Dynamic script creation (document.createElement) ignores the defer
attribute per HTML spec — scripts are async regardless. Alpine.js CDN
loaded fast and auto-initialized before page scripts had executed,
causing ReferenceError for x-data functions (adminStores, dark,
isSideMenuOpen, etc.) and blank pages.
Fix: Replace dynamic script creation with static <script defer> tags
and move extra_scripts block BEFORE Alpine.js in all 4 base templates
(admin, store, merchant, storefront). Alpine.js is now always the last
deferred script, ensuring all page functions are defined before it
auto-initializes.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>