I am new w shopify & wanting to create an online store using Glint template. When I pull in the template, it doesn’t look anything like the template. I have to enter all the menu items, change the font, add buttons, edit everything… could this be right? It seems so much work & I bought the template to speed up the process. Am I missing something? I have not paid for a plan since I am trying out the templates. Is that why I am not seeing the full template?
What you’re seeing is a “floor model” of the theme (What it could look like). Yes, you actually do need to do the work. The theme doesn’t magically have everything you want… You need to create products. You need to create menus. You need to upload images and videos. All of those are done in Shopify Admin not the theme. After you create your menus, and add your products, and upload your images, you add them to the theme.
Hey @tddesign
You’re not missing anything and nothing is broken, this is just how Shopify themes work, and the trial has nothing to do with it. A theme gives you the design and structure, but it does not arrive pre-filled with the demo’s products, images, menu, or text. That demo on the theme listing is built with sample content that doesn’t copy over to your store, so yours loads empty, which is why you’re seeing “My Store 6,” the default menu, and those placeholder line drawings instead of real products. So yes, adding your own products, menu items, logo, colors, and content is normal for every theme, not just Glint, the theme is a starting framework, not a finished store.
Once you add real products with real photos, those placeholder images disappear on their own. If the full setup feels like more than you want to take on starting out, that’s exactly the kind of thing I do, getting a theme looking like its demo and set up properly, so happy to help if you’d rather not wrestle with it.
Hope that helps! If it did, a Like and Marking it as Solution goes a long way and helps others find the fix faster too.
Best,
Moeed
Yes, you have to do the work. I just switched themes from a free one to a paid one. I spent quite a few hours doing that yesterday. It’s definitely work. If you get stuck I highly recommend utilizing the AI feature. I have had to edit a ton of things on both templates including codes. It’s been quite the adventure honestly but you definitely have to put in the work especially if you are just starting out. Best of luck to you! 
Hi @tddesign ,
Theme demos use sample images/text that aren’t included when you install (mostly licensing reasons), so you start with placeholder sketches until you add your own. Setting up menus, fonts, and images is normal - not a bug. And the trial lets you fully customize; you only pay when you publish.
For Glint: the ANEW Themes version includes a PDF setup guide and an optional “Theme + Demo Install” package. Check your download for that guide, or ask the seller’s support. Need free images? Try Shopify’s Burst or Pexels/Unsplash.
Once your products and images are in, it’ll look like a real store fast.
a theme only gives you the design (layout, fonts, colors). It doesn’t include the menus, products, text, or images. The pretty demo you saw was filled in with sample content by the developers to show what’s possible your store starts empty
yeah that’s the biggest misconception with shopify themes. what you’re buying is the layout and design framework, not a finished store. every theme ships with placeholder content you swap out with your own stuff. it’s not a plan issue either, trial or paid you’d see the same thing.
the fastest way to get through it is to start with just your products and logo. get those uploaded first and the store will immediately start looking like yours instead of the demo. the menus, fonts, and button tweaks are way easier once you can see your actual products on the pages.
The theme does include images and products. It has features only, so after installing the theme, you will need to customize it yourself.
This trips up almost everyone: the template preview you saw is a demo filled with the theme maker’s sample content. When you install it, you get the empty structure and have to add your own images, menus, and text, which is why it looks nothing like the preview. Fastest path: open the theme editor (Online Store → Themes → Customize) and work top to bottom, one section at a time: banner image and heading first, then your featured products, then menus under Online Store → Navigation. Two tips that save hours: set your brand colors and fonts once in Theme settings (paintbrush icon) instead of per-section, and use the demo store as a reference tab so you can copy its layout choices. It’s genuinely about 2 focused evenings of work, not the 10 minutes the preview implies