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When Should You Get a Custom Shopify Theme? (+5 Unique Custom Shopify Theme Examples)

One of the first decisions you need to make once you make a Shopify account is what Shopify theme you are going to use. A lot of merchants take their time here because how your website looks leaves an impression on your customers and site visitors. The look and feel of your store has a great impact on how it is perceived and how it will perform.

This decision influences the conversion rate, success, and performance of your store so you have to properly decide when to actually start using a custom design. Shopify does offer about 70+ themes including paid and free in its own marketplace and you can also opt to buy pre-made themes from other developers. However, a fully customized theme is really the way to go when you are scaling your business. But how do you know when it’s time? We’ll get right into it.

About Shopify themes

One of Shopify’s best features is to make it easy for merchants to get a website up and running with just a few clicks because they have already built everything for you. The pre-built themes are great and they are optimized for Shopify so they’re great if you’re just starting out or just testing the waters. But, you aren’t maximizing Shopify’s full potential and functionality with a templated theme. You are also limiting yourself within its capabilities.

Benefits of a custom shopify theme:

  • Unique and memorable
  • Is exactly how you want it
  • Scalable
  • Gives you more functionality

When you get a custom shopify theme, a designer and developer creates it with your brand’s needs in mind. Every aspect of your website is made specifically to suit your brand and your customers. 

If you need more advanced features for your website, a developer can help create it for you and integrate it within your website. You can have them develop one that will work now until the future.

What kind of stores should go for a custom theme?

Many brands have a unique set of requirements to showcase their products so a basic template just can’t do. Pre-made themes often have limited functionalities such as restricted filtering, navigation menus, pages, animations, and even minimal file size support. Brands that need to stand out and push the envelope will find it hard to work with these limitations.

Other businesses with strict branding requirements may also have a hard time with pre-made themes. If your brand has an established look or needs to be executed a certain way, it may get frustrating trying to do it with a template. You will need to stay consistent with all marketing channels, and sometimes the way to do it is with a custom theme.

Businesses that are one of a kind also deserve a unique theme. If you are selling a special, rare or unique item, you need a custom theme that perfectly matches your brand. The only way to do so is through a fully customized Shopify theme that's specifically designed for you.

Below are a few examples of Shopify brands we found that are unique and whose branding are on point: 


Ryse Supps

Ryse is a fitness supplement brand targeted towards active gym-goers and fitness enthusiasts. On their Shopify website, we see that they’ve made great use of video and simple animations to highlight their star product. The colors used on the layout match the brand. The website is very clean and easy to use which matches the no-nonsense, active, and ready to go energy that their brand represents.


Pop & Suki

We really like how Pop & Suki designed their homepage. As a fashion and accessory brand catered to females with this taste, the developers here were able to showcase the brand’s feminine, floral, and classy aesthetic. The animations are simple but impactful and the right composition of images makes you want to keep scrolling down. There are enough spaces to highlight the products and for the eyes to rest. We also get to appreciate the art that went into the design.


Garni

Garni is a luxury tights brand that’s targeted towards young, working females who are interested in fashion. Garni’s layout is simple but is very on point with their brand and products. The colors are in harmony so they do not clash and are not a pain to look at. The lines are all clean and there is a lot of white space used for the eye to rest. Despite it being simple in design, it stands out because of the proper use of fonts, icons, colors, and photography.  The overall look is youthful and classic just like their brand.


Triangl

Triangl is a popular bikini brand most known for its neoprene line. The brand’s website is simple and minimalistic. It feels like a summer lookbook which is appropriate and on point for their brand. The visuals are the highlight of their website even when you go to their product page. Just 3 items take up almost the whole screen so you immediately see the details of each product and when you hover, you instantly see how it looks when worn without having to click it which is a great feature for customers in this niche,


HidrateSpark

HidrateSpark is a smart water bottle company so it makes sense that their website design is very sleek, and highlights the tech that was used in the bottle. The website is easy to use and shows off the product features very well. As you scroll, you get more pertinent information which we think is a great design feature. The design makes it look premium and modern just like the brand itself.

As you can see from the Shopify brands mentioned above, they range from tech to fashion and though some may be everyday items, they are elevated thanks to the branding and the website design. It makes each customer visit memorable and unique. Now, how will you know if you should get a custom Shopify theme?

When should you get a custom Shopify theme?

If you are ready to create a wonderful and delightful experience for your customers and your business can grow consistently, it is time. A business at the growth stage, it is the best time for it to do upgrades and improvements. By this time you have probably managed to gather enough data on your customers’ preferences and shopping behavior and get feedback on your products and services. 

Upgrades and improvements here include your brand’s capability to offer products and serve customers which includes your eCommerce platform. If you are already confident in your business and you know it will scale, it’s the right time to invest more into your website.

How to get a custom Shopify theme

To get a proper fully customized Shopify theme, you have a few options which are:

  • Freelancer

  • You can hire freelancers to save on costs but you might need to hire more than one. You will also need to oversee every process and be very hands on to ensure that everything is delivered on time and is complete since most freelancers do not answer to a project manager. Some may not have fixed times to work on your project and may have to squeeze it in between schedules.

    As compared to agencies, they do not work in teams so you might miss out on teams that have a wider collective experience that is beneficial to building your website. Working with a freelancer is not necessarily bad but you will have to have really good communication and be able to manage the project to hit your deadlines.

  • Agency

  • Hiring a web design agency can cost more but it can give better results. At Webinopoly, we house trusted and top-notch Shopify experts who can help entrepreneurs like you build your online business. We are an Award-Winning Digital Agency and are experts in Design, Setup, Development, and Marketing. Our services range from building your Shopify store to theme customization, website development, migration to Shopify, SEO, and marketing.

    Our team members have collective years of experience in eCommerce including Shopify. When you hire an agency like ours, you get a team of designers and developers to work on your Shopify website. You also get assigned a project manager to help you every step of the way. By hiring an agency, you can get more done quickly as it’s all done within the same team under the same roof. Webinopoly has a proven communication system that bears good results and works to benefit the clients and the agency in terms of meeting deadlines and project goals.

  • Combination

  • If you are skilled in design or coding, you can get one part of the project done and work with an agency to fulfill and build the website for you. You can also work with a freelancer to do your design and provide that design to Webinopoly so we can bring your website to life.

    Things to note

    When you go for a custom Shopify theme, you must remember that it is being built from scratch so it can take quite some time. Most custom websites may take months before it is ready to launch but this is because developers must ensure that all aspects of your website function and each step is approved by you.

    Realistically, agencies or freelancers may give you a timeline but they may not be strictly followed to the dot as there are many things like bugs and errors that can pop up from time to time. Plus, approvals between clients and agencies take time as well. It’s just important to note that good things take time and a custom website cannot be rushed.

    In summary, you will need to be ready to invest, you must have the budget and the time to go forward with your custom Shopify theme. This is best for when your business is consistently growing, has a unique branding, needs to adhere to strict branding guidelines, or if it is already established. A custom Shopify theme gives you the freedom to do what you want and get what you need.

    If you’re ready to design, develop or build your Shopify website, get in touch with your Shopify Experts at Webinopoly today.

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