Overview
Are you looking to start an online store on Shopify but struggling to choose a suitable theme?
With so many options available, finding the perfect fit for your brand can be overwhelming. But fear not; we’ve done the research for you and compiled a list of the best free and premium Shopify themes for 2023.
Whether you’re just starting out or looking to revamp your existing store, these themes are sure to impress your customers and boost your sales. So, let’s dive in!
Best Free Shopify Themes
If you’re just starting out or have a limited budget, don’t worry – there are plenty of amazing free Shopify themes available. Here are some of the top free Shopify themes for 2023:
- Dawn: The last entry describes a theme that is designed for quick setup and visual storytelling. It includes features such as cart notes, in-store pickups, quick buy, product reviews, and recommended products. The theme also offers merchandising tools like high-resolution images, image galleries, and lookbooks. It includes product options, shipping information, size chart, and usage information, as well as enhanced search and filtering options. Finally, it has a sticky header to keep important information visible to the user.
- Spotlight: This theme is designed for quick setup with minimal steps. It is also suitable for cart and checkout features like cart notes and in-store pickups, as well as quick buy and slide-out cart options. Marketing and conversion features include blogs, cross-selling, FAQ pages, recommended products, and stock counters. The theme also supports high-resolution images, image galleries, zoom and rollover, lookbooks, product options and videos, shipping and delivery information, size charts, slideshow, usage information, product discovery, and enhanced search with mega menu, filtering, and sorting. Lastly, it includes a sticky header and recommended products.
- Refresh: The theme is optimized for editorial content and showcases visual storytelling. It has a quick setup with minimal steps and features like cart notes, in-store pickups, and quick buy. It supports marketing and conversion with features like blogs, cross-selling, and promo banners. It also has recommended products, high-resolution images, and merchandising features like image galleries, lookbooks, and product videos. Other features include shipping and delivery information, enhanced search, and product filtering and sorting.
What Happened To The Debut Shopify Theme And Others?
Shopify Theme Store has recently discontinued some of its old themes, including Debut, Brooklyn, and Simple. However, it is still possible to download these themes from other sources on the web.
Debut theme, in particular, is highly recommended for new businesses with a small product catalog. It offers a visually appealing way to showcase products, is available in both desktop and mobile versions, and is designed to direct customers to the most important areas of the website.
Brooklyn, on the other hand, is a free website theme suitable for a general web store and offers two styles: classic and playful. It is highly customizable, fast, lightweight, mobile optimized, and supported by Shopify’s support team. It is perfect for businesses that want a unique and customizable theme.
For those who want to put the spotlight on their products, the Simple e-commerce template is the ideal choice. This minimal Shopify theme has a design that focuses on the product catalog and offers a simple navigation experience. It also has useful features like product image animation and a sidebar module for displaying items and collections. Although it doesn’t have a vibrant color scheme, its simplicity makes it look good on all devices, and navigating the website is quick and effortless.
To download these free Shopify themes, you can visit the Shopify Theme Store or find them on GitHub. Keep in mind that while these themes may be free, they still offer a professional and polished look for your store.
Best Premium Shopify Themes
If you have a bit more budget to work with, investing in a premium Shopify theme can take your store to the next level. Here are some of the top Shopify themes for 2023:
- Parallax: This theme is one of the best Shopify themes for dropshipping and high-volume stores. It also includes features for physical stores, such as in-store pickups and store locators. The theme also offers various marketing and conversion tools like age verifier, back-in-stock alerts, and promo pop-ups. Merchandising features include animation, color swatches, and product videos. Additionally, the theme provides product discovery tools like breadcrumbs and enhanced search.
- Testament: This theme is designed for high-volume stores and physical stores with features for in-person selling. It’s great for visual storytelling, with a focus on showcasing images to support brand storytelling. The theme includes various features for cart and checkout, marketing and conversion, merchandising, and product discovery, such as quick buy, product videos, and enhanced search. It also includes options for recently viewed and recommended products, as well as a sticky header.
