Shopify’s design system just got a minor but powerful upgrade. Polaris CDN 1.1 is now officially stable, delivering new components, fresh props, and a slew of bug fixes. Because the CDN follows semantic versioning, the change is predictable and easy to manage for both merchants and developers. In this post we break down what’s new, who needs to pay attention, and the exact steps you should take to keep your apps running smoothly.
What’s New in Polaris 1.1
Polaris 1.1 adds three brand‑new components and several properties that make UI building faster and more consistent.
• EmptyState – a full‑width placeholder for empty tables, lists, or pages. When placed inside a TableBody it automatically appears beneath the column headers.
• Number – an inline numeric element that uses tabular figures, guaranteeing column alignment for monetary or statistical data.
• Progress – a visual bar that shows how far a measurable task or goal has advanced.
New properties include:
• fontSize on Heading, Paragraph, and Text – set exact font size without custom CSS.
• visibleMonths on DatePicker – control whether the picker shows one month, two months, or lets Shopify decide (auto, 1, 2).
• supplementalStart on Page – inject content before the main page body, useful for banners or notices.
How the Stable CDN Affects Your Apps
The CDN URLs that power Polaris in every Shopify app have been updated to serve the 1.1 bundle automatically:
<script src="https://cdn.shopify.com/shopifycloud/polaris.js"></script>
<script src="https://cdn.shopify.com/shopifycloud/polaris-1.js"></script>
If your app already loads one of those scripts, the upgrade happens behind the scenes—no code changes, no redeployments, and no downtime. This is the biggest win for developers who want a frictionless path to the latest UI improvements.
Merchants see the benefit indirectly: the admin UI, embedded app sections, and any custom app pages now have access to the new EmptyState, Number, and Progress components, which can make dashboards and reports feel more polished.
Pinning to a Specific Version (If You Need to Stay on 1.0)
Although the automatic update is recommended, some teams prefer to lock their UI to a known version while they finish testing or documentation updates. The CDN supports explicit version pinning:
<script src="https://cdn.shopify.com/shopifycloud/polaris-1.1.js"></script>
Replace the generic polaris.js or polaris-1.js reference with polaris-1.1.js. This tells the CDN to serve exactly version 1.1 and prevents future minor bumps until you change the URL.
When you’re ready to move forward, simply revert to the un‑pinned URL or switch to a newer version (e.g., polaris-1.2.js) once it’s released.
Actionable Steps for Developers
polaris.js or polaris-1.js. Confirm they are being loaded from the CDN domain shown above.<EmptyState>, <Number>, and <Progress> to verify styling matches your design system..Polaris-EmptyState). Ensure your theme or app CSS does not unintentionally override them.fontSize prop and visibleMonths option, which simplify styling and date picker configuration.Conclusion & Next Steps
Polaris CDN 1.1 being marked stable is more than a version number—it’s a signal that Shopify’s design system is ready for production use with fresh UI building blocks and smoother developer ergonomics. Because the upgrade is automatic for most apps, you can start leveraging EmptyState, Number, and Progress today without any code changes. If you need tighter control, pin the CDN to polaris-1.1.js and plan a rollback strategy.
Ready to upgrade? Add the new script tag to a test page, explore the components in the Polaris documentation, and let your merchants enjoy a cleaner, more functional experience. Need help migrating? Drop a comment below or reach out to our Shopify Partner support team.
