FAQ

Common questions and gotchas. We add to this list as support tickets surface new patterns. If your question isn’t here, contact support.

Setup and presets

How do I switch between the 5 presets?

The five presets are Mercer, Tactility, Confetti, Poise, and Gridline. There are three distinct ways their design is applied:

Theme settings → Style accents → Style changes color, shape, spacing, and interface accents. It preserves content and custom global colors; it does not replace fonts or section layouts.
Shopify’s theme-style selector applies the preset’s presentation settings, including colors and fonts. It does not swap section layouts.
Installing a preset package supplies its composed templates, including the starting sections and their color schemes.

Use Typography to change fonts directly. See the Theme Editor walkthrough for the difference between style settings and the starting layout.

Will switching presets lose my home page customizations?

Changing Style accents → Style leaves your existing sections, blocks, and content in place. Shopify’s theme-style selector also keeps the section layout, but can replace presentation settings you customized, such as fonts and colors. Duplicate your theme before trying a new style if you want to keep the current design as a reference.

Installing another preset package is a separate operation: that package has its own starting templates. Changing a style in an existing theme does not install those templates.

Can I mix design tokens from different presets?

Start with a preset, then adjust the exposed color, typography, and button settings to suit your brand. Style accents → Style can change the accent treatment without replacing your chosen fonts or custom global colors. Preview the result across your pages after combining these settings.

Can I have different colors on different sections?

Yes. Seventeen sections have a color_scheme setting (11 reusable sections plus the 6 signature heroes), each with the same 5 named schemes: Default, Editorial dark, Warm neutral, Accent pop, and Soft contrast. Default follows the store’s active palette: the Style’s colors plus any global colors you changed. See Color schemes.

Can I add a 6th preset?

Not directly through the Editor. The presets are defined in the theme’s config/settings_data.json presets map, with their per-preset color tokens restated in assets/tokens.css.liquid. A custom preset requires development outside standard theme support. A Shopify Partner can help with advanced customization. To suggest a built-in option, use the support form and choose Feature request.

Performance

My Lighthouse mobile score is low. Is that normal?

If you’re testing in the Theme Preview (the preview overlay you see in the Editor), yes — preview adds ~660 KB of overhead (preview-bar JS, checkout-web hooks, perf-kit, web-pixel-manager) that production storefronts don’t load. Test against the live storefront at https://your-store.myshopify.com, not the preview URL.

Use the live storefront, not Theme Preview, for meaningful performance checks. Archive the date, pages, device profile, network throttle, and reports before using exact Lighthouse numbers in public listing copy.

Why is my LCP image slow?

Two common causes:

The image is too large. Mercer auto-generates responsive srcsets, but the source image still affects byte size. Upload images at most 2000 × 2000 px; Shopify’s CDN handles smaller variants automatically.
The image is below the fold but you’ve configured it as a hero. Mercer eagerly loads the first 4 collection-card images and the hero section’s image. If your “hero” is actually a featured collection deep in the home page, it loads lazily, which delays its LCP if it ends up being the largest element.

Does Mercer support AVIF / WebP?

Yes. Mercer emits width-based responsive srcsets via Shopify’s image_url: width and image_tag (no format argument). Shopify’s CDN then content-negotiates AVIF / WebP per request via the visitor’s Accept header, serving the best format the browser supports.

Sections and blocks

Can I add a section to the header or footer?

Mercer’s header and footer are section groups with a fixed set of allowed sections: the header group contains the Header section, and the footer group contains the Footer and Mobile bottom navigation sections. (The announcement is a setting inside the Header section, and the country gate is a snippet rendered directly in the layout — neither is a section in these groups.) You can edit the sections within those groups, but you can’t add arbitrary sections to them.

If you need custom content above the header or below the footer, add a Custom Liquid section to the home page (or wherever you want it to appear) — it’ll render in the page area, between the header and footer.

Edit the Header section → Blocks → Add block, then pick Mega image, Mega collection, Mega product, or Mega promo. Set the block’s parent_link_url to the URL of a top-level menu link that has child links (or a unique fragment such as #women for a label-only parent) to attach it to that link’s desktop dropdown. See Header.

