Hi, make sure you do not change Topic System Name for topics that are referenced in a declarative way for topic controls
Example: AboutUs.aspx has a nopCommerce:Topic control. One Property is TopicName="AboutUs" which is the Topic System Name, if you change this to TopicName="MyAboutUsPageNew" it will render no topic text, no exception either though. Can be annoying when you are setting up a new store :-)