Hello! I received an email stating I was using an unlicensed version of a purchasable them from Archetype themes. I paid to have someone create my store and I can’t reach the person. I don’t see any option to pay for the theme I’m currently using. I’d like to keep my theme and just pay for the licensed version of it, but I don’t see an option to do that. Can someone point me in the right direction, please? I’m not tech savvy so I’m already overwhelmed with where to start to fix this. Thx
Hi, @MrsDHall2014 .
Thanks for reaching out. I definitely hear your concerns and can understand how overwhelming this situation can be.
What’s the name of the theme you’d like to keep using? We have a list of Archetype-made themes on our Shopify Theme Store here — do you see the one you’re currently using on the list?
If you do, you can click on the Try theme button and it’ll prompt you to login to your Shopify account (if not already) to add the theme to your store. If you have multiple accounts, please make sure that you login to the correct account so that the theme can be added to the right store. From there, click Add latest theme version. The theme will then be added onto your Theme library, and you can click Buy to purchase the theme.
Alternatively, you can also purchase the theme directly from your Shopify admin by following the steps listed on this guide. For more information on adding and purchasing a theme, we also have this document that you can reference. If you’re still having issues with locating or purchasing the theme on your end however, you can contact our live support team so that we can further assist you with this.
To get in touch with our team, you’ll need to login to your store via the Shopify Help Center here. Once logged in, select a topic that best fits your query or situation. From there, you’ll be taken to a page with a list of relevant support articles, and you can scroll to the bottom of that page to select your preferred contact method with our team.
Was the developer or designer who created your store a registered Shopify Partner? The reason that I ask is because Shopify Partners have best practices that need to be followed when using a third-party theme on a client’s store, which I’ll detail below.
If code work on the third-party theme is needed:
- The Partner should add their credit card to the store’s billing information.
- The Partner will invoice the client for the cost of the theme. Please note that this invoicing is done external to Shopify.
- When the development store transfer is initiated, the Partner’s credit card information will be removed automatically.
If code work is not needed, however:
- The Partner can then install the theme as a trial and customize as needed.
- When the store is transferred, the merchant can then pay for and publish the theme.
You can read more about this on our help guide here.
For more information, themes are meant to be for single-use only, so a Shopify Partner cannot purchase a theme on one store and to then install that theme on another store. We’ve outlined this in our Terms of Service on Section 9.4 here, and it’s important that Partners follow specific steps to provide a paid theme for their client. If you suspect that a Partner working on your store has been distributing themes without a license, your next step here is to contact our live support team so that we can further investigate the situation from our end.
Merchant can pay for the theme and gain a license to use it, but they will have to start over in customizing the template.
To clarify, a new purchase will not affect the existing version of your theme. The purchase will assign a valid theme license to your store account, but you should also be able to continue using your existing theme version as normal.
Along with a valid license, you’ll also be eligible for support from the theme developers and for vital theme updates.