{
  "id": 64528,
  "title": "You don't have to choose between Shopify updates and accessibility fixes",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/03/you-dont-have-to-choose-between-shopify-updates-and-accessibility",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-08-03T01:23:41.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Dev.to",
    "slug": "dev-to",
    "url": "https://dev.to/praiztech/you-dont-have-to-choose-between-shopify-updates-and-accessibility-fixes-fm8"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A developer once shared with me that editing Shopify Liquid files is a cumbersome process because customizations don't scale well with theme updates. When you start modifying a theme, it essentially becomes a fork, and every subsequent update requires manual reconciliation of your changes. This is why many teams shy away from making deep changes to a live theme, including accessibility remediation. However, the solution to this issue isn't solely reliant on Shopify's functionality, but rather on implementing effective process solutions.\n\nThe core challenge with Shopify themes lies in the fact that custom edits don't carry over during theme updates. When Shopify releases a new version of the base theme, your customizations are not merged in; you have to manually reconcile them. Moreover, once a theme is connected to GitHub, it ceases to receive Shopify's theme updates. To address this, you need to maintain version control while also being able to incorporate upstream updates.\n\nTo achieve this, begin by isolating CSS and JavaScript into custom files. Any styling or scripting changes should be placed in separate asset files, rather than being edited within the theme's existing files. These custom assets almost never conflict with updates, as they are treated as independent additions by Git. The only exception is the loading line for these custom assets, which is usually a Liquid edit in the theme.liquid file. Tag this line with an A11Y-REMEDIATION marker to differentiate it from other Liquid changes.\n\nFor any Liquid changes, ensure you tag each one and maintain a list of the edited Liquid files. Use a consistent marker in the comments, such as {% comment %} A11Y-REMEDIATION: added aria-label + visible focus state to search toggle {% endcomment %}%. This way, your list of changed Liquid files becomes a greppable command rather than a manual task.\n\nDesignate an unconnected copy of the live theme to receive updates. Keep it disconnected from GitHub to ensure it remains eligible for Shopify's updates. This serves as your update pipeline, while the connected repository acts as your source of truth. When Shopify releases a new version of the base theme, update the theme copy in the Shopify admin, create a backup branch from the connected repo's main, and then create an update branch to pull the code from the Updated Copy instead of the live theme. This allows you to merge the upstream changes into Git, where you can effectively diff them.\n\nDuring the merge process, focus on every Liquid change by diffing each file individually. Your tagged comments and file list will guide you through this process, keeping the review manageable and preserving your accessibility fixes without overlooking legitimate improvements made in the updated theme. Once the diff is clean, commit to the development branch and then merge it into the main branch.\n\nFinally, push the main branch to an unconnected copy of the live theme, rather than the live theme itself. This ensures that schema errors are caught early. Push the configuration files first, followed by the remaining theme files. Verify the Updated Copy on Shopify before publishing, and perform re-checks to ensure that everything is functioning as expected. By following these steps, you can seamlessly update your Shopify theme while still addressing accessibility issues in a manageable and effective manner.",
  "summary": "A while back, a developer told me something that stuck with me. He said fixing Shopify Liquid files is a hassle, because customizations don't scale with theme updates. The moment you start editing a theme, you've effectively forked it, and every future update has to be diffed and re-applied by hand. He's not wrong. That's effectively how maintaining a customized Shopify theme works. It's also why…",
  "key_points": [
    "Custom edits don't carry over during Shopify theme updates",
    "Isolate CSS and JavaScript into custom files to avoid conflicts",
    "Designate unconnected copy of live theme for updates and accessibility fixes"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": "https://urgent.news/ill/64528.png",
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}