Set Up Your Own E-Commerce Site with Shopify

If you’re reading about starting to sell your products online and don’t know where to begin, a complete e-commerce solution like Shopify might be just what you need. Instead of pulling together all of the pieces yourself, you can use this e-commerce software to create, design, manage, and promote your e-commerce business website.

When you get started, you’re given a complete e-commerce package that includes secure hosting, an administrative area, and a website. You can set it up on an existing domain or a new one. The setup process is streamlined and intuitive, and you can start selling your products in just a few minutes.

Creating an E-Commerce Site

Designing an E-Commerce Website

With more than 100 ready-made templates, this e-commerce solution allows you to create the type of site that you want. Several themes are available. Some are geared towards products like electronics, while others work best with products like clothing. A variety of free e-commerce templates are offered, and there are premium templates, too.

After you select a template, you can customize it to your liking. By choosing different fonts and color schemes, you can achieve a unique look that perfectly reflects your brand. You can also upload logos and other images to further enhance the appearance of your e-commerce site. No HTML or CSS knowledge is necessary, but you have complete control over the code and can edit it if you’d like.

Ok. So, let’s assume that you have finally decided to go with Shopify. Here are the things that can help enhance the power of your online store.

7 Best Shopify eCommerce Themes That Will Increase Sales

E-commerce is on an uptrend right now, and there is no shortage of inspirational Shopify success stories. Whilst many gurus say that product sourcing is the most important aspect of a successful eCommerce store, they often fail to mention the importance of a good theme.

Selecting the right theme is important because it allows you to design your site in a way that resonates with your brand. The right themes have built-in elements that make it easier and quicker to create your storefront.

For example, if you are selling a single item, it would be wise to choose a theme that highlights the features and benefits in an attractive way.

However, if you have multiple items, choose a theme that recommends similar products to increase the average order value. Pick the theme based on your specific needs.

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1. Shoptimized – Best for Conversion

This theme has been around since 2015 and is in use by more than 20,000 Shopify store owners.

The responsive template was developed according to conversion rate optimization guidelines from the Baymard Institute – the World’s leading eCommerce UX research organization.

Key Features

• Loads 38% faster than competitors’ themes
• An urgency-countdown timer on the product page
• Shipping time estimator
• Stock availability counts to mimic a feeling of scarcity
• Marketing integrations with Google AdWords, Bing Webmaster, etc
• Built-in social proof pop-up
• Video embedding
• Currency converter
• Highly customizable call-to-action button
• Live traffic count
• Product analytics
• Email pop-ups

Pros

• Mobile-Friendly
• Pleasant UI and loading screens
• One-time payment with lifetime access
• One-year support and free updates
• Well-optimized and highly customizable to suit all niches and store type
• Easy to manage
• It comes with several free features replacing paid apps, such as email pop-ups
• Two free courses available with the Pro and Ultimate plans
• Good customer support team

Cons

• Although the cost is a one-time payment, you only receive support and updates for a year.
• To update the theme, you will have to reinstall
• No refund policy

Theme Example: Perfotek

2. Multifly – Best Universal Theme

Multifly is an exciting theme with an eye-catching look, flexibility, and powerful features. Those qualities make it one of the most responsive and highest-converting themes on Shopify. Multifly has seven stunning templates for jewelry, fashion, cosmetics, fishing, electronics, tools, and wholesale stores.

Turn your website into an attention-grabbing sales booster in a matter of minutes. This lightweight and responsive theme has a perfect score on PageSpeed Insights. Wow!

Key Features

• Drag and drop functionality
• Very responsive
• Works well on smartphones, laptops, and tablets
• Product quick view
• Ajax cart to make shopping a pleasant process
• Dropshipping
• Valid semantic coding
• Sorting options
• Megamenu
• Parallax effect
• Add to wishlist feature
• Product countdown feature to show the remaining stock and new arrivals coming soon
• Registration forms
• Online chat
• Google fonts
• Admin panel
• Minimalist style

Pros

• Highly responsive
• Multipurpose template
• Compatible with the official Shopify apps
• Multi-currency
• Multi-lingual
• The minimalist style brings the users’ attention to your store’s items.
• Free 24/7 professional technical support
• Fast theme color switcher

Cons

• Not as beginner-friendly as its competitors
• It is expensive

Shopify eCommerce Theme Example: Multifly

3. Narrative – Best for Storytelling

If you want to build a brand that stands out, storytelling is one of the most effective ways of doing this. One of the best themes for putting this strategy to action is Narrative.

Narrative is a free theme created by Spotify with a focus on stores with small catalogs. The boutique theme is specially designed for visual storytelling, featuring a full-width slideshow on the homepage by default.

Due to its strong visual impact, Narrative is ideal for;

• Using videos and photos rather than text to tell your story
• Delivering a strong message about your brand
• Highlighting the uniqueness of your single product or small inventory

Since this is a fully customizable theme, you’ll be able to have your site up and running in minutes.

Key Features

• Four different styles; warm, cold, light, wide
• Support for full-screen video
• Easily customizable sections
• Social media integrations
• Autoplay hero videos
• Mobile Optimization
• Vertical slideshow, showcases more information on the homepage without forcing the customer to leave the page
• Fixed navigation
• Blogging functionality

Pros

• Completely free
• Fully customizable
• Optimized for small devices
• Free template updates
• Ranked 7th among other Shopify themes for speed

Cons

• Product page design is limited
• The layout is difficult to reformat

Shopify eCommerce Theme Example: Mor For Moms

4. Debut – Best Free Theme

Debut is one of the most popular Shopify themes and I’ve seen multiple shop owners scale their store to six figures a month with this simple theme.

