“Don’t judge a book by its cover” is a saying we’ve all heard. In most cases it’s a good mantra to live by. But the hard truth in the online business world is the layout and overall look and feel of your website can play a role in how your business is perceived. Visitors really do judge your store and business by its “cover”.
That’s why it’s important to pick the perfect theme for your Shopify store.
In this post, we’ll take a look at things to consider when picking a theme for your Shopify store so your business and products can shine in the light they deserve.
The Importance of the Perfect Theme
So you might be wondering why it matters that your theme does certain things, or why it matters that the layout is a certain way. Do people really care about the colors on your website?
The fact of the matter is, the theme and layout of your online store is what encapsulates your brand and product. It’s a visual representation of your business and everything you, and your product(s) stand for.
Plus, it can have a significant affect on the performance of your online store in terms of conversion rates, trustworthiness, and more.
There’s quite a lot of different information at your fingertips that supports specific theme layouts and how they’re styled. For instance, most Internet users look at a website in an “F” shaped pattern. That means that, generally speaking, websites that have a strong header and a sidebar on the left hand side of the website are most intuitive for first-time users.
Another thing to note, is that a good theme and website design is a strong trust indicator. 94% of Internet users cite web design as a reason they don’t trust certain websites. If your website looks shady, chances are it’ll have a negative impact on your business.
Before You Pick a Theme
The theme selection process can be overwhelming for some. If it’s your first time ever building an online store, it can be difficult to determine what’s best for your business.
With your Shopify store, you start with a default theme and have the option to customize it, play around with it, or even just start fresh with a new theme.
To be clear, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with using the default Shopify theme if it’s your first time using Shopify. It works incredibly well, and is a good way to get an understanding of different theme features and styling options. I’d recommend playing around with it as a testing playground before jumping in to any other themes.
If you are still using Shopify 1.0 Theme, you should upgrade your Shopify 1.0 theme to 2.0. It has many features on it.