Can I render a section conditionally?

Yes, with Custom Liquid. Wrap your content in a {% if %} block:


{%- if request.locale.iso_code == 'en' -%}
  <p>This shows only to English-speaking visitors.</p>
{%- endif -%}

For more conditional rendering (per-customer-tag, per-cart-total, per-product-tag), see Custom Liquid.

How do I make a section appear only on mobile (or only on desktop)?

Mercer sections don’t have a per-section “Show on mobile / desktop” visibility setting. To target a single breakpoint, use a Custom Liquid block with CSS:


<style>
  @media (min-width: 768px) {
    .my-mobile-only-block { display: none; }
  }
</style>
 
<div class="my-mobile-only-block">
  Only renders on mobile.
</div>

Markets and B2B

How do I enable currency switching?

Set up your markets in Shopify admin → Markets with local currencies enabled. Mercer’s switcher (header, modal, or footer) automatically picks up the available markets.

Does Mercer support languages other than English?

Yes. Mercer ships French, German, Italian, and Spanish starter locale packs alongside English. Have a native-speaker review market-specific copy before going live. See Markets.

My switcher doesn’t render

Check Theme settings → Markets → Switcher style isn’t set to Off. Then check there’s something to switch to — the switcher renders once you have 2+ countries or 2+ published languages. A single-country, single-language store has nothing to switch to, so no switcher renders (a single-country store with multiple languages still shows the language picker). See Markets for the full troubleshooting list.

How do I gate B2B-only sections?

Mercer’s company/location switcher, B2B price-break table, and B2B-only quick order UI are gated to signed-in B2B customers. Quantity controls also honor the rules Shopify provides for the selected variant. There is no catalog selector: Shopify determines catalog access and pricing for the buyer’s active company location. Available B2B capabilities depend on your Shopify plan and setup .

For your own B2B-only content (e.g. a wholesale-specific Custom Liquid section), wrap it in:


{%- if customer and customer.b2b? -%}
  Wholesale-only content here.
{%- endif -%}

Customizing

Can I edit Mercer’s CSS directly?

You can. Back up the theme first and keep a record of your changes. Shopify can carry compatible code edits into an updated theme, but conflicting edits may need to be copied manually. Review the updated draft before publishing; see updating themes .

For one-off styling, use a Custom Liquid block with inline style tags. For systemic customization, override the design tokens via Theme settings → Colors / Buttons / Typography. If you need a setting that doesn’t exist, request it via support.

Can I add a new font?

The Theme Editor’s Theme settings → Typography font picker uses Shopify’s font library. Most webfonts in common use are available there. To switch to a font Mercer doesn’t ship with, just pick it from the picker. Mercer renders any Shopify font correctly.

If your brand requires a self-hosted custom font that’s not in Shopify’s library, you’ll need a custom theme modification. A Shopify Partner can help; this work is outside standard Mercer support.

Can I add a custom homepage layout?

Yes. The home page is composed in the Theme Editor — every section is rearrangeable. If the section you need doesn’t exist, use Custom Liquid (free-form HTML / Liquid) or contact us to request a new section type.

Can I have a different header on the product page?

Not directly through the Editor — Mercer ships one header group. For per-template header variations, you’d need a custom modification. A Shopify Partner can help with that work; it is outside standard Mercer support.

Gift cards and selling plans

How do I add a gift card to my catalog?

In Shopify admin, go to Products → Gift cards → Add a gift card product. Configure its denominations and publishing, then save the gift card product. Mercer detects Shopify’s native gift-card flag, product.gift_card?; setting an ordinary product’s type to “Gift card” does not enable the flow. See Gift cards and Shopify’s gift-card setup guide .

How do I add subscriptions?

Selling plans are managed in Shopify admin under Apps → [your subscription app] → Selling plans. Mercer renders the selling-plan picker on the PDP as a radio group below the variant picker. No merchant action required in the theme — Mercer reads product.selling_plan_groups from Shopify.

Why can’t customers quick-add gift cards or subscription products?

Mercer sends these products to the full product page instead of opening quick-add:

Gift cards — the recipient flow needs a full PDP.
Selling-plan-required products — the subscription terms need a full PDP, including when a loaded variant requires a selling plan.
Products with more than 50 variants, or variants that are not all loaded into the card — the compact picker cannot represent every choice reliably.

