Should you switch to Horizon?

Moving to Horizon isn't an update. It's a rebuild.

Horizon is Shopify's newest theme foundation. It arrived with the Summer '25 Edition, alongside a family of new free themes built on it. If your store runs on Dawn or another older theme, you may be wondering whether you need to move.

You have three realistic options: stay on your current theme (AI blocks now work there too), move to Horizon as part of a redesign or new store, or move to Horizon on its own. Below is what moving involves, what Horizon gets you, where to be careful, and what each option costs you in time and risk.

Why it's a rebuild, not an update

When a theme updates, your settings come with it. Moving to a different theme is another matter, and Horizon is a different theme, not a new version of Dawn.

Shopify's Help Center is clear about what moves and what doesn't when you switch themes:

• What stays: your products, collections, menus, pages and blog posts. These live in the admin, not the theme.
• What doesn't: everything you set up in the theme editor, the code editor and the language editor. That means section and block layouts, colours and fonts, wording changes, and any code customisations. You set them all up again in the new theme.

In August 2025, a Shopify staff member on the community forums said there was no migration tool or guide for moving from Dawn to Horizon, that Dawn is still fully supported, and that "there's no rush to migrate". They suggested Horizon makes most sense when you're redesigning anyway. Dawn is still on the Theme Store today and still getting updates.

So whichever option you pick, plan a move to Horizon like any redesign: built in a draft and tested before it goes live.

What's good about Horizon

Blocks you can move around yourself

Horizon is built on theme blocks. In older themes, each section came with its own blocks that only worked inside that section, one level deep. Theme blocks can be reused across sections and nested inside other blocks, according to Shopify's developer docs.

In plain terms: you can build more layouts yourself in the theme editor. Put a group of blocks side by side, drop a button inside a card, reuse the same block on different pages. Things that used to mean a developer and a custom section are often a few clicks.

If you like to make your own changes, that's the main practical difference.

It's Shopify's, and it's free

Horizon and its sister themes are made and supported by Shopify, and they're free.

AI blocks, with a catch

In the theme editor you can click Add block, then Generate, describe the block you want, and Shopify writes it for you. It launched with Horizon, which is why it's often sold as a reason to switch.

It's no longer specific to Horizon. Since December 2025, AI block generation works with every theme from the Shopify Theme Store, not just Horizon themes (it isn't available on vintage themes). And Shopify's own Help Center warns that generated code can contain errors or miss accessibility and performance best practices, and that neither Shopify Support nor theme developers will troubleshoot it. Useful for a quick promo block. Test it on your phone before you keep it.

Where it needs care

These are the things to test in a draft before you publish.

Your apps

Apps that add app blocks need re-adding in the new theme, block by block. Apps that edited your old theme's code directly won't come across at all. And some apps were built and tested against older themes, so check that each block looks right where you put it. There are developer forum reports of app blocks not sizing as expected in Horizon. That kind of problem is easier to find and fix in a draft than in front of customers.

The pieces you rely on

Your current theme might have a section, setting or customisation that Horizon doesn't have out of the box. Before you commit, list every section on your homepage, product page and collection page, and find its Horizon equivalent. Anything without one is either rebuilt, replaced with an app, or dropped.

Your real catalogue

Every theme looks good with demo products. Load Horizon with your own: your biggest collection, your filters, your product with the most variants, your longest product name. If you sell hundreds of products, spend most of your testing time on collections and search.

Too much freedom

Flexible blocks make it easy to build a page nobody else on the team can maintain. One way to avoid that is to agree a few layouts for each page type and reuse them. There's also a technical ceiling: a theme can hold up to 300 theme blocks, and AI-generated blocks count towards it.

Your three options

Option 1: stay on your current theme

• What it gets you: no rebuild, no retesting, nothing changes for your customers. Dawn is still supported and updated, and AI block generation works on any Theme Store theme.
• What it costs you: you keep the older section-by-section block model, so some layout changes still need a developer or an app.
• Fits when: the store is working, your current theme does what you need, and you'd rather spend the time elsewhere.

Option 2: move to Horizon as part of a redesign or new store

• What it gets you: theme blocks you can arrange yourself, a theme made and supported by Shopify, and a fresh start without old code patches.
• What it costs you: a rebuild of everything in the theme editor, re-adding and testing every app block, and time to test with your real catalogue.
• Fits when: you're starting a new store, you were already planning a redesign, or your current theme is a vintage theme or so patched that every change feels risky.

Option 3: move to Horizon on its own

• What it gets you: the same benefits as option 2, sooner.
• What it costs you: the same rebuild and testing as option 2, but without the redesign that would usually justify that effort.
• Fits when: you want to make layout changes yourself and the theme is what's stopping you, and you have the time to rebuild and test properly.

Whichever you choose, think about timing. Publishing a new theme close to your biggest sales weeks leaves less room to catch problems; a quieter week gives you time to watch the numbers and switch back if needed.

How to switch safely

1. Add Horizon as a draft. In Online Store → Themes, add it from the Theme Store and leave it unpublished. Your live store doesn't change.
2. Take an inventory. Templates, sections, apps, code customisations and translated wording on your current theme.
3. Rebuild in the draft. Colours, fonts, layouts and wording, page by page.
4. Re-add and test every app block.
5. Buy something on your phone in the draft preview, all the way to checkout. Check that shipping costs, delivery times and payment options match what your live store shows.
6. Publish in a quiet week. Your old theme stays in your draft themes, so you can switch back if something's wrong.
7. Watch your funnel. In Analytics → Reports → Conversion rate breakdown, with the Human or bot session filter set to Human, compare the weeks before and after. Sessions are calculated differently from 21 September 2026, so keep both periods after that date. If orders drop but adds to cart don't, add to cart but no sales covers where to look.

What to do next

1. Decide which of the three options fits: stay, move with a redesign, or move on its own. Dawn is still supported, so staying is a real option.
2. If you're moving, list your sections and apps, and check each has a home in Horizon.
3. Build and test in a draft, with your real products, on your phone.
4. Publish in a week when you can watch the store closely.
5. Compare the funnel before and after, with the Human filter on.

If you'd like a second pair of eyes on which option fits your store, talk to us. If a redesign is on the table, our prices are public.