Make Shopify work offline
InstantPWA hosts a fallback service worker and manifest for Shopify, so pages you've already visited keep working offline without you writing cache logic yourself. Add the snippet to layout/theme.liquid via Online Store → Themes → Edit code → layout/theme.liquid and the worker registers automatically on first visit.
Steps
- 1
Open layout/theme.liquid
Go to Online Store → Themes → Edit code → layout/theme.liquid.
- 2
Paste the InstantPWA snippet
Drop the one-line async script tag in the Shopify head section — no build step or dependency install.
- 3
Let the service worker register
No manifest.json or sw.js to write — InstantPWA serves both and scopes the worker to your site's root.
- 4
Test offline mode
Visit a page once, then use DevTools → Network → Offline (or airplane mode on a phone) and reload to confirm cached pages still render.
- 5
Verify on a phone
Open your live Shopify URL on a mobile device (not the editor preview) to confirm the popup renders.
Constraints to know
- Runs on Basic, Shopify and Plus plans; theme.liquid edits are per-theme, so duplicate to any duplicate/backup themes too.
- Checkout.liquid is deprecated for script injection — Shopify now restricts checkout customization to Shopify Functions and the Script Editor app, so InstantPWA targets the storefront, not the hosted checkout.
FAQ
Do I need to write my own service worker?+
No — InstantPWA hosts a fallback manifest and service worker automatically if your site doesn't already ship one.
What happens to pages I haven't visited yet?+
They won't be available offline until visited at least once — InstantPWA caches on-visit rather than pre-caching your entire site.
Does offline mode change how Shopify serves pages normally?+
No — the service worker only intercepts requests when the browser is offline; online visits behave exactly as before.