Who would have thought that selling products on the web, social media, mobile and other online platforms would be so effortless? Shopify has become a go-to platform for all those who want to operate their online stores. The e-commerce platform allows you to easily build and manage an online store from scratch and that too without any requirement of technical knowledge. With the help of Shopify themes or templates, merchants can organise the layout of the store and even customize it as per interest. So, without further ado, let’s dive straight into the topic.
What is Shopify Theme?
Shopify themes are templates which are customisable as well. You can apply it to your online store and check how your page looks. In short, a theme is basically a website builder. Shopify Theme controls all the important aspects of your website like the appearance of your page, site menu, images, text, interactive elements, customers’ ease of navigation and checkout experiences.
“You can customize your theme settings from your Shopify admin by using the theme editor. If your theme doesn’t have a setting for a change that you want to make, then you can edit your theme code. When you make changes to your theme or switch to a new theme, it doesn’t affect the other parts of your account. You can try different theme styles and settings without worrying about the rest of the content in your admin,” Shopify mentions on its help centre page.
How smoothly users sail through your store directly affects the number of customers. As the number of mobile shoppers is ever increasing, a responsive Shopify theme will help you attract more customers. Irrespective of how beautifully designed website you have, missing out on a good responsive theme means losing a large segment of the customer base.
What is Shopify Theme Store?
Shopify Theme Store offers more than “100 free and premium professionally designed e-commerce website templates” that can be used to build an online store. Shopify claims all its themes are high-standard packed with built-in features and free updates. You can opt either for paid or free Shopify themes and get tools to do a number of jobs like showcase products online, process payments and others. Both free and paid themes come with customisable options that let you decide the perfect look and feel for your store.
Merchants can discover styles, find inspiration and start building their own brands. Undoubtedly, paid themes provide more options for customisation and modifications as compared to free themes. Currently, Shopify has eight free e-commerce themes.
How To Get Themes On Shopify?
In order to get Shopify themes, merchants need to sign up on Shopify. They can get Shopify themes in two ways. Either they can add a free theme from their Shopify admin or try a paid theme from Shopify Theme Store. While free themes are developed by Shopify themselves, paid ones are developed by third-party designers. Before you decide on a theme and start customizing, you will need to decide on the features and designs you would like to see on your online store. A 14-day free trial is also available.
You can start with the Basic Shopify plan which comes at a monthly subscription of $29. One gets to share unlimited products, a custom domain, customer support, Shopify payment and much more. Shopify Lite, a cheaper plan is available for $9 per month. This allows you to accept credit cards, sell your products on Facebook and use buy buttons on any website.