Commerce OS guide

Storefront Experiences

Guide status: Operating-system guidance. Last reviewed 14 August 2026. App blocks, embeds, placement diagnostics and Shopify theme steps vary by installation and theme.

Purpose

The Storefront workspace connects decisions made in Liva 7 with the customer experience delivered through Shopify. It should make the distinction between configured, published, exposed and measured visible.

A placement being saved in Liva 7 does not prove it is installed in the active theme. A placement being installed does not prove an eligible customer has seen it. A view does not prove a commercial result. Treat each as a separate state.

Before you begin

  • Identify the active Shopify theme and the template or surface being changed.
  • Confirm that you have permission to edit or publish the theme.
  • Know the intended content, product and audience eligibility rules.
  • Prepare the default experience and safe failure behaviour.

Understand the placement lifecycle

  1. Prepared: content and rules exist in Liva 7.
  2. Configured: the placement is connected to the intended surface.
  3. Published: required Shopify theme changes have been saved to the intended theme.
  4. Verified: the expected output is visible in a real storefront check.
  5. Exposed: an eligible visit has actually received the experience.
  6. Measured: valid events have been processed for the stated reporting window.

These states prevent a common operating error: interpreting configuration as customer exposure. They also make troubleshooting more precise.

Verify the live experience

Check the correct theme, template, market and customer state. Test relevant desktop and mobile widths, keyboard navigation, readable focus, long text, unavailable products and the default experience. Confirm links, prices and purchase paths using Shopify as the source of truth.

Use Store Health to separate a missing app block or embed from a data, content, eligibility or service issue. Record what was checked and when, particularly if a theme was changed after the original placement was configured.

Safe use and fallback

If the Liva 7 experience cannot be rendered safely, preserve an approved Shopify or theme-native experience. Never leave an empty structural gap, blocked purchase control or customer-visible diagnostic. Avoid brittle script-dependent layouts when semantic HTML and theme-compatible CSS are sufficient.

Publishing to the active theme can affect customers immediately. Preview or duplicate-theme review should be used where the current Shopify flow permits it, and final publication should remain with an authorised merchant.

You are finished when

  • the intended theme, template, placement and eligibility scope are known;
  • Shopify publication and Liva 7 configuration states are both recorded;
  • live desktop, mobile and fallback checks pass; and
  • measurement begins only after verified exposure is possible.