Store Decode theme compatibility: which stores it works on

Store Decode works on any Shopify store that uses an Online Store theme, whether it is an Online Store 2.0 theme or an older vintage one. It reaches your storefront through an app embed, which Shopify supports on both kinds of theme and which needs no code. Headless storefronts, including those built with Hydrogen, are not measured, because they do not render the theme that carries the app embed.

Which stores it works on

Your storefront	Measured
An Online Store 2.0 theme, such as Dawn or any theme from the Theme Store	Yes
A vintage theme, built before Online Store 2.0	Yes
A headless storefront, or one built with Hydrogen	No

Shopify’s help page on theme architecture versions shows how to tell which kind your theme is. You do not need to know it to install Store Decode: the steps are the same.

The app embed is switched on per theme. Store Decode measures the theme your visitors see, the published one. A visit to a theme you are previewing or editing is left out of your numbers, like a bot, because it is you or your developer and not a visitor. Install Store Decode shows how to switch the embed on.

How Store Decode finds your sections

Shopify wraps every section of a theme in the same kind of element, on 2.0 and vintage themes alike. Store Decode’s script finds each of those, in page order, and records how it is viewed and clicked. You tag nothing, and a section you add later is found on its next visit.

Each section gets a name, chosen in this order:

1. The name you give it. Explore has a Rename sections button, and the name you type is used everywhere in the app.
2. Its first heading, up to 60 characters, such as “Shop by category”.
3. Its type, in plain words, when it has no heading. A section of type image_with_text reads “Image with text”.
4. Its position, such as “Section 3”, when nothing else is known.

So a slideshow or a row of logos with no heading shows by its type until you rename it. Settings shows how many homepage sections were found and how many you renamed, under Section mapping.

Which pages are measured

The script runs on every page of your online store, and Activity lists every page view. The numbers are grouped by page type on Explore:

• Homepage: every section, with its views, clicks, dead clicks and orders after a click, and the page map.
• Collections: page views, clicks per 100 views, how far down the grid visitors scroll, and which product cards are clicked.
• Product pages: the gallery, option changes, whether the reviews come on screen, and cart adds.
• Cart: carts, the upsell and discount field, and how many carts reach checkout.

Checkout is not a theme page, so the script does not run there. Store Decode’s web pixel reports checkouts and orders instead.

A few pages are never measured: your password page, the theme editor, and any visit from a browser where Don’t count my visits is on. On a visitor’s account pages and on search pages, section headings are not kept.

Common questions

Does it work with a vintage theme such as Debut?

Yes. The app embed works on vintage themes, and their sections are found the same way. One limit: on a vintage collection page whose product grid sits outside any section, Store Decode cannot see the product cards, so that page shows no card numbers.

Will it break my theme or change how it looks?

No. Store Decode adds its script through the app embed and never edits your theme’s files or changes what visitors see. Does Store Decode slow down a Shopify store? explains how the script stays out of the way.

What if I change my theme?

Switch Store Decode on in the new theme’s App embeds and save. The new theme’s sections are found by themselves. Your numbers stay, and the page map draws the new layout from the first visits to it.

See a measured homepage on the home page