Imagine if your superstore was laid out like a boutique. Imagine if your favorite family-run bistro felt more like a McDonald’s. When physical spaces are incongruent to what’s being sold it’s immediately obvious and jarring. Websites are no different.
When creating our Shopify website you need to invest time in finding the best theme to communicate your business language and facilitate a great online shopping experience for your customers. We’ll run through our favorite Shopify themes and give you some tips on how to choose the best one for your business.
Creating a Virtual Environment
At jdp, we prefer to use the term “virtual environment” when referring to websites. It serves as a constant reminder that websites are three-dimensional spaces that customers need to navigate comfortably. This is especially true of eCommerce websites.
Consider for a moment the amount of effort you would put into creating the perfect environment for your customers in a brick-and-mortar shop. It would need to be consistent with your business and create a great experience for your visitors. ECommerce websites require the same amount of effort and consideration, even if Shopify makes it a breeze to make your website look great, you still need to make sure it works for your business.
Tips for choosing the best Shopify Theme for your business
- Tap into the mind of your customers
- What do you want them to feel on your website?
- What features do you need?
By far the most important part of your consideration is to really understand your ideal customer. How old are they? What are their interests? What are their needs and motivations? It’s useful to create a few buyer persona profiles and keep them at the forefront of your mind.
What emotions do you want your business to evoke in your customers that are consistent with your brand? For example, if you sell wellness goods, you’ll want to create a peaceful and tranquil experience. If you sell outdoor wear, you’ll want to inspire action and energy.
If you’re managing a large product range you’ll need to make sure your chosen Shopify Theme can support this, such as a theme with advanced product filters. If high-quality images are your strong suit, make sure the Shopify theme you choose showcases your photography at its best.
Example Shopify Themes
1. Porto
Used by over 45000 eCommerce users, Porto is the world’s most popular Shopify Theme for a reason. It’s extremely adaptable with 25 ready-to-adapt layouts to choose from. It’s particularly great if you have a large product range, easily enabling you to divide by collections.
They also offer comprehensive customer support and regular updates.
This is the only theme on our list that you have to pay for. The price is $99 for single-use.
2. Narrative
Single product businesses sometimes struggle to know how to best showcase their brand online. Narrative has the answer. Showcasing just one product frees you up to create a story through your website.
The beautiful minimal design lets your images take center stage.
3. Brooklyn
Similar in look and feel to Narrative, Brooklyn is great for businesses with a small product range (but more than one). Choose from two different styles – playful and classic. This is a great theme for a home-grown brand with a backstory. What’s more, it looks particularly great on mobile.
4. Supply
Supply’s design is minimal, practical, and functional, and can easily handle large catalogs. Great for no-nonsense, pragmatic buyer personas.
Use this blog as a springboard to help you identify the best Shopify theme for your business. Happy hunting! If you’re just starting out your eCommerce journey, head to our blog for more Shopify tips.
