ProofmarkProofmark / Guides
How long do Shopify preview links last?
Short answer: a shareable Shopify preview link (a visitor preview on shopifypreview.com) expires 2 days after you create it. A merchant preview, the one that needs you to be logged in to the admin, lasts 30 days. That's from Shopify's Help Center, checked 17 October 2026.
Visitor previews vs merchant previews
When people say "preview link" they usually mean one of two things, and they expire on different schedules:
| Visitor preview | Merchant preview | |
|---|---|---|
| What it's for | Sharing with clients and anyone else | You and your staff |
| Address | https://<token>-<shop_id>.shopifypreview.com | Your primary domain with a token |
| Login needed | No | Yes, Shopify admin |
| Checkout | No | Yes |
| Expires | 2 days after it's created | 30 days after it's created |
So a link you share with a client is a visitor preview, and it lasts 2 days. The merchant preview's 30 days doesn't help a client, because they'd need access to your admin to open it.
Why do so many guides say 14 days?
They're out of date. A lot of forum answers and blog posts still quote 14 days, and some search results mention 24 hours or "2 to 3 days". Shopify's own documentation is the one to trust, and it currently says 2 days for visitor previews. Because this has changed before, check the date on whatever you're reading, including this page.
Can you make a preview link last longer?
Not with a setting: Shopify doesn't let you change how long a preview link lasts. What you can do:
- Generate a new link whenever you need one. Creating a new link doesn't break the ones you've already sent, so there's no harm in making a fresh one for each review round.
- Give long-term reviewers admin access. Staff and collaborator accounts can use merchant previews, which last 30 days, but that means giving the client access to your admin, which you usually don't want.
- Use the theme's preview address on your store's domain. Your store also opens an unpublished theme when the address carries a
preview_theme_idparameter, which is what many "link that never expires" tutorials rely on. Shopify's Help Center doesn't document it as a way to share previews, so test it on your store before you rely on it, especially if the store is in private mode or behind Cloudflare. - Use an app built for client review. More on that below.
What to tell clients
Most expired-link emails come from clients opening a link days after you sent it. Two habits help:
- Send the link when the client is ready to review, not when the theme is ready.
- Say in the email that the link works for 2 days, and that you're happy to send a fresh one.
Stop resending links altogether
Proofmark is a Shopify app for collecting client feedback on unpublished themes. It doesn't use Shopify's 2-day share links. You invite a client by email, their single-use sign-in link opens the preview theme directly, and they stay signed in for 30 days on that browser. Every comment email links them straight back to the spot on the preview.
While they're there, they click any element to leave a comment with a screenshot attached, and you reply and resolve it from your Shopify admin.
No more expired preview links
Free for one theme and two client reviewers. Paid plans include a 7-day trial.
Add Proofmark to Shopify, freeNext: How to share a Shopify theme preview with a client, including password-protected stores and the live-theme redirect.