Shopify 5 min read
01 Feb 2020

Choosing Your First Shopify Theme: What You Need To Know

Choosing Your First Shopify Theme: What You Need To Know

Hey, remember when ecommerce websites used to look like this?

macys

(source)

I know. It looks like a kindergartner's first try at graphic design.

Thankfully, online store owners are now more sensible when it comes to their looks and feelings.

Why?

Because more and more consumers are doing the majority of their shopping online. That means more businesses are opening online stores, too.

And most online shops don't have physical, brick-and-mortar stores at all. This means heavy competition.

So, businesses need to rise and make their store stand out above the crowd.

Do you know how you can make that happen?

Through awesome Shopify themes, of course!

In this blog post, we'll be talking about the basics of Shopify themes. And some updates you need to be aware of for your own ecommerce website.

So let's dive in and answer...

What Is A Shopify Theme?

What Is A Shopify Theme?

Shopify themes allow you to design your product pages and category pages, and present a customized layout. It determines the way your online store looks and feels. It also includes your color scheme, styling and placing content blocks, and other aesthetics.

The layout makes your ecommerce website easy to navigate. Thus, it makes shopping and checkout a breeze. It can also dictate navigation and the infrastructure of your entire site.

Plus, a theme makes your store more memorable. This leaves a powerful impression in the minds of your customers.

And a good impression increases the likelihood of them returning and making a purchase!

Sounds good, eh?

That's why every month, merchants flock by the thousands to the Shopify Theme store in search of the perfect style. They want to enhance the appearance of their online shop.

After all, you are never limited to just one way of selling. So, you have to have a clear business plan so you can choose the Shopify theme that best meets your needs.

Because of this, not everyone finds the solution they are looking for. They decide that a custom theme is what they need.

That's where Shopify theme templates enter.

Shopify Theme Templates

Shopify Theme Templates

Although Shopify themes are designed as Shopify theme templates, you can change and customize them any way you like.

But you may want to custom-build the entire template yourself from scratch. Especially if you need more complicated requirements.

Don't worry; making changes to your theme or switching to a new theme doesn't affect your account.

You still have the freedom to experiment with different styles. You can change the settings without worrying about how it will affect the rest of your content.

Now, let's move on to the features of Shopify by asking...

What Are The Shopify Theme Tools You Should Look For?

What Are The Shopify Theme Tools You Should Look For?
Shopify puts a variety of tools at your disposal. It's to help you quickly and easily get your store up and running.

Though you have to keep this in mind. The tools you can access depend on the pricing plan you choose. Obviously, the more you pay, the more you can access it.

Fortunately, you will find a wide array of options even with the base plan. You can use these to help you showcase your products online. As well as to accept and process payments.

You can start making your online store work for you.

Shopify theme's features depend on the one you choose. Here are some important questions about tools you need to remember when choosing one:

  • Do the tools enhance the mobile experience?
  • Does it smoothen the checkout process?
  • Does it have 24/7 support from developers?
  • Is it user-friendly?
  • Does it seamlessly integrate your social media platforms?
  • Does it offer product searching, filtering, and sorting features?
  • Does it have advanced features such as a live view or geolocation automation?

Choosing your forever Shopify theme may take a bit of experimentation. But once you find it, you may ask...

How Do You Migrate Your Ecommerce Business to Another Shopify Theme?

How Do You Migrate Your Ecommerce Business to Another Shopify Theme?

Migrating your existing ecommerce website from another ecommerce platform can be worrisome.

So, here are some other pointers you can use as a checklist to properly do the job:

  • Be sure to transfer all your products, content, and other important information to your new Shopify presence.
  • Make sure all of your store's data are fully accessible. These include your files, theme date, stylesheets, and images). Remove specific protocols such as HTTP: and HTTPS: from the URL files.
  • The URLs should all point to the new location. It should also redirect pages the customers may have bookmarked. You could lose customers trying to return to your page without proper redirection. They will get an error message and not be able to find your online store.

