Duplicate, back up and preview

Work on a copy

Before a big change — a preset switch, a redesign, a code edit — duplicate the theme: Online Store → Themes → … → Duplicate. The copy appears in your theme library as a draft, with every setting and template of the original. Change the copy, check it, then publish it.

Rename copies as you make them (… → Rename), for example “Strata — before new header”. A library of five copies called “Copy of Strata” is no help a month later.

Preview before publishing

From any draft theme: … → Preview opens your store with that theme, as a customer would see it. Use Share preview to send a link to someone else — a colleague, a client, your developer. The link stops working once the theme is published or deleted.

Keep a backup file

… → Download theme file sends a ZIP of the theme to the store owner’s email address. It holds the theme’s code and its settings, and can be uploaded again from Online Store → Themes → Add theme → Upload zip file.

A downloaded file is a snapshot of the theme. Your products, collections, pages and orders are store data, not theme data, and are never part of it.