Your first 30 minutes: install the theme, put your name on it, and get the shape of the site right before you add a single dish.
Before you change anything: make a copy #
In Shopify: Online Store → Themes
Find your theme in the list, click the ⋯ button and
choose Duplicate. Work on the copy. When you are happy with
it, click Publish and the copy becomes your live site.
This is the single habit that makes every other mistake undoable. If
something goes wrong, your live site was never touched.
Careful
Do this every time you are about to make a big change — not just today.
It takes five seconds and it has saved a lot of Saturdays.
Open the editor #
In Shopify: Online Store → Themes → Customise
This is where you will spend most of your time. The middle is a preview
of your site. The left is a list of the bands that make up the page you are
looking at. The right is the settings for whatever you have selected.
At the top there is a dropdown that says Home page. That
is how you move between pages — your menu, a dish, your cart — while staying
in the editor.
Add your logo #
In the editor: Theme settings → Logo
Upload your logo. A PNG or SVG with a see-through background works
best, because the header sits over a photograph.Set Logo width. Around 200 pixels suits a name
written out; less suits a single symbol.If you have no logo yet, leave it empty — your shop name is shown
instead, and it looks fine.
Set up your menus #
In Shopify: Online Store → Navigation → Main menu
This is the row of links across the top of your site. A restaurant
usually wants something close to this:
| Link name | Where it goes |
|---|---|
| Home | Your home page |
| Menu | Collections — this shows every course on one page |
| About | Your about page |
| Chefs | Your chefs page |
| Book a table | Your booking page |
| Contact | Your contact page |
Example
To make the Menu link: click Add menu item,
type Menu as the name, click the link box, choose
Collections, and pick All collections. That one
link now shows every course you make, in one page, forever — you never have
to come back and update it.
You can nest links to make a dropdown: drag one item slightly to the
right underneath another.
The button in the corner #
In the editor: Header
The header has one bright button on the right. It is set to
Book a table and points at your booking page. Change the words in
Button label and the destination in Button
link — some restaurants use it for Order now instead.
Two other settings here are worth knowing:
- Stick to top when scrolling keeps the header visible
as people scroll. Most restaurants want this on. - Overlay the section below draws the header
over the first band instead of above it. It looks best when your
home page opens with a large photograph, which it does by default.
Your footer #
In the editor: Footer
Add a second menu here for the small links at the bottom — opening hours,
privacy, delivery areas. Add a Social link block for each
place people can follow you; only the ones you fill in are shown.
The newsletter box can be switched off if you do not send one. Leaving it
on and never sending anything is worse than not having it.
