Welcome to Akira
Akira is a Shopify OS 2.0 theme built around three ready-made presets – Akira, Bloom, and Noir – and over 50 sections that share a consistent settings pattern. This guide covers what to know before you start customizing.
Back up before you edit
Before you install a new app or start editing theme code, duplicate your live theme from Online Store → Themes → Actions → Duplicate. Make every change on the duplicate first, preview it, and only publish once you're happy with the result. This is the single best habit for avoiding accidental downtime on a live store.
Settings patterns repeat across sections
Once you've customized one section in Akira, most of the others will already feel familiar. Every section that supports it includes:
- A color scheme picker – pulls from the color schemes you define once in Theme Settings, so a single palette update can restyle the whole store.
- Top and bottom padding sliders – measured in pixels, so spacing stays consistent whether you're editing a hero banner or a testimonials grid.
- Heading and subheading fields – using the terms "heading" and "subheading" consistently, never "title" or "sub-heading".
Learn the pattern once in Color schemes and Layout & spacing, and you'll be able to predict how any new section behaves before you even open its settings panel.
Start with a preset, then adjust
Rather than building a homepage from a blank section list, start from whichever of the three included presets is closest to your brand, then swap images, copy, and colors. See Choosing a preset for a breakdown of what each one is built for.
Tip: Use the "Color scheme" notes field in Theme Settings to jot down which scheme you're using for which purpose (e.g. "Scheme 2 = dark sections only"). It's a small habit that saves real time once a store has 15+ sections in play.
Where to go next
The rest of this documentation is organized the way you'll actually use it:
- Sections – every section explained: what it's for, its full settings table, and its available blocks.
- Pages & Templates – how the product, collection, cart, and account pages are put together.
- Theme Settings – the global controls: typography, color schemes, cart behavior, and SEO.
- General – feature-specific guides for selling plans, unit pricing, accelerated checkout, localization, accessibility, and performance.
If you get stuck on anything not covered here, reach out through our contact page and we'll help directly.