- Pipeline: This theme is designed for high-volume physical stores and visual storytelling. It includes features for cart and checkout, marketing and conversion, and merchandising. The theme also has multiple language translations available and options for product discovery and filtering. Additionally, it includes features such as a store locator, trust badges, and recently viewed and recommended products to enhance the shopping experience.
Premium Shopify themes can be purchased on marketplaces like ThemeForest or directly through the Shopify Themes Store.
Prices for Shopify paid themes can range from around $100 to $500, depending on the features and complexity of the design.
While it may be a bigger investment upfront, a premium theme can help elevate your store’s design and improve the overall shopping experience for your customers.
For an in-depth guide on Shopify, read our What Is Shopify? A Beginner’s Guide 2023.
Is It Worth Buying A Shopify Theme?
When it comes to choosing a Shopify theme, there are pros and cons to both free and premium options.
Free themes may be an excellent choice for those just starting out or with a limited budget, as they can still offer a professional look and feel.
On the other hand, premium themes often offer more advanced features, customization options, and support.
When deciding whether to purchase a Shopify theme, consider factors such as your budget, the level of customization you need, and the specific features you require.
It may also be helpful to look at examples of successful stores using both free and premium themes to get a sense of what works best for your industry and niche.
Some successful stores using Shopify themes include LOVABILITY, an innovative women’s health brand that uses the premium Ira Theme, and LAZYPANTS, a clothing brand that uses the Prestige theme.
Shopify Theme Detector
There are several ways to detect which Shopify theme a website is using:
- View Page Source: Right-click on the website and select “View Page Source.” Then, search for the term “shopify” or “theme” in the code. If you find it, look for the theme name and version number in the code.
- Use Online Tools: There are several online tools available that can detect the Shopify theme used by a website by analyzing the website’s CSS and HTML code. Some popular options include What Shopify Theme, Shopify Theme Detector, and Shopify Inspector.
- Use a browser extension: Install a browser extension like “Shopify Theme Detector” or “WhatRuns” to easily detect if a website is using a Shopify theme.
- Check the Theme’s URL: Many Shopify themes include the name of the theme in the URL. For example, if the website is using the “Brooklyn” theme, the URL might include “/themes/brooklyn”.
- Contact the Website Owner: If all else fails, you can try contacting the website owner and asking them directly which Shopify theme they are using. They may be willing to share this information with you.
Detecting which Shopify theme a website is using can be helpful for those looking to replicate a similar design or functionality on their own Shopify store.
New Shopify Themes For 2023
As Shopify continues to evolve and improve, so do its themes. Here are some of the latest Shopify themes for 2023:
- Enterprise: This Shopify theme is designed for dropshippers and high-volume stores with features that facilitate time-based promotions, in-store pickups, pre-orders, and quick buys. The theme also includes several marketing and conversion features, such as back-in-stock alerts, customizable contact forms, and product reviews. Additionally, it has merchandising features like animation, high-resolution images, product videos, and product options. The theme facilitates product discovery with breadcrumbs, enhanced search, mega menu, product filtering, and sorting, recently viewed, recommended products, and sticky header.
- Aurora: This theme is designed for visual storytelling and editorial content, with optimizations for longer-form text sections. It’s also designed for high-volume stores and has similar cart and checkout features as the first theme. Marketing and conversion tools include customizable contact forms and promo banners, while merchandising options include image galleries and product videos.
- Gain: This theme is designed for dropshippers and high-volume stores with features to run time-based promotions. It includes various cart and checkout options, such as in-store pickups, quick buys, and a slide-out cart. The theme provides marketing and conversion features such as product reviews, promo banners, and recommended products. It also offers merchandising features like animation, color swatches, and high-resolution images. The theme has enhanced search and product filtering, sorting options to aid product discovery, and a sticky header for easy navigation.
Overall, these new Shopify themes offer improved customization options, enhanced features, and a modern look and feel.
If you’re considering a new theme for your store, it’s worth checking out these latest offerings and comparing them to previous versions to see what works best for your business.
