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In this lesson, you’ll see how easy it is to select a pre-built template and customize your store. We call these templates “themes.” So what exactly is a theme? A theme controls the look and feel of your online storefront. Different themes have different styles and layouts and offer a different experience for your customers.
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You’ve built a basic navigation system and added a few pages. These fundamental elements of your online store will be slightly different depending on the theme you choose. If you’ve never designed a website before, that’s no problem. Shopify makes it easy to create your website without technical knowledge.
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You have access to over 100 free and premium professionally designed themes in the Shopify theme store. Free themes are developed by Shopify and paid themes are developed by third-party designers who are Shopify partners. So how do you choose the right theme for your business?
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There are a number of factors to consider. So let’s go through the process of choosing together. You can use the Shopify theme store’s search and filtering options to find the right theme for your online store. You can narrow down your search by collections and by industries to start.
1:14
I’m going to start to narrow down my search with industries to food and drink. We offer this option though no theme is restricted to any industry. For example a technology store could use a theme that’s listed under art and photography. Then you can narrow down your search on the sidebar by price, number of products, layout style, product page, home page, navigation, marketing, and social media.
1:40
You can also change the industry. I’m going to be creating a demo store for my tea business so I’ll start to narrow down my search. First I’ll check off single product and small catalogs. For layout style, I’ll leave it unchecked as I’m open to suggestions.
1:58
For product page, I’ll check off high definition images. I’ll leave home page and navigation unchecked, as I’m not sure what I need yet. For marketing and social media, I will definitely want to add a marketing pop-up and share my social media handles on my website.
2:16
If the theme doesn’t offer these options you can still access them by using apps. Now that I’ve narrowed down my search, I’m going to see a demo of the theme. The Maker theme looks good. When you’re considering a theme, there are a few important factors to consider.
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Firstly consult the theme features to see if the theme has the functionality you want. You can then scroll down and see examples of stores that are using your theme. You can see how small business owners have used their creativity to edit the theme for their business.
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Then scroll down and check out the reviews. This theme had 28 reviews and it’s 96 percent positive. I’ll also read the reviews to learn more. You can also scroll down to see recommendations including free options.
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I’m going to scroll up now and view a demo. You can see their three styles included when you buy a paid theme. Click “View demo.” As you view the demo take note of the photography that you’ll need to fill out this store.
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A great option is to use Burst, Shopify’s free stock photography website where you can find beautiful photos to add to your site. All Shopify themes are mobile friendly, so your customer can have a great experience whether they’re on a phone or desktop.
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If you click the mobile button you can see what it looks like. I’m really liking this theme, so I’m going to try it in my store. Click “Try theme” here. You can see all the options you have to edit the look and feel of your store with this theme.
3:54
You can hide sections and add sections and I’ll show you how to do this in the next lesson. I’m feeling excited about this theme, although I want to test it out by adding images and content before I buy. When you buy a theme it’s non-refundable, so be sure to test it before you buy. Click “Try theme” to download your theme trial.
4:13
When I click “Customize theme” I’m taken back to the Shopify admin where I can continue to play around with my theme trial. Again I haven’t purchased it yet. I’m just going to see if it does everything that I wanted to do. In the next lesson, I’ll show you all the different ways you can edit the look and feel of your store.
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When I click the Shopify logo in the top left corner I go back to the theme home page in the admin. You’ll notice that the store already has the theme installed by default. Feel free to stick with that theme if the design works for your business. You’ll also see your theme trials here and you can navigate back to the theme store right from your admin. As your business grows your theme may change.
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Choose the right theme for your business today and where you envision your business growing over the next year. In the next lesson, I’ll show you how to edit the look and feel of your Shopify store.