As the name suggests, Debut is a great starter theme for beginners. However, it still packs a punch in comparison to even its premium competitors. It looks simple and clean, yet it is alluring. The mobile-optimized theme is also suitable for all types of stores and is ready to go with minimal customization.

Key Features

• Two different styles: Default and Light
• Multi-level menu feature
• Slideshow feature on the home page – use this to display multiple products
• Customer testimonials on your homepage and product pages
• Newsletter
• Footer – put links to social media pages and contact information
• Magnifier – zoom into product images
• Product filtering

Pros

• Free
• Mobile and SEO-Friendly
• Clean & professional design
• Ideal for small catalogs
• Free lifetime updates

Cons

• You need to install additional apps to suit your needs
• Limited customization

Shopify eCommerce Theme Example: Veronique Collection

5. Wokiee – Best Overall

If you’re looking for more than just a theme, Wokiee is an outstanding design tool as well. In addition to being a fantastic theme, it has all the modules and tools you need to create a stunning website that is super-fast and has an impressive UX.

Boasting an average rating of 4.96 from 303 ratings (at the time of writing), this is one of the best Shopify themes. The theme offers 21 layouts for the homepage of your website. All of them are categorized depending on the website niche and optimized for mobile view. One thing that makes Wokiee stand out from the rest is its powerful admin panel, which aids in the design process.

Key Features

• 20+ homepage layouts
• Eight shop page layouts
• Mega menu for a good user experience
• Banners
• AJAX search
• Instagram feed integration
• Newsletter
• Numerous filters
• Dynamic checkout buttons
• Wishlist and product comparison system
• Well-designed product pages
• SEO-optimized

Pros

• A vast range of features
• Versatile design and a lot of layout options
• Quick loading speeds

Cons

• Setting up may take too long. Wookie’s many design options and features could take a long time to get used to

Shopify eCommerce Theme Example: Wookie Demos

6. Universe – Best for Dropshipping

If you are interested in dropshipping, Universe is a theme worth checking out. It is a multipurpose theme that comes in two main variations, the light Earth mode and the dark Mars option.

Regardless of which variation you choose, you’ll be able to author a modern, professional-looking Shopify store in no time. This theme also has a large number of Shopify sections and customization tools. These will allow you to easily adapt it to any purpose or niche. Some of the features you’ll have access to include product image zoom, support for video backgrounds, and Google Maps and YouTube integration.

The selling point of Universe is its ease of use and great social media integration features, perfect for dropshipping.

Key Features

• Fully customizable thanks to the extensive built-in settings
• Interactive product carousels
• Powerful mega menu
• Video backgrounds
• Color swatches
• Parallax sections
• Sticky header
• Product filtering
• Slide-out shopping cart display
• Social media integration
• 100% mobile-friendly

Pros

• Wide range of features
• Lightweight but versatile
• Fast loading times for maximum conversion
• Good for dropshipping
• Suits both large and small-sized brands

Cons

• Not suitable for every niche

Shopify eCommerce Theme Example: Universe Theme Demo

7. Porto – Best User-Interface

The Porto theme provides you with everything you need to create a fantastic website of your choice. The popular theme is in use by more than 110,000 satisfied business owners, so it is tried and tested.

The main reason for Porto’s success is the superb UI and UX experience, both of which get better in time thanks to the constant updates. The ever-growing number of Demos also means you can get your website up and running in minutes. Prefer to do your own thing? The customization tools and options leave plenty of room for some creative freedom. Porto also has full support for WooCommerce, the leading WordPress online store builder plugin.

Key Features

• More than 20 pre-made demos
• Vertical mega menu
• One-click demo import
• Multiple content and sidebar layout configurations
• Custom widgets
• Optimized for speed
• AJAX
• Powerful admin menu
• Fully responsive on all devices
• Light and dark color skins
• Unlimited skins and color
• Retina ready
• Unlimited headers

Pros

• Outstanding support team
• Great drag-and-drop builder plugin
• Good selection of pre-made demos
• Reasonable pricing

Cons

• A lot of competition from similar multi-purpose themes

Shopify eCommerce Theme Example: Porto Demo

Conclusion

An elegantly designed store is one of the most important components to an effective online sales funnel, and selecting the right theme can quickly jumpstart your progress. A correctly chosen theme can get you 95% of the way there – you don’t need to build your store from scratch; instead, add minor tweaks.

In summary, we have:

1. Shoptimized – Best For Conversion
2. Multifly – Best Universal Theme
3. Narrative – Best For Storytelling
4. Debut – Best Free Theme
5. Wookie – Best Overall
6. Universe – Best For Dropshipping
7. Porto – Best User-Interface

So, what is your pick? Let us know in the comments below.

The full article was written by Eddie from PassiveIncomeTree.com.

Eddie is a strategy consultant with a passion for helping those build online businesses. He shares his best tools, tips, and tricks on earning passive income on his blog, Passive Income Tree, and has built two successful online businesses.

Article Credit: https://blog.wishpond.com/post/115675438160/shopify-ecommerce-themes