Legacy theme to Online Store 2.0 migration
Move off a vintage Shopify theme without losing your look, your content or your rankings. We rebuild your storefront on Online Store 2.0, JSON templates, sections and metafields, then publish it in one swap, with zero trading days lost.
Why a vintage theme holds you back
Vintage Shopify themes predate Online Store 2.0. They still sell, but every change is a developer ticket and the platform keeps moving past them.
Editable homepage, frozen everywhere else
Vintage themes only support sections on the homepage. Product, collection and page layouts are hardcoded Liquid your team cannot touch.
Apps hardcoded into templates
Apps get bolted in by pasting code into Liquid. Every install and removal risks a broken template and leftover orphaned snippets.
No metafields, no dynamic content
Specs, size guides and care details sit in the description blob because the theme cannot read metafields or dynamic sources.
Deprecated Liquid and slow assets
{% include %}, jQuery and render-blocking assets drag Core Web Vitals down and often fail accessibility.
checkout.liquid is being retired
Plus stores still on checkout.liquid face Shopify's checkout extensibility deadline. Legacy customisations must be rebuilt as extensions.
Every change is a dev ticket
Marketing cannot launch a campaign section or reorder a page without engineering. Speed to market suffers.
What moves across in a theme migration
Your data stays in the same store. What we rebuild is the theme layer, and everything hardcoded inside it.
| Element | On your vintage theme | On Online Store 2.0 |
|---|---|---|
| Homepage | Sections, homepage only | JSON template, same sections, reorderable |
| Product & collection pages | Hardcoded Liquid templates | JSON templates with sections and blocks |
| Content copy & images | Baked into Liquid | Editable section blocks |
| Apps | Pasted-in snippets | App blocks and app embeds |
| Specs & size guides | Stuffed in descriptions | Metafields via dynamic sources |
| Header & footer | Single hardcoded template | Section groups |
| Collection filtering | Tag hacks or an app | Native Search & Discovery |
| Checkout (Plus) | checkout.liquid | Checkout extensibility |
| URLs, redirects & metadata | Existing handles | Preserved; redirects only where merged |
Is a theme migration right for you?
A good fit if
- You are on a vintage (pre-OS 2.0) Shopify theme
- Only your homepage is editable without a developer
- Apps are hardcoded and Core Web Vitals are slipping
- You want your current design kept, just modernised
Probably not yet if
- You are already on an OS 2.0 theme and want a redesign, that is a build, not a migration
- You are moving from another platform, see WooCommerce, Magento or Adobe Commerce
- You need checkout-only changes with no theme work
What a theme migration covers
A faithful rebuild of your storefront on Online Store 2.0, same design, modern architecture, editable by your team.
What we modernise
- Product, collection, cart and page templates rebuilt as JSON
- Homepage and content sections, reorderable in the editor
- Header and footer moved to section groups
- Theme settings, colours and typography mapped across
- Custom sections and snippets rebuilt to match
Structured content and apps
- Metafields and metaobjects wired to dynamic sources
- App embeds and app blocks replacing hardcoded snippets
- Native Search & Discovery filtering on collections
- Blogs, pages and navigation carried over intact
SEO, speed and safe cutover
- URLs preserved; redirects only where layouts merge
- 90+ Lighthouse with Core Web Vitals in the green
- WCAG 2.1 AA rebuilt in, not bolted on
- Unpublished build, staged preview, instant publish swap
How a theme migration runs
No fixed timeline before we inspect the store. We scope after auditing your current theme, customisations and apps.
Audit & architecture
We map every template, custom section, snippet and app hook in your vintage theme, then decide what to rebuild, retire or improve.
Base theme & design rebuild
We rebuild your design on a modern OS 2.0 base, pixel-matched, as an unpublished theme, so trading is untouched.
Templates, sections & content
Hardcoded pages become JSON templates with editable sections. Baked-in copy and images move into blocks your team controls.
Metafields, apps & integrations
We wire metafields and metaobjects to dynamic sources, and re-add apps as app blocks and embeds, no orphaned code left behind.
Testing & QA
Cross-device, cross-browser, Lighthouse, accessibility and analytics checks against a staged preview before anything goes live.
Cutover & monitoring
We publish the new theme in one swap, no downtime, then watch speed, conversion and Search Console through the first weeks.
What a theme migration costs
Typical AUD bands, scoped after we audit your theme. Complexity is driven by custom sections, apps and how much content is hardcoded.
Standard rebuild
Faithful OS 2.0 rebuild of a lightly-customised vintage theme.
Custom storefront
Heavy custom sections, metafields and multiple app integrations.
Plus & checkout
Plus stores, checkout extensibility and complex merchandising.
Legacy theme migration FAQs
Related migrations and services
Get a legacy theme to Shopify OS 2.0 migration plan
Send us your store. We will audit your current theme, apps and customisations, then come back with a rebuild plan, timeline and fixed scope.
Get a migration plan
