# How stores, themes, and design elements relate Source: https://support.storeconnect.com/articles/how-stores-themes-and-design-relate · Last modified 21 August 2026 Several different records decide how a StoreConnect storefront looks, and they are not arranged in one chain. A theme controls the markup. Pages and content blocks hold the words and images. Menus hold navigation. The **Store** record ties them together and overrides pieces of them. Use this article to work out which record to change to affect a given part of a page, and to understand why a setting you expect to find on the theme is on the store instead. ## The store is the hub Everything starts at the [Store](store-object-reference) record. It points at one theme, and separately at the individual records that fill in the parts of the page the theme leaves open. ``` Store ├── Theme_Id__c ─────────────► Theme ├── Header_Menu_Id__c ───────► Menu ├── Footer_Menu_Id__c ───────► Menu ├── Home_Page_Id__c ─────────► Page ├── Terms_Page_Id__c ────────► Page ├── Header_Content_Block_Id__c ──► Content Block ├── Footer_Content_Block_Id__c ──► Content Block ├── Head_Content_Block_Id__c ────► Content Block ├── Body_Content_Block_Id__c ────► Content Block ├── Logo_Id__c / Favicon_Id__c / Social_Image_Id__c ──► Media └── Product_Placeholder_Id__c / Category_Placeholder_Id__c ──► Media ``` This is the part that surprises people. The header and footer are not theme files; they are content blocks selected on the store. Two stores can share a theme and still have different headers, and changing the header on one store does not touch the other. ## The theme owns the markup A [Theme](theme-object-reference) record is almost empty by itself. It has a name and little else. What matters are the four kinds of record that point at it: | Record | Holds | Article | |--------|-------|---------| | **Theme Template** | Liquid markup, one record per template, identified by **Key** | [Theme Template](theme-template-object-reference) | | **Theme Asset** | CSS, JavaScript, fonts, and images | [Theme Asset](theme-asset-object-reference) | | **Theme Variable** | Key-value settings the templates read | [Theme Variable](theme-variable-object-reference) | | **Theme Locale** | Translation strings | [Theme Locale](theme-locale-object-reference) | All four carry a `s_c__Theme_Id__c` lookup. That is the whole theme model: the **Theme** record is a container, and its content lives in the records pointing back at it. A theme does not need to be complete. Any template it does not supply falls back to the built-in base theme, which is why a brand-new theme renders a working storefront. See [theme structure](theme-structure) for the template keys and how that fallback resolves. ## Pages and content blocks A [Page](page-object-reference) holds a route and its own body. Content blocks are the reusable pieces placed onto it, and they attach through a junction rather than a direct field: ``` Page ◄── Content Block Page ──► Content Block ◄── Content Block Child ──► Content Block ``` Looking at [Content Block](content-block-object-reference) alone, you will find lookups to **Media** and nothing pointing at a page. The placement lives on [Content Block Page](content-blocks-pages-object-reference), one record per block-on-a-page, each with its own **Position**. The same block can therefore appear on many pages in a different order on each. The same pattern attaches blocks to products, categories, and articles, and [Content Block Child](content-blocks-children-object-reference) nests blocks inside other blocks. [Junction objects](junction-objects) explains the pattern and lists them all. ## Menus, styles, and scripts [Menu](menu-object-reference) records hold [Menu Item](menu-item-object-reference) records, and a menu item can nest inside another menu item to build a dropdown. The store chooses which menu is the header and which is the footer. [Style Block](style-block-object-reference) and [Script Block](script-block-object-reference) both attach to the **Store**, not the theme. They are how you add CSS or JavaScript to one store without editing a shared theme. ## Which record do I change? | To change | Edit | |-----------|------| | Page structure and markup | A **Theme Template** on the theme | | Colors, fonts, spacing | A **Theme Asset** (`theme-supplement.css`), or a **Style Block** for one store | | Text or images in a page region | The **Content Block** placed there | | What appears in the header or footer | The content block the **Store** points at | | Navigation links | The **Menu** the store points at, and its **Menu Items** | | Wording of a built-in label | A **Theme Locale** on the theme | | A setting a template reads | A **Theme Variable** on the theme | | Logo, favicon, placeholder images | The **Media** records the **Store** points at | | Which theme a store uses | **Theme** on the **Store** record | ## Why the split matters Themes are shared; stores are not. Anything that should differ between two stores running the same theme has to live on the store, which is why the header content block, menus, logo, and style blocks are all store-level. Anything that defines how the storefront is built lives on the theme, so improving a template improves every store using it. When you are deciding where to put something, ask whether a second store on the same theme should get it automatically. If yes, it belongs on the theme. If no, it belongs on the store. You should now be able to take any visible part of a storefront and name the record that controls it, and use the **Referenced by** table on any object reference article to see what else points at it. --- ## Follow StoreConnect - [Email Newsletter](https://getstoreconnect.com/c/lp-newsletter) - [LinkedIn Newsletter](https://www.linkedin.com/build-relation/newsletter-follow?entityUrn=7444956928444862464) - [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCngKdP2x8l1wcbAKW3tvU8g) - [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/storeconnect) - [X / Twitter](https://x.com/storeconnecthq) ## Popular Links - [Partners](https://getstoreconnect.com/partners) - [News](https://getstoreconnect.com/articles/news) - [Events](https://getstoreconnect.com/articles/events) - [Feature Comparison](https://getstoreconnect.com/how-we-compare) - [Download a free trial](https://appexchange.salesforce.com/appxListingDetail?listingId=a0N3A00000FMkeKUAT) - [Book a Demo](https://getstoreconnect.com/contact) ## Documentation - [Help documentation](https://support.storeconnect.com/help-documentation) - [AI agents](https://support.storeconnect.com/ai) - [Videos & tutorials](https://support.storeconnect.com/videos-tutorials) - [Developer reference](https://support.storeconnect.com/developer-reference) - [Release notes](https://support.storeconnect.com/release-notes) - [Troubleshooting](https://support.storeconnect.com/troubleshooting) - [Trust Center](https://trust.getstoreconnect.com/) - [Status Page](https://status.storeconnect.com/) ## Contact - info@getstoreconnect.com - US +1 415 745 3230 - AUS +61 2 8365 2308 100 S Ashley Dr, Suite 600-2461 Tampa FL 33602-600 USA Level 22, Sydney Place 180 George Street Sydney, NSW, 2000, AUS --- StoreConnect Support — https://support.storeconnect.com/articles/how-stores-themes-and-design-relate