Theme Customizer 2.0: visual theme editing

Theme Customizer 2.0 is the visual editor for your LaunchMyStore storefront. Drag sections, edit settings, preview on desktop and mobile, and publish — without touching code. This article walks through the editor and how to make the most of it.

What’s new in 2.0

• Live section editing — click anything in the preview to jump to its settings.
• Block-level reordering — drag blocks inside sections without leaving the page.
• Section presets — one-click swap between curated layouts for a section type.
• Dynamic sources — bind a setting to a metafield, product attribute, or shop value.
• Undo / redo — full edit history during your session.
• Device preview — desktop, tablet, mobile previews from a single toggle.
• App embeds — toggle storefront app extensions on and off in the embeds panel.
• Color scheme editor — manage palettes shared across sections.

Anatomy of the editor

The customizer has three panes:

1. Left sidebar — the section list, grouped by template. Drag to reorder, click to expand blocks.
2. Center preview — the live storefront with the customizer’s preview cookie applied. Click any region to focus its section.
3. Right settings panel — the section’s schema-driven settings: text, image, color, range, select, dynamic source, etc.

Sections and blocks

A section is a top-level region of a template (Header, Featured product, Image with text). A block is a reusable child of a section (e.g. a slide inside a slideshow). Both are configured by the theme’s schema files.

• Add a section: scroll to the bottom of the section list, click Add section, pick from the catalog.
• Add a block: expand a section, click Add block at the bottom of its block list.
• Reorder: drag the handle on the left of any item.
• Duplicate / remove: hover any section or block and use the action menu.

Setting types

Every input you see is driven by the section’s schema. Common types:

• text / textarea — plain text.
• richtext — formatted text with toolbar.
• image_picker — pick from media library or upload.
• color — color picker.
• range — slider with min / max / step.
• select / radio / checkbox — choice inputs.
• collection / product / blog / page / metaobject — resource pickers.
• color_scheme — pick a saved palette.

Dynamic sources

Most settings can be bound to a dynamic source — data that varies per page. For example, a heading on the product template can be bound to product.title so it always shows the current product. Click the link icon next to any compatible setting to open the source picker.

Dynamic sources are how you wire metafields into your theme without editing Aqua — pick a metafield definition from the picker and the setting reads its value at render time.

Presets

A section’s schema can ship multiple presets — pre-filled configurations like “Centered hero”, “Split hero with image”, “Minimal hero”. Click Change preset in the section header to swap layouts without losing your other sections.

Device preview

Toggle between desktop, tablet and mobile in the top toolbar. The preview iframe resizes to the chosen breakpoint so you can confirm that mobile layout works before publishing.

Undo / redo and publishing

Every change is captured in an edit history. Use the undo / redo buttons in the toolbar to step through changes. When you’re happy, click Save to commit changes to the working theme. The storefront updates immediately because LMS invalidates the relevant caches on save.

App embeds and color schemes

The App embeds panel toggles storefront blocks that come from installed apps (e.g. a reviews widget, a chat bubble). The Color scheme editor manages palettes you can reference from any section — change a palette once and every section using it updates.

FAQ

Do my changes go live immediately when I save?

Yes. The customizer writes to the live theme’s settings, and LMS invalidates the page cache so storefront visitors see the change within seconds.

Can I preview changes before publishing?

The customizer preview itself is the changes-in-progress view. If you need a longer review cycle, duplicate the theme first, edit the duplicate, then promote it to active.

What happens if two staff edit the same section?

The last save wins. Coordinate with your team or open the theme code editor for finer-grained merge if conflicts are common.

Can I customize per-template?

Yes. The section list is scoped to the current template (Home, Product, Collection, etc.). Switch templates with the dropdown at the top of the sidebar.

Why doesn’t my section show in the preview?

Three common causes: the section is disabled, all its blocks were removed, or its conditional rendering (in the schema) is hiding it. Toggle the visibility icon in the section list and re-check.

How do I reset a section to its default?

Remove the section and re-add it from the catalog. The newly added section uses its default preset.