Shopify is a leading ecommerce software that lets anyone create an online store to sell products. Shopify works with point-of-sale (POS) systems and other business tools for inventory management, shipping, SEO, multi-channel marketing, and reporting. This makes it a full e-commerce platform. The first step is to build the bones of the e-commerce website, which can take some technical knowledge. Shopify themes are an easy way for many business owners to get started, but is that the best choice for everyone?
Find out what Shopify themes are, why you might want to use one, and how to choose the right one for your business by reading on.
What are Shopify themes?
Shopify themes are collections of templates, modules, and style settings that decide how your website looks. Off-the-shelf themes are turnkey templates that have already been designed. You can quickly change the built-in modules to make a beautiful e-commerce site. There are a variety of free and expensive off-the-shelf themes based on how they look and work. You can choose a theme that works best for the goods you sell, your branding, your industry, or the kind of experience you want your customers to have when they visit your online store.
Then there are custom styles, which a developer can make for you. Custom themes can be made from scratch or from an off-the-shelf theme that has already been modified to handle more complex designs or functions.
Benefits of using Shopify themes
Shopify styles make things so easy for business owners who just want to plug and play. But what you can get out of Shopify themes really depends on what your business needs and what you want to accomplish.
There are several benefits to using Shopify themes, including:
- Modules that are easy to change can be used to make website parts, collections, and blog posts.
- Fully adaptable and made for both web and mobile experiences.
- There are a lot of free and cheap choices to choose from.
- Ability to build a professional-looking online store quickly
You can change themes or make changes to them using the theme designer in your Shopify admin. Changing themes won’t affect any other parts of your online store. Also, if you work with a Shopify expert or developer, many of the themes that come out of the box can be tweaked and built upon.
Limitations of using Shopify themes
It is also important to look ahead and think about where you want your business to go and how it will grow. You should also think about whether Shopify themes can help you along the way. Do you need traits or functions that are unique to you? Do you want your customers to have a unique experience with your brand? Most online businesses can get by with the basic features that Shopify themes offer, and themes that cost more can offer more solid and dynamic performance.
There are some limitations to using Shopify themes as well, including:
- If something goes wrong with your online store, you won’t get much help from paid theme makers.
- To change or add new layouts, themes, pages, and navigation, you may need to know how to code.
- Some themes, such as color profiles, can make pictures look darker or lighter than they were when you uploaded them.
What can be customized in themes?
There are many parts of the theme that can be changed. You can change the fonts, color palettes, picture sizes and placement, navigation, padding, spacing, and more. Some off-the-shelf themes have different ways of displaying images or fonts, so it might be a good idea to learn more about premium themes before committing to one. This will help make sure that all of your website’s parts look the way you want them to. But if your ecommerce site’s design or usefulness is complicate, you shouldn’t use a theme that comes out of the box. In that case, it would be better to create a unique theme.
Shopify styles make things so easy for business owners who just want to plug and play. But what you can get out of Shopify themes really depends on what your business needs and what you want to accomplish.
How to pick the best theme
There isn’t really a “best theme” because it depends on what the story is about. For example, if you need a complicated design or a lot of features, it would make sense to build a custom theme. In the same way, a ready-made theme would work fine if your website has a simple design and you don’t need to make many changes to it.
It can seem hard to choose the right theme for your e-commerce site, but it doesn’t have to be. The great thing about the best shopify themes is that there are a lot of free ones to choose from. This lets you try out different ones to see if their look and features work well for your business. Or, if you already know how you want your business website to look, you can choose a premium theme that has the framework you need and build from there.
From a technical standpoint, there are three key considerations:
- Scalability: How easy is it to customize the theme?
- Security : Are there any security issues with the theme?
- Design: Does the theme match the design and branding of your business?
But keep in mind that all e-commerce websites should have certain key elements that all themes should have. For example, all themes should have basic styles for a homepage, product pages, an “about us” page, and a blog (or content pages).
When looking at Shopify themes, make sure to look at the demo to see how each one looks, and click around to see how it works. Each theme has up to three different styles, each with its own color scheme and design. You can also check to see if Shopify officially supports the theme. This lets you know if Shopify or a third-party developer would be able to help you with any problems that might come up with the theme and how it works with your online store.
