Troubleshooting

The list of things that go wrong, grouped by where you see them. If your problem isn't here, email hey@pixelwrangler.io with your shop domain and an order number or template name — that's usually all we need.

The Customise button isn't showing#

Three causes, in order of likelihood:

1. The theme block isn't added. The button is a Customise Button theme block. In your Shopify admin, go to Online Store → Themes → Customize, open the product page, and check the block is on the product template this product uses (Add block → Apps → Customise Button). Steps in Installing Pixel Wrangler.
2. The product uses a different product template. Products can use different templates in your theme. Add the block to the one this product actually uses.
3. The template is in the Trash. A trashed template stops powering its products. Restore it from Templates → Trash or assign a different template.

The button reads "Customisation unavailable"#

The block is there but the storefront can't find a template for the product:

• No template is assigned. Open the template in the builder, go to the Products tool and Add products. The app's Home page lists products that show the button without a template.
• The store has no active plan. Open the app's Plan page. Until a plan is active (or during the 14-day grace after a lapsed subscription), the button is disabled on every product.

The button shows but nothing happens, or it says "Loading is taking longer than expected"#

The customizer's data didn't arrive within 10 seconds. Usually a caching layer, a slow connection or a theme script error. Hard-refresh and click Try Again. If it persists on a fresh incognito window, email us the product URL.

A render failed#

Failed renders show in Orders with a Failed badge and the order gets the px-artwork-failed tag. Common causes:

• A sticker, background, mask or font was deleted from Design Assets after a customer used it
• A custom font's file went offline at its URL
• The customer's upload was corrupt

Fix the underlying cause, then click Retry Failed on the order (or Regenerate on the file in Order files). The tag flips to px-artwork-ready when it succeeds. If it keeps failing, the Artwork Jobs card shows the error — send it to support with the order number. See Orders and order files.

A side is missing from the print files#

Almost always a placement problem, not a render failure. Every side must be placed on a print file in the template's Output Settings tool (step 3). A side on no print file renders nothing, and the tool shows a red dot plus the banner "Final artwork won't be generated". Place the side and save: designs added to the cart after that carry it. For an order already in, email hey@pixelwrangler.io with the order number.

The print file is the wrong size or format#

File Type, Page Size and Output Quality (DPI) are set once per template in Output Settings, and every print file uses them. Change them and save, and designs added to the cart after that get the new spec. Orders already placed keep the spec they were ordered with; for one that has to change, email hey@pixelwrangler.io with the order number. Spec details in Print-ready files.

"Regeneration unavailable" on an order#

The order is older than 90 days, so its source data has expired. Existing files stay downloadable until 180 days after the order; after that they're removed. Pull files into your own storage after fulfilment — the Artwork Export API does this in bulk.

An artwork link shows "Your artwork is being generated"#

That's expected for a few minutes after checkout — the page refreshes itself and redirects to the file once it's rendered. If it stays that way for more than about ten minutes, or shows "This artwork needs attention", open the order in Orders: the render has failed or is stuck. See A render failed.

The customer's upload was rejected#

Uploads accept PNG, JPEG and SVG, up to 10 MB and at least 300 px on each side by default. Tighten or loosen the limits in Settings → Image Upload Limits. If customers routinely hit the size cap with phone photos, raise it.

Images that clear the minimum are accepted without a quality warning. If you're getting prints from images that were too small, raise Minimum Dimensions to what your print actually needs.

The cart isn't showing the design thumbnail#

First check the theme editor: the cart page needs the Cart Design Preview block on the cart template, and drawer or mini carts need the Cart Preview (Global) app embed switched on under Theme settings → App embeds.

If both are in place, the preview hooks into your theme via the selectors in Settings → Theme Cart Integration (blank means auto-detect). Two failure modes:

• Theme update changed the markup. If your theme's cart structure changed, the selectors point at nothing and the preview silently disappears. Re-check Cart Item Selector against the new markup.
• The drawer shows stale contents after add-to-cart. The app repairs a drawer that didn't refresh itself. If yours still shows old contents, email us rather than changing Cart Refresh Events — that setting is rarely the fix.

