How to choose a theme for a Shopify store

In this tutorial, you'll see how easy it is to choose a pre-made template and customize your store. We call these templates "themes." So what is a theme? A theme determines the look and feel of your online store. Different themes have different styles and layouts, and offer different experiences for your customers.

You’ve already created a basic navigation system and added a few pages. All of these elements of your online store will look slightly different depending on the theme you choose. If you’ve never designed a website before, that’s not a problem. Shopify makes it easy to create a website without having to have any technical knowledge. You have access to over 100 free and premium professional themes in the Shopify theme store.

Free themes are developed by the Shopify team, while paid themes are developed by third-party designers and developers who partner with Shopify. So how do you choose the right theme for your business? There are a number of factors to consider. So, let’s walk through the selection process together.

You can use the search and filter options in the Shopify theme store to find the right theme for your online store. To start, you can narrow your search by collection and by industry. I'll start by narrowing my search by industry and select the Food & Beverage section.

While we offer this choice, no theme is limited to any one industry. For example, a tech store might use a theme found in the "Art & Photography" category. Additionally, in the sidebar, you can narrow your search by price, number of items, layout style, product page, home page, navigation, marketing, and social media. You can also change the industry here.

I'm going to create a showcase store for my tea business, so I'll start narrowing down my search. I'll first check out themes designed for single-product stores and small catalogs. As for the layout style, I'll leave it unchecked as I'm open to suggestions.

In the product page filter, I will check high definition images. I will leave the homepage and navigation filters unchecked, as I am not sure yet what I need.

In the marketing and social media filter, I definitely want to add a marketing pop-up window to share my social media groups with visitors. If the theme does not offer these features, you can still access them using apps.

Now that I have narrowed down my search, I will take a look at the demo version of the theme. The Maker theme looks good. There are a few important factors to consider when considering a theme. First, look at the theme’s functionality to determine if the theme has the features you need. Then, you can scroll down and look at examples of stores using the theme. You can see how small business owners have used their creativity to customize the theme for their business. Then, scroll down and check out the reviews. This theme has 28 reviews, and 96% of them are positive. I will read the reviews to learn more. You can also scroll down to see recommendations, including free options.

Now I’m going to scroll up and check out the demo. You can preview three styles of the theme. Click “View demo.” While you’re viewing the demo, think about the images you’ll need to populate your store. A great option is to use Burst, Shopify’s free stock photo service, where you can find beautiful photos to add to your site.

All Shopify themes are mobile optimized so your customer can have a great experience on both their phone and desktop. If you click on the mobile button, you can see how it looks on mobile. I really like this theme so I will try it on my store. I will click "Try theme".

After that, I can manage the settings that will change the appearance of the store with this theme. You can hide and add sections. And I will show you how to do this in the next lesson.

I love this theme but I want to test it out by adding images and content before I buy it. When you buy a theme it is non-refundable so make sure you test it out before you buy it.

Click "Try theme" to download the trial version of the theme. When I click "Customize theme", I'll be taken back to the Shopify admin where I can continue experimenting with my trial version of the theme. Again, I haven't purchased it yet. I'm just going to see if it can do everything I want to do.

In the next tutorial I will show you different ways to change the look of your store.

If I click the Shopify logo in the top left corner, I'll be taken back to the theme's home page in the admin. You'll notice that the store already has the default theme installed. Feel free to use that theme if its design suits your business.

Here you will also see trial versions of your themes and can return to the theme store directly from the admin panel. As your business grows, you can change your theme. Choose the right theme for your business today and where you envision it next year.

In the next tutorial, I'll show you how to change the look of your Shopify store.