Themes Customer Portal FAQ

The new Themes Customer Portal was built to supercharge your business through churn reduction and improve the experience of your customers on any device. This article goes through common questions we've received over the beta and since releasing our first theme Novum. See the dedicated Themes Customer Portal article for general information.

Sections

• What is the difference between Themes Customer Portal and the Novum theme?
• What’s the difference between the Theme Editor and the Themes Customer Portal?
• Should I use Novum on Themes or Novum on PRO Theme Engine?
• Can I add or remove features from Novum?
• Can merchants translate content in the Themes Customer Portal?
• When I click "Preview theme", the customer used is not the one I want to test with. Can I select a different customer?
• I just switched to "Themes - Novum" and now the manage subscriptions link is going to the wrong customer portal.
• Why isn’t my Shopify discount code working in the customer portal?
• Which products can I display in the Toss these in section?
• What's the difference between one-time products and add-on products?

What is the difference between Themes Customer Portal and the Novum theme?

The Themes Customer Portal is a revamp of the Standard Customer Portal available to all merchants. Similar to how you can select different stylings for your Shopify store through themes, the Novum theme is the specific style of theme you can choose to apply to the Themes Customer Portal.

At this point, we only offer the one theme option - Novum - which is why the terms may appear interchangeable. In the future, we will add additional themes that can be selected when using the Themes Customer Portal.

What’s the difference between the Theme Editor and the Themes Customer Portal?

The Theme Editor, powered by the Theme Engine, is a feature available to all Pro merchants. It gives users the ability to completely customize the Customer Portal experience including new functionality using custom coding.

The Theme Editor is not required to access or activate the Themes Customer Portal and Novum theme. However, if you do have access to the Theme Editor, you can select and customize the Novum theme files by clicking Create new theme in the Theme Editor.

Should I use Novum on Themes or Novum on PRO Theme Engine?

The PRO Theme Engine is available for ReCharge PRO customers. Here's a quick comparison between Novum on Themes and Novum on Theme Engine so you know which option is better suited for your business needs.

If you want to heavily customize your theme with the way it looks and feels, integrations, or custom flows then PRO Theme Engine is the answer for you. If light customization is all you need, Themes is the way to go. Themes is ready for action right out of the box.

Can I add or remove features from Novum?

Themes Customer Portal uses a standard font and color scheme across all stores. All merchants have the ability to adjust the styling through CSS to match their existing Shopify theme.

In order to change the functionality or layout of the Novum theme, you will need to be on the ReCharge Pro plan and enrolled in the Theme Editor.

Can merchants translate content in the Themes Customer Portal?

At this time, the Settings > Translation section of ReCharge is not compatible with the Novum theme of the Themes Customer Portal. 

When I click "Preview theme", the customer used is not the one I want to test with. Can I select a different customer?

Each time you preview the Novum theme, it displays a random subscriber of your store to use as an example. You can preview a specific customer by opening up the Novum theme then copying the customer hash and token into the URL.

1. Open up ReCharge, click Settings and Customer Portal
2. Next to Customer Portal, you will a few radio buttons. Select Themes BETA, and Preview theme. This will load a preview of a random customer with the URL: https://STORE_URL/tools/recurring/portal/CUSTOMER_HASH/subscriptions?token=CUSTOMER_TOKEN&preview_standard_theme=2. We need to replace the Customer_Hash and the Customer_Token.
3. Keep the Novum tab open, and open ReCharge up in a second tab.
4. Click on Customers in the header menu and search for the customer you want to use for the test.
5. Click on the test customer's name. The Customer_Hash will be in the URL, right after /customers/. In the example https://STORE_URL/admin/customers/94dce2d6b50ecebc/subscriptions/, 94dce2d6b50ecebc is the hash. Leave both tabs open, copy the Customer_Hash and replace it in the Novum preview URL.
6. We can get the Customer_Token on the customer page as well. Next to the customer name, there will be a hyperlink icon. If you hover it, a popup will allow you to see and copy the current customer portal link for that customer.
7. Copy that URL and paste it into a new tab or a word processor. Copy the Customer_Token from the URL, it will be located after ?token=, and replace the Customer_Token in the Novum preview tab. Hit Enter on your keyboard and it should refresh the Novum preview with your chosen customer.

I just switched to "Themes - Novum" and now the manage subscriptions link is going to the wrong customer portal.

The new Themes Customer Portal has a different URL to the legacy portal. Any links you may have hardcoded into email notifications, 3rd party integrations, and Shopify account liquid files directing your customers to the portal and their subscriptions will need to be updated with the Themes Portal URL.

The Themes Customer Portal uses a new URL structure.

The new Themes Customer Portal has a different URL to the legacy portal. Any links you may have hardcoded into email notifications and Shopify account liquid files directing your customers to the portal and their subscriptions will need to be updated with the Themes Portal URL.

The Themes Customer Portal uses a new URL structure.

/portal/CUSTOMER_HASH/subscriptions?token=CUSTOMER_TOKEN

Why isn’t my Shopify discount code working in the customer portal?

The discount codes that are used in any ReCharge customer portal must exist in ReCharge. If they only exist in Shopify, they won't work in the ReCharge customer portals.

Which products can I display in the Toss these in section?

Open up ReCharge and go to Settings and Customer Portal. There’s an option called Products available for purchase on the customer portal.

There are two options available, these affect the products your customers see in the customer portal.

• All ReCharge products: Your customer portal will offer subscription products that are attached to ReCharge rulesets.
• All ReCharge & Shopify Products: This option allows the customer to add every product you have available in your Shopify store, regardless of whether they are part of a ReCharge subscription ruleset. If the product is only available in Shopify, the customer will only be able to purchase it as a one-time add-on item.

What's the difference between one-time products and add-on products?

Both one-time products and add-on products are single purchases instead of recurring subscriptions. 

• One-time products are independent of any subscriptions and can form their own order.
• Add-on products are dependant or attached to a subscription. They are additional items that customers can add onto an existing order.