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Client Self‑customization Guidelines

This document provides a set of best practices and a clear workflow for Boost Commerce clients who wish to perform self-customization on their Shopify theme integration with Boost AI Search & Discovery.

Thomas Ta avatar
Written by Thomas Ta
Updated this week

Use the official docs first

Check out these detailed guidelines below to help you customize and manage your store setup before filing a request:

Work with Boost Support

If you need help during self-customization, here's how we'll assist you.

Initial contact & Self-help

  • Support first shares the technical guidelines from our official sources to try.

  • If none of them works, please reply with details about what you tried and what happened so we can assist further.

Request Clarification and Approval

  • We may request screenshots or a screen recording to triage the issue and, if needed, escalate to our technical teams.

  • For complex work, we’ll provide a quote outlining scope, fees, and timeline before we start.

⚠️ Some requests may be declined due to technical limits or product-roadmap alignment.

Implementation and Deployment

  • We work on a duplicated theme (dev‑theme) and only commit changes to your live theme after you approve them.

  • Please test the demo/preview carefully before approving.

    • Your demo will include the theme name, a preview link, and a screenshot (or video) for review.

Best practices

Always use a duplicated theme

  • All development should be done on a dev‑theme; move code to live‑theme only after testing and approval.

Organize custom code for traceability

Please wrap every custom function with markers, for example: 

/* start-[team]-YOUR_TICKET_ID */
…your custom code…
/* end-[team]-YOUR_TICKET_ID */

Code change on theme

When working with theme customization, your custom code should be organized within the dev-theme folder using the following structure for clarity and proper deployment:

  • dev-theme: If you implement a new feature on a duplicated theme, a sub-folder should be created under dev-theme with the name of the theme's ID (themeID).

    • themeID1 (e.g., 1245678903)

      • assets

        • boost-pfs-filter.js

        • boost-pfs-custom.css.liquid

      • sections

        • collection-template.liquid

    • themeID2 (e.g., 7954858245)

      • ...

  • live-theme: This folder represents your current published theme. By default, you should commit final code here.

    • assets

      • boost-pfs-filter.js

      • boost-pfs-custom.css.liquid

      • ...

    • sections

      • collection-template.liquid

      • ...

Code change on Boost template

  • Since the custom code for the Boost Turbo is stored in templates that can be shared across multiple store themes, standardizing code changes handling to prevent conflicts and stabilize production environments is required.

  • You must never work directly on the template currently assigned to the live theme. Instead, you must first duplicate the live template and perform all your development work on the new working template.

  • Example:

⚠️ Important note

If multiple developers contribute, you should verify a code block is not from Boost or another party before deleting it. Unauthorised removal is treated as a new, chargeable request.

FAQs

I've received a fix/customization from the Boost team. What should I do to ensure the change is permanent?

After our TS/Engineering team implements a fix or customization, please check the changes immediately on the provided dev-theme preview link. Crucially, do not make any further edits to the code of that specific theme until you have confirmed the fix is successful and the changes have been deployed to your live-theme.

What happens if I accidentally remove or modify the code implemented by the Boost team and it causes an issue?

We understand that theme development can be complex, and accidental code changes happen. If the code previously implemented by our team is removed or modified by you or a third-party developer, causing a subsequent issue, the work required to fix and re-implement the solution will unfortunately trigger a full request cycle again. This process includes:

  • Re-scoping and clarification of the current theme state.

  • Generating a new quote for the work (which may be subject to a fee).

  • Establishing a new implementation timeline.

To avoid this, we highly recommend making all subsequent theme edits on a separate duplicated theme and communicating any planned code changes to us.

I want to continue customizing my theme after Boost has implemented their changes. How should I proceed?

We strongly recommend that any subsequent code edits you wish to make should be done on a newly duplicated theme (a separate dev-theme). This best practice ensures that your changes do not conflict with or accidentally overwrite the code implemented by our TS team, maintaining a stable version of the working theme.

I customized my theme myself and caused an error (e.g., app malfunction, layout breaks). Can Boost Support fix it?

If an issue is caused by your own theme customization:

  • You should first attempt to revert the theme to its original state to resolve the error immediately.

  • If you request our Support team to fix the error stemming from your self-customization, it will be considered a Customization Request.

I need a fix/customization done urgently (ASAP). How does the Boost team prioritize requests?

We understand that every request is important. However, we prioritize stability first:

  • Critical issues on the Live Theme (e.g., app completely breaking key functions) will be given the highest priority.

  • All other requests (customization, non-critical issues on the development theme, self-customization fixes) will be placed in the standard queue.

  • Our team will notify you of the expected timeline after thoroughly checking the request and its complexity.

I have an idea for a new feature (e.g., new functionality beyond UI/UX changes). Is this handled as a customization?

  • Customization: Primarily focuses on adjusting the UI/UX theme layout and integration of existing app features.

  • Feature Request: Involves building new app functionality or logic. These requests will be considered for inclusion in our Product Roadmap for future development, rather than being treated as a one-off customization request. Our Customer Success team is always there to support you to proceed with this request.

After the Boost team sends a demo, how long do I have to review the changes? What happens if I don't respond?

We need your confirmation to proceed with the final step (deployment/closing the ticket).

  • After sending the implementation/fix demo, the agent will follow up.

  • If we do not receive a response or confirmation within 3 Working Days, the ticket will be considered Completed.

  • If you respond after this period, any required work (even the final deployment) will be treated as a New Request, triggering the process from the start to ensure we review the current theme status.

Feel free to reach out to our dedicated support team via chat if you have any questions or require additional assistance.

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