How To Change Your Shopify Theme: Complete Guide

Estimated reading time: 9 minutes

Today we are going to discuss how to change your Shopify theme. We hope this guide helps you like it helped us.

Just as you would choose the design for your physical storefront, you should do the same for your Shopify site. Your online store’s layout, functionality, and aesthetics significantly impact how customers interact with it and how successful your company ultimately becomes. Being distinctive in a market where over a million businesses use Shopify is difficult. But having a unique, brand-consistent theme can help. 

However, with the growth of your company, some things may change. What once worked for your store may no longer be the greatest option. Choosing another Shopify theme may be a game-changer when trying to rebrand, enhance user experience, or just get a brand-new look.

In this article, I’ll show you how to change a Shopify theme, from selecting the ideal solution to making it go live. Therefore, whether you a Shopify startup or an established store owner wishing to breathe new life into your website, this guide is here to help. Let’s get going.

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Shopify Themes: What You Need To Know

What Is A Shopify Theme?

A Shopify theme is a pre-made template that shapes your online store’s visual style and organization. It determines the layout of your items, the color palette, the font types, and the overall user experience.

The ideal theme promotes brand consistency, helps you achieve your business objectives, and boosts customer engagement and conversion rates. Whether you launch an online store on this platform or consider migration to Shopify, the theme can transform your website into a visually captivating and user-friendly destination.

Using Themes To Improve Your Online Store

The right theme is essential for a successful eCommerce company. It’s not just about looks. It’s about forming the right first impression and guiding users from the landing page to checkout.

Numerous studies show you have about 50 milliseconds to appeal to website visitors. This time is enough to decide whether to stay or leave. Here are key aspects a good Shopify theme can boost:

• User experience: The theme is all about the site’s navigation, layout, and loading time, all of which affect how easily customers may browse your store.
  
• Visual appeal: Your theme reflects the appearance of your online store, expressing your business identity and drawing in your target audience.
  
• Conversion rates: The appropriate theme can increase conversions by streamlining the checkout process and displaying important product features clearly.
  
• Brand consistency: A carefully selected theme improves brand consistency by establishing a unified and recognizable identity across all customer touchpoints.

Your theme selection should properly coordinate with your brand, products, and target market to achieve the best performance and sales.

How To Change A Theme Template In Shopify: Preparations

Why Switch To A New Theme?

In most cases, new brands on Shopify stay with the default theme, Debut. Shopify also provides a simple and universal site template called Dawn as the Online Store 2.0. You can check your current solution by going to “Shopify Admin” > “Online Store” > “Themes.”

Screenshot taken on the official Shopify YouTube channel

This section allows you to customize the theme by tweaking the structure, banners, products, and more. 

Screenshot taken on the official Shopify YouTube channel

Yet, this functionality may not be sufficient to stand out from the crowd. There are various additional themes, both free and premium, that can help solve this problem. 

Store owners may think about switching their Shopify theme for several reasons, such as:

• Business growth and evolution: As your company expands and changes, your previous theme may no longer be functional for your purposes or be a good representation of your brand.
  
• Better navigation and user experience: An outdated theme may not comply with the recent design best practices. It may have tangled navigation or excessive checkout fields. By choosing a new theme, you ensure cutting-edge looks for your store.
  
• Added features or functionality: The latest theme may provide more built-in SEO tools, product display options (360-degree product views, videos, or zoom functionality), or features like Instagram product tagging or feeds.
  
• Rebranding: An up-to-date Shopify may give your company a new image and direction.

How To Choose The Right Theme

Finding a perfect fit for your business involves careful thought. There are three ways to get a new Shopify theme:

• from the Shopify Theme Store;
• a third-party theme vendor;
• by custom-creating a theme from scratch and tailoring it to your business.

Keep the following things in mind while you browse through various themes:

• Brand compatibility: Does the theme look good? Is it convenient to use? Does it complement your products and content? Check out the stores working in the same field. To learn what Shopify theme a certain website utilizes, use Shopify App/Theme Detector, a Chrome add-on. You can learn the theme name or ID by looking at the page’s source code for Shopify stores that don’t employ a custom theme.

Screenshot taken on the official Hiut Denim Co. website

• When the theme was updated and whether its price includes future updates.
  
• The degree of customization. Are fonts editable? Can you change the page layout? Try out the theme to see which template elements you can tweak and whether it’s easy to do so.
  