What Are Shopify 2.0 Themes?
Many have noticed that the Debut theme and some others have been removed from the Shopify store. (They can still be downloaded on the web).
According to Shopify, the removal of Debut and other themes was done to allow for more focus and effort on supporting the new 2.0 themes.
In June 2021, at Shopify Unite, one of Shopify’s biggest updates to date was announced: Online Store 2.0 – referred to many as Shopify 2.0.
This particular update, which gave a fresh new approach to Shopify’s theme architecture, had (and continues to have) arguably the most significant impact on merchants.
The goal is to encourage merchants to take advantage of the new features that come with the improved themes, such as the ability to add a custom liquid section directly from the themes editor contained within a section.
Additionally, new features include the ability to reference content from a page as a section, create collage-like layouts with video, image, collection, and product blocks, and create columns of content to list steps, logo lists, product highlights, and more.
Merchants can also enable filtering by product options, product type, availability, and more, as well as add a pop-up or collapsible tab block to display secondary product information.
Furthermore, the new themes have adaptable layouts across pages and a predictive search function to support goal-oriented buyers who are looking for something specific.
The cross-selling sections and blocks allow buyers to discover related products throughout the shopping funnel, including in the cart.
With the highly visual sections that can also be added to all pages, the new themes align with the UX strategy taken for discovery-oriented buyers who like to browse and be inspired by content in order to make a purchasing decision.
These improvements make the new 2.0 themes a worthy investment for merchants looking to improve their online store.
Where To Buy Themes For Shopify?
When it comes to buying themes for Shopify, there are several marketplaces to choose from. Here are some of the best places to buy Shopify themes:
Shopify Theme Store: Shopify’s own theme store offers both free and premium themes. Premium themes start at $180.
ThemeForest: This popular marketplace offers a wide range of premium themes from various developers. Prices start from around $49.
Creative Market: This marketplace offers a selection of unique and creative themes from independent developers. Prices range from $9 to $999.
When choosing a marketplace, consider factors such as price, features, and support. It’s also a good idea to read reviews and check out demos before making a purchase.
How Many Themes Does Shopify Have?
As of 2023, the official Shopify Theme Store offers 135 free and premium themes. Of these themes, 12 are free, and 123 are premium.
The most popular Shopify themes include the Dawn theme, free and commonly used by new stores, and the Parallax theme, a premium theme known for its speed and advanced features.
Other popular themes include the Spotlight theme, the Ira theme, and the Pipeline theme.
ThemeForest Shopify Themes And Templates
There are also thousands of themes and templates to choose from made by third-party developers on marketplaces like ThemeForest.net.
Currently, over 1,600 ThemeForest Shopify themes are easy to set up and allow you to start selling online immediately.
Shopify Themes GitHub
One of the ways to add a theme to a Shopify store is by adding a GitHub-hosted theme through the Shopify GitHub integration. This option is available for developers, Shopify Partners, and agencies who want to add a custom theme to their store.
By connecting their GitHub account to their Shopify store, users can install a theme from a GitHub repository, test and make changes to the theme, and then push those changes back to the repository. This allows for version control and collaboration on theme development.
It’s important to note that adding a GitHub-hosted theme requires some technical knowledge and expertise in using Git and GitHub. Users should also ensure that the theme they are adding is properly licensed and complies with Shopify’s terms of service.
The Shopify GitHub integration offers a convenient option for developers and advanced users to customize and manage themes for their online stores.
When choosing a theme, it’s essential to consider your store’s specific needs and brand identity.
Whether you choose a free or premium theme, ensure it’s well-suited to your business and can provide the functionality and customization you need.
Conclusion
Choosing the right theme is crucial for the success of your Shopify store. With the best free and premium Shopify themes for 2023 at your fingertips, you can confidently showcase your brand’s personality and style.
Whether you prefer minimalist or bold design, there’s a theme for you. Don’t hesitate to invest in a premium theme if it aligns with your brand’s goals and values.
Remember, your store’s design is your first impression on potential customers, so make it count. Happy selling!
