"Now everybody knows code. It's called English."
On October 1, Shopify launched Canvas, a new theme editor built around Sidekick. Ben Sehl is Director of Product for Online Store at Shopify. He built themes as a partner, cofounded the clothing brand Kotn, and led Hydrogen from zero to one. Now he's replacing a theme editor that has worked for 15 years, and he says Canvas will be the only one in time.
Ben explains what Shopify rebuilt under the hood, who should use Canvas today and who should wait, and why he thinks agencies are worth more now than before AI.
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What you'll learn:
- Why Shopify rebuilt the editor instead of adding AI to the old one
- The artboard view: every page of your store on one screen
- How a client-side Liquid renderer lets you click any text and edit it where it lives
- Why Sidekick for big changes and direct edits for small ones
- Theme settings: why Horizon was peak settings, and why two or three variants per block is the new rule
- What happens to your theme, your JSON templates, and your GitHub sync when you switch
- Autosave, version history, and theme check before publish, built in
- What Canvas does not support yet: Theme Store themes, apps, and Markets
- Why Ben hired an agency for Kotn instead of using Canvas, and why he thinks AI makes agencies more valuable
- Shopify's zero-breaking-changes promise, back to store number one, Snowdevil
- The one prompt to try first: "redesign my store"
Guest: Ben Sehl, Director of Product, Online Store at Shopify. Cofounder of Kotn.
LINKS
Ben Sehl on X: https://x.com/benjaminsehl
Ben's site: https://sehl.ca
Kotn: https://kotn.com
Commerce-UI (Kotn's agency): https://commerce-ui.com
Introducing Canvas (Shopify): https://www.shopify.com/news/introducing-canvas
Canvas changelog: https://changelog.shopify.com/posts/design-a-fully-bespoke-store-with-canvas
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The Unofficial Shopify Podcast is hosted by Kurt Elster and explores the stories behind successful Shopify stores. Get actionable insights, practical strategies, and proven tactics from entrepreneurs who've built thriving ecommerce businesses.
