re-configure: Open the Theme Editor to re-apply your settings and copy over any custom code.

Method 2: The Surge Theme Updater (Minor Updates & Patches)

NOTE: The Surge Updater is Only Compatible with Version 1.0.1. If You're Using 1.0.0, Please Use Method 1 Above.

The Surge Theme Updater helps you update while automatically preserving your settings, keeping your store looking exactly how you designed it.

The Surge Theme Updater is a tool that helps you update your Surge theme to the latest version while automatically preserving your customizations. Instead of manually reconfiguring your theme after an update, our updater intelligently merges your settings, keeping your store looking exactly how you designed it.

When you use the updater, the following customizations are automatically kept:

• Theme Settings - Colors, fonts, typography, spacing, and all customizer options.
  
  

• Section Configurations - Your homepage layout, collection page settings, and product page arrangements.
  
  

• Template Assignments - Custom templates you've assigned to products, collections, or pages.
  
  

• Translations - Any custom text or language translations you've added.
  
  

Before starting, make sure you have:

1. Your license key - Found in your original purchase confirmation email
   
   

2. Your store domain - Your Shopify store URL (e.g., yourstore.myshopify.com or yourstore.com - make sure it's the primary domain that your theme is registered to)
   
   

3. Your current theme exported as a ZIP file - We'll show you how below
   
   

1. No Customizations? If you have not made any code changes or theme setting customizations to your current theme, you do not need to use the updater. You can simply download the latest version of the theme files following the method above.
   
   
2. Provided "As Is": The Surge Theme Updater is a beta tool provided "as is" to assist with migrating settings. While successful in most cases, it is not guaranteed to work for every store configuration or theme version. Always verify your updated theme before publishing.
   
   
3. Custom Code Limitations: The updater is designed to migrate settings configured within the Shopify Theme Editor (JSON data).
   
   Custom code changes (HTML, CSS, JavaScript, or Liquid) that were implemented directly in the code files and not through the theme editor may not be preserved or may cause conflicts in the new version. You may need to manually re-apply these changes after the update.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Log in to your Shopify admin

2. Go to Online Store → Themes

3. Find your current Surge theme

4. Click the three dots (⋯) menu next to the theme

5. Select Download theme file

6. Wait for Shopify to email you the download link (usually takes 1-5 minutes)

7. Download the ZIP file from the email link

Important: Do not unzip the file. Upload it exactly as downloaded.

1. Visit the Surge Theme Updater 

2. Enter your license key

3. Enter your store domain (e.g., yourstore.myshopify.com or yourstore.com)

4. Click Choose File and select your downloaded theme ZIP

5. Click Update Theme
   
   

The updater will:

• Validate your license

• Analyze your current theme settings

• Merge your customizations with the new theme version

• Package everything into a new ZIP file

This typically takes 5 seconds to 2 minutes, depending on your theme's complexity.

Once processing is complete:

1. Click the Download button

2. Save the updated theme ZIP to your computer

Note: Your download link expires after 15 minutes. If it expires, simply run the process again.

1. Go to Online Store → Themes in your Shopify admin

2. Click Add theme → Upload ZIP file

3. Select the updated theme ZIP you just downloaded

4. Wait for it to upload and process
   
   

1. Click Customize on your newly uploaded theme

2. Review your settings to ensure everything looks correct

3. When satisfied, click Publish to make it live

Tip: We recommend previewing your theme thoroughly before publishing. Check your homepage, a few product pages, and your cart to ensure everything displays correctly.

• Maximum upload size: 50 MB

• Most Surge themes are well under this limit
  
  

The updater preserves settings stored in JSON configuration files. It does not modify or merge:

• Custom Liquid code you've added

• Custom CSS or JavaScript files

• Third-party app code injections

• Files you've manually edited in the code editor

If you've made custom code changes, you'll need to reapply those manually after updating.

• You must have a valid Surge theme license

• The license must match the store domain you enter

• Each license is valid for the store it was purchased for
  
  

• 5 updates per hour per store - This prevents system overload

• If you hit this limit, wait an hour before trying again
  
  

No. The entire purpose of the updater is to preserve your settings. Your colors, fonts, section layouts, and other customizations will be merged into the new theme version.

Your original theme remains untouched in Shopify. The updater creates a completely new theme file. If anything looks wrong:

1. Don't publish the updated theme

2. Delete it from your Shopify themes

3. Your original theme is still there, unchanged

Not quite. The updater can be used from the same major version (minor updates and patches - 1.x.x). For major updates, you'll need to download, upload and customise the latest ZIP files directly from your account.

Third-party apps that inject code into your theme (reviews, upsells, pop-ups, etc.) may need to be reconnected after updating. Most apps have a simple reinstall or reconnect process.

Your license key was sent to you when you purchased the theme. Check your email for the original purchase confirmation. If you can't find it, contact our support team.

This can happen if:

• The license key was entered incorrectly (check for typos)

• The domain doesn't match your purchase

• The license has been transferred or revoked

Contact support if you believe this is an error.

Download links are valid for 15 minutes. If yours expired, simply run the update process again. Your settings are re-read from the uploaded theme each time.

If you encounter any issues or have questions:

• Email: [email protected]

• Help Center: https://help.surgetheme.com

When contacting support, please include:

• Your store domain

• The error message (if any)

• A screenshot of the issue
  
  

1. Export your current theme from Shopify

2. Upload it to the Theme Updater with your license key

3. Download the updated theme

4. Upload the new theme to Shopify

5. Preview and publish when ready

Your customizations are preserved automatically. Your original theme stays safe in Shopify until you're ready to switch.