I have searched previous discussions around this question and have tried adding some padding codes but they are not working. I get this message when I click Save. “Online store editor session can’t be published” Shopify help chat tells me to make sure there are no limitations within the theme. I need help with working out if that is the problem please!
Hello @SusanCoolahan
That “can’t be published” message almost always means the theme editor ran into something it couldn’t understand in your code—usually a tiny typo or a schema mismatch—so it simply refuses to push any of your changes live. Here’s what I recommend:
- Start by opening your theme’s code editor and scanning for any red underlines or alerts—missing semicolons, unclosed braces in your CSS, or a trailing comma in a section’s JSON schema will break the parser.
- If everything looks fine but you still can’t save, duplicate the theme and try applying that same padding tweak there; if it works on the copy, you know the live theme has a hidden syntax error somewhere.
- Finally, open your browser console (right-click → Inspect → Console) while you hit “Save” in the editor—Shopify will often dump a parsing error and line number there.
- Fix the exact issue it flags, and your padding change will publish without a hitch.