Fix: Shopify Theme Not Saving

Invalid JSON in a section schema

The {% schema %} block must be valid JSON. Comments aren't allowed. A single trailing comma breaks the entire theme editor's ability to save.

{% schema %}
{
  "name": "Hero Banner",
  "settings": [
    {
      "type": "text",
      "id": "heading",
      "label": "Heading",
    }  // ❌ trailing comma
  ]
}
{% endschema %}

/* ✅ Correct — no trailing comma, no comments */
{% schema %}
{
  "name": "Hero Banner",
  "settings": [
    {
      "type": "text",
      "id": "heading",
      "label": "Heading"
    }
  ]
}
{% endschema %}

Editing the wrong theme

Shopify lets you have unlimited theme copies. If you have 3 themes installed and edit one but preview another, changes look like they aren't saving.

Check:

1. Online Store → Themes
2. Which theme has "Customize" open right now?
3. Which theme is marked "Live"?
4. If they're different, that's expected — publish the working theme to make changes live.

Liquid syntax error blocking the save

A Liquid error in the section file can prevent the schema from parsing. Even if the JSON is valid, broken Liquid above it stops the section from loading — which prevents saving.

Common Liquid syntax errors:

{% comment %} ❌ Mismatched tags {% endcomment %}
{% if product.title %}
  {{ product.title }
{% endif %}  ← missing closing }}

{% for item in collection.products %}
  {{ item.title }}
                 ← missing {% endfor %}

Check: Open the file in a code editor with Liquid syntax highlighting. Mismatched tags are usually visible immediately.

Browser cache or session issue

Sometimes Shopify saves fine but your browser is showing a stale state. Rule this out first — it's fast.

Test:

1. Save your changes
2. Open Shopify admin in an incognito window
3. Open the same theme editor there
4. If your changes appear, it's a cache issue — hard refresh your normal window

# Hard refresh
Ctrl+Shift+R (Windows/Linux)
Cmd+Shift+R (macOS)

Theme conflict with Shopify's section limits

Shopify limits sections to 25 blocks and each section type has its own block limits. If you've exceeded them, new blocks won't save.

Check the section's JSON limits:

// In the section's schema
{
  "name": "FAQ",
  "max_blocks": 20,   // ← if you have 20 blocks, you can't add more
  "blocks": [ ... ]
}

If you've hit the limit, either increase max_blocks in the schema or use a different section.