Customers won't waste too much time trying to find your new location. No matter how happy they were with your products or services.

After all, there is enough competition on the internet. They will likely find a new source for their needs.

Don't let that happen!

If you are in a very specialized niche, they may try a bit harder to find your new place. But why take the risk, right?

Lastly, the steps needed to migrate your store to the Shopify platform depend on your online store's initial setup.

Thus, the migration process gets quite complicated if you have a lot of data stored in different sets.

If you find the process too confusing, you may want to hire an expert. The small price you pay for a bit of help? That's nothing compared to the losses you may experience if you lose some of your vital information.

When you migrate to a Shopify theme, you need to be updated on some changes. In 2021, Shopify updated themes to Online Store 2.0.

Let's find out...

What Is Shopify's Online Store 2.0?

What Is Shopify's Online Store 2.0?

Your Shopify theme's style and layouts depend on what you're offering. For example, if you're selling skincare products, you might want your ecommerce store to feel luxurious and sleek.

So, Online Store 2.0 themes now offer the following additional features:

  1. Sections on all pages. These are modular elements of a page. It gives you greater flexibility when creating your Shopify store. You can add, remove, and rearrange the sections to build a unique page layout.
  2. Flexible store content. Theme developers can now add meta field definitions. That way, ecommerce brand owners can quickly upload content like photos or PDFs to product detail pages.
  3. Theme app extensions and app blocks. You can now easily integrate apps into your Shopify theme. You don't have to touch the code yourself.
  4. Filter collections. This will allow your customers to filter through your collections by price, availability, etc.
  5. Shopify theme store reopened. The theme store has been closed since 2019. Now, there is an unlimited number of new themes by theme developers, just for global entrepreneurs.

Sounds complicated?

Lucky for you, Debutify is THE Shopify theme that has everything you need. It's simple as that!

I know you're curious...

What is Debutify?

What is Debutify?

Debutify is a Shopify theme. But it's more than any traditional Shopify theme.

How?

Well, it's built and expertly optimized for all types of stores and specialized niches.

Whatever products you have to offer, Debutify have you covered from start to finish. You can automatically download Debutify with just one click. Immediately gain access to a slew of powerful Add-Ons!

Here's more. You can customize the header with left, right, center, or hidden navigation buttons.

The footer can display items such as menus, text, images, social media buttons, and newsletter subscription opt-in. And it can also be aligned left, center, or hidden. You can add important links such as custom column order, payment, icons, and email & phone links.

As if that's not enough, Debutify also prioritizes mobile optimization, fast speed, and easy plug-and-play setup.

There is no coding required! You can be up and ready to go in seconds.

Here's a list of what Debutify offers:

  • Animated add-to-cart button
  • The countdown timer on the cart page
  • A chat box that links to your messaging platform
  • A variant selector and add-to-cart button under each product grid item
  • A cookie box to make your website GDPR compliant
  • Approximate date of delivery
  • Instantly shows the discount amount on the product page for on-sale items
  • A new F.A.Q page on your store
  • Ability to display your Instagram feed above your store footer
  • A display of the amount in stock of your product
  • Hide unavailable and sold-out variant options
  • Ability to see the number of people viewing your product page
  • Create an advanced menu layout with columned navigation, products, images, and more
  • A newsletter popup on exit intent and reward customers with a coupon code
  • And so much more!

Help your store reach its maximum potential! Debutify offers high-converting features, regular updates, premium support, and advanced customizing options.

At Debutify, we believe that ecommerce brand owners like you deserve more. You deserve more than a "decent" free Shopify theme.

So, what are you waiting for?

Create A High-Converting Online Store With Debutify — Today!

14-Day Trial. 1-Click Installation. No Credit Card Required.

Ricky Hayes
Author

Ricky Hayes

Ricky Hayes is the CEO at Debutify. He is a passionate entrepreneur running multiple businesses, marketing agencies, and mentoring programs.

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