The thumbnail reads "Preparing preview" for up to about 30 seconds while it renders, then shows the Custom badge.

The Edit design pencil is missing or faded#

• Missing: the pencil is added by the cart preview script — see the thumbnail fix above. In drawer carts it needs the Cart Preview (Global) embed specifically.
• Faded, "This design can no longer be edited": the saved design behind the line has expired. The line can still be bought as is. See Cart editing.

A customer typed emoji and it disappeared#

Emoji and some unusual symbols aren't supported in print rendering. The customizer warns the customer as they type ("Heads up — emojis are currently not supported…") and the characters don't reach the print file. This is deliberate. Accented letters, punctuation and most scripts are fine — they use a fallback font when the chosen font lacks them.

"Font failed" in Design Assets#

The app couldn't fetch or read the custom font from its URL. Hover the badge for the reason: the link points at a web page rather than the font file, the file is over 5 MB, the link isn't public, or the file was removed. Fix the URL (Shopify Content → Files is the easiest host) and save the font again. See Fonts.

Surcharge settings are greyed out#

Surcharges need Shopify's cart transform function, which is Shopify Plus only. On other plans the section shows a Shopify Plus only badge and Add surcharge is disabled. Details and the variant-based workaround.

The Spend & Save discount isn't applied at checkout#

• Apply automatically at checkout is off — the tiers are display-only until you switch it on in Template Settings → Spend & Save Discounts.
• The builder shows "Setting up the Shopify discount" and it doesn't clear — your store is likely at Shopify's limit of 25 active automatic discounts. Remove an unused one and save the template again.
• Another discount applied instead — with Combine with other discounts off, Shopify applies the better discount, never both.

See Surcharges and Spend & Save.

Checkout says a product "must be customised before checkout"#

That's Sales Channel Protection doing its job: the product was added to the cart without a design — through the Shop app, a quick-view popup or a direct cart link. The customer needs to add it from the product page using the Customise button. If you deliberately sell customisable products without a design, turn protection off in Settings → Sales Channel Protection.

"Your plan includes N templates. Upgrade to add more."#

You're at your plan's template limit — 3 on Starter, 50 on Growth. Templates in the Trash still count until you Delete permanently. Reuse one template across many products, clear the Trash, or move up a plan. See Plans.

The add button in Design Assets is disabled#

You've reached that library's cap for your plan — the count next to the section title reads "(N of cap)". Nothing already added is removed. Delete unused items or move up a plan. See Design Assets.

AI tools show "AI tools unavailable" to shoppers#

• The store has no active subscription, or you're in the free trial and have reached the trial's AI cap.
• The store-wide monthly AI ceiling has been reached — email us to raise it.

Shoppers can keep designing; only new generations are declined. See AI usage and billing.

AI tools don't appear in the customizer at all#

Check both levels: Wrangler AI → Enable AI tools on the storefront plus the tool's checkbox, and the template's Template Settings → Wrangler AI switches. The builder shows Not set up or Off for your store on that section when the store-level switch is the problem. For Word Art, at least one preset must be enabled under Word Art presets.

I edited an order but fulfilment printed the original#

Check the timing: exports and downloads always serve the current artwork, so if fulfilment pulled files before you saved the edit, they have the originals. Edited files carry an -edited-v2 suffix in the filename — if the printed file's name has no suffix, it was pulled early. Re-send from Order files or have your integration re-pull the order.

The app shows "One moment — reconnecting"#

The app can't reach its database. This is usually a brief blip; the page retries automatically and there's a Retry now button. Your storefront keeps working in the meantime. If it lasts more than a few minutes, email us.

Still stuck?#

Email hey@pixelwrangler.io. Include:

• Your shop domain
• The order number or template name involved
• What you expected, and what happened instead

Screenshots help. We read everything.