Creating and launching an online Shopify store has never been easier; there are a number of aspects that you need to consider for that. One of the most crucial aspects is choosing the Shopify theme for the store. It not only affects the look and functionality of the website but also impacts the customers’ perception of it and affects the performance. So, special attention should be given while choosing a Shopify theme.
A surprising fact is that customers will take just 1 minute to decide whether they would stay on or leave your site. The website’s look not only creates the first impression, but it also lets them gain the first level of trust. And this trust matters much for the sales process. For instance, the customers would go through your products even if they don’t have any plan for the purchase, in the case that first level of trust has been developed. And in the opposite case, they will pass away by leaving your site even if they are looking for something. Thus, in order to keep those visitors on your site, the most important thing is choosing a right Shopify theme; after all, it portrays your brand’s image.
However, Shopify theme store contains a plethora of fantastic themes. Though all of them have their own features and functionality, not each of them will be good for your store. You need to mull over a number of key points for choosing a right theme for your website, which we are going to mention below.
1. Define your requirements
The first thing that you should do is defining your requirements for the Shopify store. No doubt you would have a clear idea about the “obvious” requirements, but there are some important ones that can be neglected. To ensure that you cover all the important aspects of your store, you need to have a checklist.
People get normally confused about the aspects they should give preference to. We would like to recommend you focusing on high-level aesthetics first because customers make your Shopify stores assessment within 60 seconds. Once you are sure that the aesthetics are good enough to create an effective first impression, then you must focus on the functionality side.
2. Keep the navigation simple
Navigation matters a lot to convert your visitors into customers. Navigation should be simple so that the customers can easily locate the thing they are looking for. Your site should have minimum levels of the navigation menu. Having a theme with mega-menu would be the best idea as it allows you to display more links in the same space as compared to other menu types. In short, your main aim should be fitting everything in the primary navigation and if still anything is left then you can include a footer menu for that.
3. Check responsiveness
There is no doubt that all the themes in the Shopify store are responsive, but you need to check how their responsiveness is implemented. Some developers consider changing certain features of these themes to make them work on the smaller screens. So, you need to check that how responsive your website is on different devices. Always remember that responsiveness can affect your site’s loading speed and can let you lose your potential customers.
4. Separate the Must-have features from Nice-to-have ones
It is likely to get confused between must-have and nice-to-have features. So, you need to give special attention to that. Inspect, every theme with a grain of salt, to know its real features. You will be glad or surprised at the end. If you are looking for a successful Shopify store, then you must make a list of the priority features. Some of them are high responsiveness, enhanced performance, and free upgrades. However, no doubt that incorporating “nice-to-have” features is a good idea, but take care that it would not affect your site’s functionality.
5. Support and documentation
Always ensure that you will be able to get good support in the case something goes awry with the theme. As any minor issue in the store’s performance can affect your customers’ experience, you need to make sure that your eCommerce store will work all the time efficiently. Having a support network to back you up would be the best idea.
If you are still confused about the selection process of a right Shopify theme, then a better option will be discussing it with the experts. Their expertise will let you make a right choice depending on your unique requirements.
This article is written by Emma Clark, a senior web application developer at Thinsquare LLC. She is very passionate about web development and loves to write about the latest technologies and trends in the field.
