diff --git a/wowchemy-cms/functions/parse.html b/wowchemy-cms/functions/parse.html
index 5fc1975e..646f2e43 100644
--- a/wowchemy-cms/functions/parse.html
+++ b/wowchemy-cms/functions/parse.html
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@
 
 {{ with site.Params.cms.publish_mode }}
   {{ $publish_mode := dict "publish_mode" . }}
-  {{ $backend_opts = merge $backend $publish_mode }}
+  {{ $backend_opts = merge $backend_opts $publish_mode }}
 {{ end }}
 
 {{ if site.Params.cms.local_backend }}