How to generate a Shopify theme preview link that never expires

Tomas Janu

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April 16, 2024

How to generate a Shopify theme preview link that never expires

Discover a secret tip for generating a theme preview URL that never expires. Step-by-step guide, including screenshots.

How to generate a Shopify theme preview link that never expires

Shopify has a default way of generating preview links, which works great. However, the link is only valid for two days. We often shared a link with a client or internal team, and by the time the other party got to it, it had already expired and didn't work.

However, there is a small "hack" you can use to generate a preview link that never expires.

  1. Go to your store admin > Sales channels > Online store > Themes
  2. Find the theme you want to share in the preview and click on the three dots
  3. Right-click on Preview and select "Copy Link Address"
  4. Share the copied URL with the other party
Generating the theme preview link from Shopify admin
Generating the theme preview link from Shopify admin

The only drawback is the previewed theme can't be the one that is live. It needs to be any theme from your theme library.

Explanation: Why is the preview URL working forever

There are two URLs when it comes to theme previews:

  • The default one, which looks like your-store.com/?_ab=0&_fd=0&_sc=1 and expires in two days
  • The one that generates the default one and looks like your-store.com/en?_ab=0&_fd=0&_sc=1&preview_theme_id=144381078155

The second one actually generates the first one. So once it is entered into the browser, the preview link is generated from scratch and works forever.

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Tomas Janu

Tom loves writing about upselling, conversion optimization, and e-commerce trends. He is one of our co-founders, and you can sometimes talk to him if you contact our support team. Make sure to follow him on LinkedIn for more Shopify-related tips and news.
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