We build businesses from Scratch every 30 days – The Bizathon Challenge!
If you haven’t started with Shopify, you’ll want to by clicking here.
This month we’re building a profitable Shopify store from the ground up!
Yesterday we revealed Shopify Problems All New Store Owners Face.
Today we cover why not all “Shopify Themes” are created equal.
Follow along as Rito goes in depth on what sets a great Shopify theme apart:
Free Shopify themes are great to help get your store up and running.
But they are severally limited in terms of functionality compared to premium (paid) themes.
At Common Panda (our Shopify store) we use a premium theme called Dropship Theme
It costs a one time payment of $129, but has already paid for itself several times over since we first installed it.
We’ve tested free themes even tested a couple other premium themes, and the results were the same – Dropship Theme increased conversions while every other theme lowered them.
I understand what it’s like to bootstrap my own project, quite literally pinching pennies to make things work.
However, sometimes it really is best to make an investment into your business now so you can reap the rewards later – even when you’re strapped for cash.
Here are 5 things to look for in a premium Shopify theme before investing…
Every Premium Shopify Theme Needs This
Show Remaining Stock & Countdown Timer
Scarcity sells.
Letting customers know exactly how many units are left and for how long are two great ways to promptly ensure a sale.
Finding a theme with this already built in will not only help your conversion rate, but will save you on future plugin costs when you’re trying to obtain the same features.
Product Gallery Has A Professional Lightbox
I’ve seen some product galleries (on stores with free themes) that don’t magnify the additional images when hovered over. Instead you needed to click an image which would then open a new window with the product picture.
Don’t allow that.
Your products are what will make you money. They need to look great and display in a convenient manner to avoid inadvertently annoying your customers.
Responsive Design
This should go without saying, but it won’t…
You website, especially your product pages, need to be responsive.
This means your website will automatically resize and adjust to fit to the screen of the device used to view the page, whether it’s a computer, smartphone or tablet.
While Shopify will show what your store looks like from a mobile device it’s a good idea to check your store compatibility across several devices.
Ready.Mobi is a great free tool to ensure multi-device compatibility.
Quick Load Time
When you run free themes, you’re really running a slow theme.
In order for FREE themes to perform like the premium themes, you’ll be required to install apps and and plugins to enhance functionality.
Unfortunately, the more apps and plugins you have installed, the heavier and slower your Shopify store will be. If you website takes more than 2 seconds to load, I assure you that you’re losing out on sales.
Any investment in a risk sure, but fortunately here at FSO we’ve already removed most of the guesswork so you don’t have to fail to learn – we already did that for you.
If you’ve been following this Bizathon and implementing the lessons we’re teaching you, than I’m 100% certain a premium theme like Dropship Theme will pay for itself quickly, and several times over.
That’s it for Day 26 – Well done!
Questions, comments or just want to say hi? We love hearing from you below.
Success by choice, not by chance,
-David Aston
P.S.
If you’re not kept in the loop via our #Bizathon list be sure to sign up today.
P.P.S. Click here for Day 27!
where is the best place to learn how to use, install and customise the booster theme??
I totally disagree that Booster is great. It is nothing great to brag about. I have not see any image automatically magnifying itself when hovering the mouse. Creating a menu system was difficult and the help online was an absolute disaster. Yes, an absolute disaster. Try watching a video on Youtube, you will know what I am talking about.
We recommend getting the Dropship Theme