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BigCommerce Theme Updates

Bring Your Store Current Without Losing Your Customizations

BigCommerce regularly releases updates to their marketplace themes, but if you’ve customized your theme (and most merchants have), updating isn’t as simple as clicking a button. I help you move to the latest version of your theme without losing the custom work you’ve already invested in — and use the opportunity to freshen up your design at the same time.

Sticky Note Showing Update

When Should You Update Your BigCommerce Theme?

Not every BigCommerce theme release requires action — most are minor updates, and it would be impractical to update your theme every time a small patch drops. As a general rule, I recommend doing a full theme update every 2–3 years.

Over that time, a lot changes. Your business has evolved. Design trends have shifted. And if you’re like most merchants, you’ve made a handful of visual “band-aids” along the way — quick fixes that made sense at the time but have slowly added up. A theme update is a natural moment to step back, assess what’s working and what isn’t, and come out the other side with a store that’s both current and cleaner than what you started with.

BigCommerce theme updates also matter for technical reasons. Newer theme versions often include improvements to page speed, mobile responsiveness, and compatibility with the latest BigCommerce features — things that can have a real impact on your store’s performance and conversion.

What a Theme Update Is (and Isn't)

One of the most common misconceptions about a theme update is that it’s like building a new store from scratch. It’s not — and that’s worth clarifying before you talk yourself out of it.

When we update your theme:

  • Your URLs stay the same. Nothing in the back-end changes.
  • Your SEO isn’t disrupted. You’re updating the front-end presentation, not your store’s structure.
  • Your content carries over automatically. Products, categories, pages — they all transfer to the new theme.

What does change is how your store looks and how well it performs. Think of it less like a rebuild and more like a renovation.

How I Handle Your Theme Update

I scope and complete most theme updates in structured 4-hour work sessions called Power Blocks. These collaborative sessions allow you to be involved in the update process, provide real-time feedback, and reduce project delays.

Here’s what’s involved:

  • Audit your current theme. Before touching anything, I identify every customization — layout changes, added scripts, style overrides, anything that makes your store yours. This is also a good time to talk through what you’d like to change or improve visually.
  • Build on staging. All work happens on a staging site, so your live store keeps running without interruption. You’ll be able to review everything before anything goes public.
  • Update and migrate. I install the latest version of your theme and carefully move your customizations over — plus any design refinements we’ve agreed on.
  • Test before launch. I run cross-browser and cross-device testing to confirm everything looks and functions as expected, then push the updated theme live when you’re ready.

Most projects are completed in 1–2 Power Block sessions, depending on the number and complexity of your customizations.

Ready to Update Your BigCommerce Theme?

If you’ve been putting off a theme update because it seems too complicated or you’re concerned something will break, I can walk you through exactly what’s involved.

Fill out the form below so we can discuss your project and how to get started.