You've just installed a new app on your Shopify store. You followed the setup guide, clicked all the right buttons, and now you're excited to see it live on your storefront. But… nothing’s there. No chat widget, no product badges, no pop-ups. It’s like the app disappeared into thin air.

Before you assume something went wrong with the app itself, there’s a good chance you simply missed one small—but crucial—step: enabling the app embed in your theme editor.

In this blog post, we’re going to walk both store owners and app developers through this often-overlooked step. Whether you’re trying to get your app running or helping your users do it, we’ve got you covered.

📌 For Shopify Store Owners — How to Enable Your Embedded App

Some Shopify apps integrate directly with your theme to add features like chat bubbles, floating widgets, pop-ups, or tracking scripts. These are called embedded apps, and Shopify requires you to manually enable them in your theme after installation. It’s a way to give you control over what shows up on your storefront.

Not all apps require this step—but if yours does, here’s how to get it working in just a few clicks.

🛠️ Step-by-Step: Enabling App Embeds in Shopify

1. Log in to Your Shopify Admin
   Go to your store’s admin dashboard.

2. Go to Online Store → Themes
   In the left-hand sidebar, click on Online Store, then Themes.

3. Click “Customize” on Your Active Theme
   This opens up the Shopify theme editor.

4. Open the App Embeds Panel
   Look for the App embeds icon in the sidebar (it often looks like a puzzle piece). Click it to see all the installed embedded apps.

5. Enable Your App

   • Find your app in the list.

   • Toggle the switch to ON.

   • (Optional) Click the ▸ icon to expand and customize settings if available.

6. Save Your Changes
   Don’t forget to hit the Save button! Your app should now appear on your storefront.

💡 Pro Tip: If you have multiple themes, you’ll need to repeat this for each one. But usually, you only need to do it for your active theme.

Still not sure if your app needs to be enabled this way? Check the app’s documentation or reach out to their support team.

🧑‍💻 Part 2: For Shopify App Developers — Make It Easier for Merchants

If you're building or maintaining a public app that uses theme embedding, you’ve probably heard this complaint:

"I installed the app, but nothing is showing up!"

This confusion is common, especially with merchants who are new to the Shopify theme editor. Fortunately, there’s a way to streamline this process using deep linking.

🔗 Use Deep Links to Take Users Directly to the Enablement Page

Instead of asking merchants to navigate through the admin manually, you can provide them with a direct link to the app embeds section in their theme editor. The format looks like this:

https://{shop domain}/admin/themes/current/editor?template=index&target=settings&context=apps.Copy

Just replace {shop domain} with the merchant’s actual store domain (e.g., my-store.myshopify.com), and you’ve got a shortcut that drops them right into the section they need.

✅ Why This Matters

• Saves time: No more sending users a list of 6 steps.

• Reduces support tickets: Fewer complaints about apps “not working.”

• Improves UX: The easier the setup, the better the experience—and retention.

If you include this deep link directly in your onboarding emails, admin banner, or in-app instructions, you’ll make life a lot easier for your users.

Wrapping Up

Whether you’re a merchant wondering why your app isn’t showing, or a developer trying to guide your users through setup, the key takeaway is this: embedded apps need to be enabled in the theme editor to appear on your store.

For store owners, it’s a quick fix.
For developers, it’s a quick win in UX.

Now that you know, go enable that app and get the full power of your Shopify tools in action!