How to pick the right theme for your Shopify store

In this video you’ll learn

Questions to ask before choosing a theme:

Will I be selling 1 product, or many products?
How do I want my products to be displayed?
How familiar am I with customization?
What unique features do I want in my store?

How to choose a theme:

Use the theme store filters to find what is important to you
Look at reviews
Demo the theme
Consider theme support
Trust your gut

Every business is different. And the only person who can make a decision on the perfect theme for your Shopify store is you. In this lesson, you'll learn how to discover the right theme for your business. The Shopify theme store has over 100 free and paid templates that you can choose from, and the truth is there's no one-size-fits-all approach when picking your theme. Now let's get started.

So, step one: before you choose a theme, do a bit of prep work. Ideally, you want to choose a theme that will grow with your business, or at least for the next year. Answering these questions will help you narrow down your search when you're looking for a theme. Will I be choosing a theme that will sell one product or multiple products? How do I want my products to be displayed in my theme?

How familiar am I with customizations? If you're not too familiar, it might be best to stick with the free theme. And what are the desired features I want in my store? Maybe a size chart or even maybe a mega menu. Shopify gives you a default theme to start with, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with using the default theme when you're first getting started. It works incredibly well and it's a good way to get an understanding of the different theme features and styling options.

I recommend playing around with it in a test playground before jumping into any other themes. Now, we have step two: use the filters in the theme store to narrow down your search. It's a great starting point. Filters allow you to browse through all of the theme-specific features, layout, industry, or even purpose. Choose from the themes filtered by inventory size, layout style, product type, homepage features, social features and there's so much to choose from.

Narrow down the theme options to focus on the features that are most important to the experience you're trying to create. Now, step three: consult reviews. Consult theme reviews for peace of mind and insight from other merchants' experience with the theme as well as theme support. You may find that there are specific customizations that could be very valuable to your business in the future. And oftentimes, shop owners will explain what they like and what they really don't like about the theme.

Step four: demo the theme. Click through the demo store to see the theme in action. The demo store are great examples of what you can do with the theme. You'll be able to customize the theme with your own branding and photography. Step five: consider theme support. Theme support is another important factor to consider when choosing the perfect theme. Now, keep in mind, all free themes have support directly through Shopify's theme support team and you can actually reach out to them that support@shopify.com.

Now, step six: trust your gut feeling when making a decision. You could spend too much time trying to find the perfect theme, when the truth is there actually is no perfect theme. Your website will continue to evolve and grow with your business as your business grows. And as your business grows, you'll adjust your site. You may even hire a Shopify expert like myself to reimagine what your store could look like. So, take some time right now, look through the theme store and decide what could be the best theme that can meet your business now.