• Available functionality. Make a list of essential features and check whether the theme supports them. And vice versa, do you need all the in-built capabilities, and are you ready to pay for them?

Backup Your Current Theme

A crucial step before making modifications is to create a copy of your present theme. Why do you need it? This safety measure enables you to return to your original settings if the new theme proves unsatisfactory or you encounter unanticipated problems.

To back up your theme, follow these steps:

1. Go to your Shopify admin panel and select “Online Store” > “Themes.”
2. Find the “Customize” button and the three dots next to it, and click them.
3. Choose “Duplicate” from the drop-down menu. The duplicating process may take a few minutes if your website stores much information.
4. Rename the duplicated theme to distinguish it from the modified versions.

Steps To Change Your Shopify Theme

Image credit: Unsplash

1. Downloading A New Theme

When you’ve settled on the desired theme, download the file. It’s easy: click the “Try theme” button in the Shopify Theme Store. Follow the instructions to make an order and change your Shopify theme. With just one click, the theme will be accessible in your Library.

Shopify themes are also available on other sources, most notably on ThemeForest. They are products created by various developers. While there are many more themes there than on the official marketplace, some may not be so good.

Plus, they don’t appear in your library automatically. You’ll need to download and upload the theme to your Shopify dashboard. It also applies to custom-made themes. To do it, go to your Shopify Theme library. Click the “Add theme” button and select “Upload zip file” from the drop-down menu.

2. Customizing The New Theme

Suppose you’ve added the theme to your library. You’re ready to make it live, but does it satisfy your requirements? To minimize possible issues, customize and preview the theme. Here is what to do:

1. Click “Customize” next to your new theme in the Theme library section.
2. Place all the elements as needed. Navigate through different se­ctions such as header, footer, product page­s, and more from the editor’s sidebar. Adjust colors, fonts, and layout options and incorporate e­lements like slide­shows or featured products.
3. Go back to the Theme library and preview the result. Click “Actions” to open the drop-down menu and choose “Preview.”
4. Check that everything appears and functions, as expected by navigating the preview site like a customer, would.
5. When you’re done, click the “Close Preview” button to leave the preview version and change the Shopify theme. You can find it in the bottom right corner of the screen.

3. Publishing The New Theme

Now everything is ready for the final step. Click the “Actions” button once more and select “Publish” from the drop-down menu. A pop-up will ask if you want to publish the new theme. Your existing theme will be replaced, and a dialog window will notify you of this.

Choose the “Publish” button. This step will activate your new theme and deactivate your old one, relocating it to your Theme library.

Common Problems And Their Solutions

Image credit: Unsplash

You may encounter several typical issues when moving to a new Shopify theme. Let’s review some of them, along with suggested fixes:

1. Loss Of Settings Or Data

You can lose part of your store’s data or settings while transitioning to a new theme. Yet, it’s not a big problem. Themes don’t affect your essential information, like products or pages. Each solution has its own options, so you need to modify these settings each time you change the Shopify theme.

2. Broken Images Or Layouts

Distorted images and layouts can stem from incompatible image sizes. Each theme has a different set of image requirements. Analyze your theme recommendations and adjust the pictures.

3. Missing Custom Code

Did you add any custom code to the previous theme? If yes, they won’t appear in the new one. You’ll need to apply any custom code modifications to the updated theme manually.

4. Compatibility Problems With Apps

Your new theme may not be compatible with the previously installed Shopify apps. For detailed troubleshooting instructions, speak with the app developer or ask Shopify support.

5. Issues With Navigation

Isn’t your store’s navigation functioning as it should? Your new theme may use different navigation settings, causing friction when moving from page to page. Access the navigation settings to make adjustments within the new theme customization options.

How To Change A Theme On Shopify: Conclusion

So, here is how to change your Shopify theme. We’ve analyzed the importance of moving to a new theme and looked at possible issues during this process. 

As you can see, switching to another theme isn’t that difficult. But if done right, it can enhance your store’s user experience, boost crucial metrics, and bring more revenue. A fresh theme can do the job if you plan to grow, improve the store’s looks and feels, or want advanced functionality.

So why not revitalize your store with a new Shopify theme? Follow the steps from this guide and give your customers a brand-new, entertaining, and compelling shopping experience.