Click-through to the PDP works as expected. This gating is intentional and not configurable.

Accessibility

How does Mercer approach accessibility?

Mercer is built with WCAG 2.1 AA-oriented patterns. We use native form labels, focus-visible focus rings, prefers-reduced-motion respect, SR-only skip links, and explicit id + for pairing on inputs. Archive current accessibility reports before using exact scores in listing copy.

Full a11y is a partnership — your content matters too. Always set alt text on images, use heading levels in order, and don’t rely on color alone to convey meaning.

How do I set alt text for hero images?

Use the section’s alt-text field where one is provided, such as Image alt text in Image with text. Other image settings use the selected image’s alt metadata or a section-specific fallback. Edit the image’s alt text in Shopify and check the rendered page; not every image picker has a separate alt-text field. Keep purely decorative images’ alt text empty.

Does Mercer support reduced motion?

Yes. All animations respect prefers-reduced-motion: reduce. For visitors who prefer reduced motion, image hover transitions and slide-in overlays stop animating, slideshows don’t rotate automatically, and the sticky header still hides and reappears on scroll, without sliding.

SEO and analytics

Does Mercer ship structured data?

Yes. PDPs render JSON-LD product schema with name, image, price, brand, availability. Article pages render JSON-LD article schema. The home page adds Organization and WebSite data (store name, logo, social profiles, and a site-search action). Product, collection, blog, article, page, and search pages include BreadcrumbList data even when visible breadcrumbs are off, and the FAQ section can add FAQPage data. Search engines pick these up for Rich Results.

Mercer also renders OpenGraph + Twitter Card meta on every page. Check your page source under <meta property="og:*"> to verify.

How do I add Google Analytics / Meta Pixel / TikTok Pixel?

Use the provider’s Shopify app and its app pixel where available. Shopify manages pixels under Settings → Customer events. A developer can add a custom pixel there when an app integration isn’t suitable. Configure the pixel’s privacy permissions and test its behavior with your store’s customer-consent settings. See Shopify’s pixel guide .

Mercer has no analytics-ID setting. Avoid duplicating a provider’s tracking code in a Custom Liquid section when its pixel is already installed.

Does Mercer support Shop Pay?

Yes. The PDP renders a Shop Pay Installments banner when eligible. The cart and checkout pages render Shopify’s accelerated checkout buttons (Shop Pay, Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal) per your store’s payment configuration.

Update and changelog

How often does Mercer release updates?

The Changelog records the current development build and will identify published versions as they become available. There is no fixed release schedule. The versioning policy distinguishes fixes, additions, and breaking changes.

Published Mercer updates are available free through Shopify to licensed Theme Store customers when released. Custom-code migration and bespoke development are not included in theme support.

How do I update to a new Mercer version?

For a theme installed through the Shopify Theme Store, when Shopify offers an update:

Go to Online Store → Themes, open the theme’s version notification, and choose Add to draft themes.
Review the new draft’s update details. Theme-editor settings carry over, and compatible code edits can be included; conflicts may need manual copying.
Preview the draft, check your customizations and app integrations, then Publish when ready. Keep the previous theme as a backup.

Shopify offers updates only for themes installed from the Theme Store. A Mercer copy uploaded to a different store is unlicensed there and must be purchased from the Theme Store for that store before it can receive updates. See Shopify’s updating guide for eligibility and what carries over.

If anything is broken after the update, just publish the previous version from your library to roll back.

Support

How do I get help?

Documentation: you’re reading it. The full set is at mercertheme.com/docs.
Support contact: mercertheme.com/support — we reply within two business days. This is a first response, not a fixed resolution deadline. See the support policy for the business-day definition and urgent handling of critical defects.
Support policy: what is included, what is out of scope, and what to include in a ticket. Support is ongoing for licensed Mercer stores, without a 30-day cutoff.
Bug reports: include your store URL, the affected page, and a screenshot if visual.
Feature requests: use the support form and choose Feature request. Suggestions do not guarantee a feature or delivery date.

FAQ