We've no shame at all in quoting Steve Jobs thoughts on design: "Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works."
In considering how to select a theme for your Shopify store the principle above should be paramount in your thinking. Great design is not about how something looks to you but how it looks and functions to the person who has to use it, your customers.
At AirPOS we've been working in e-commerce since the beginning and have seen the good, the bad and the downright ugly in webstores. Our cumulative knowledge has led us to one conclusion; design your webstore to sell. This means when selecting your theme bear in mind the following:
- Don't hide your products behind huge vanity images, make them easy to find, evaluate and purchase.
- Don't ignore very important metrics like site speed, if your pages don't load quickly enough your customers will quickly go elsewhere
- Use great images! These days it's really easy to create very good images with smartphones. Make them on a white or cream background and perhaps purchase an affordable lightbox to help keep the lighting consistent. There's no point in having a great theme if you're going to use awful imagery. Use an app such as Pixelcut to cut out the background and add shadows for a really professional finish.
- Make sure it works great on mobile devices and tablets, your customers are buying everywhere these days and you should make it as easy as possible for them.
- Don't cheap out! If spending $99 on a great theme as opposed to selecting a free theme gets you even 1% more sales it will be a no brainer in the long run.