Shopify

Nov 15, 2024

The ultimate guide to Shopify custom theme development

person coding for shopify - Shopify web design

Instant Team

The ultimate guide to Shopify custom theme development

Building a unique online store can feel overwhelming, especially when you crave the perfect look and functionality. With Shopify web design, custom themes can turn your vision into reality, but where do you start? Whether you're a newbie or a seasoned pro, this article will guide you through the essentials of Shopify custom theme development.

To simplify things, we’ll also explore tools like Shopify product page builders that can make the process smoother and more efficient.

What is Shopify theme development? Off the shelf vs custom Shopify themes

theme development - Shopify Custom Theme Development

Shopify theme development is customizing or creating new themes for your store. This can involve tweaking existing themes or building one from scratch to align perfectly with your brand. Shopify gives you the tools to make these changes through no-code solutions like drag-and-drop page builders or by diving into the code yourself. This flexibility can help you stand out in a crowded market.

Off-the-shelf themes: Quick and easy

Off-the-shelf Shopify themes are pre-designed templates you can buy and install quickly. They’re a fast and budget-friendly way to set up your store, offering various design styles and features. However, they often limit you to basic customization options like changing colors or fonts, which can be a drawback if you want your store to have a unique look and feel.

Custom themes: Tailored to perfection

Custom Shopify themes are built from the ground up to meet your specific needs. These themes offer complete design freedom and can include advanced features like custom checkout processes or integrations with other tools. While they offer unparalleled flexibility, developing a custom theme can be more expensive and time-consuming. You'll likely need to work with developers and designers to bring your vision to life.

How can I get custom Shopify themes for my store

person using laptop - Shopify Custom Theme Development

Third-party marketplaces: Expand your options

Looking for more than what the Shopify theme store offers? Explore third-party marketplaces like ThemeForest and TemplateMonster. These sites host a variety of Shopify themes created by independent developers. You'll find unique designs and functionalities that might not be available in the Shopify store. Once you purchase a theme, uploading it is straightforward.

Head to Online Store > Themes in your Shopify admin
Select the option to upload a theme file.

Custom development: Tailor your store to perfection

Need something truly unique? Consider hiring a developer or agency for custom theme development. This option lets you customize every detail to align with your brand. Developers use Shopify's Liquid templating language, HTML, CSS, and JavaScript to build a theme from scratch or extensively modify an existing one. This approach offers the flexibility to create a design that’s visually appealing and functionally robust.

Using page builders: Customize without code

No coding skills? No problem. Page builders like Shogun and GemPages can help. These tools offer drag-and-drop functionality, making it easy to customize existing themes. With pre-designed templates and elements, you can mix and match to create a functional and visually appealing storefront. This is a great option if you want control over your store's design without needing to understand code.

Theme customization through the editor: Quick adjustments made easy

Once you’ve chosen a base theme, you can customize it directly using Shopify’s theme editor. This built-in tool lets you tweak settings like:

Colors
Fonts
Layouts

Access the editor via Online Store > Themes, select your theme, and click "Customize." This method is perfect for quick adjustments that keep your brand consistent.

Custom templates for specific products: Unique layouts for unique items

Have specific products that need unique layouts? Create custom templates within Shopify. Use Liquid, HTML, and CSS to design tailored presentations for different product types or categories. If coding isn’t your thing, some page builders offer features that simplify this process. This allows you to present your products in a way that best suits their needs.

Shopify online store 2.0: A new era of customization

Shopify's Online Store 2.0, launched in June 2021, brings a host of new features. Its upgraded theme architecture allows you to add sections to any page, not just the homepage. This makes your store more customizable and integrates better with Shopify apps.

The new reference theme, Dawn, replaces Debut and incorporates all the best features of Store 2.0. Modern developer tools, including GitHub integration and Theme Check, make custom theme development more rewarding. New accessibility requirements ensure your theme is compatible with Shopify best practices.

Elevate your Shopify store with Instant

Instant is a user-friendly Shopify product page builder that allows eCommerce teams and agencies to create fully customizable and advanced pages without any coding knowledge. With its intuitive drag-and-drop interface, users can quickly design and publish high-converting:

Landing pages
Blog posts
Product pages
Sections

Try Instant's Shopify product page builder today!

What you need to create for Shopify custom theme development

team in discussion - Shopify Custom Theme Development

Developing a custom Shopify theme is a rewarding journey, but you'll need the right tools. Start with the Shopify CLI, a must-have for interacting with your Shopify store and testing your theme locally. Unlike Shopify's drag-and-drop builder, the CLI requires coding knowledge. You'll find it invaluable if you’re comfortable with basic coding syntax.

Open-source themes as a starting point

Look at the Dawn theme. This is Shopify’s open-source theme and a great reference point. You can clone its repository from GitHub and use it as your starting framework. This way, you're not beginning from scratch but building on something solid.

Using GitHub for efficient theme development and management

Speaking of GitHub, it’s your best friend for managing your theme's code. It offers a reliable platform for storing, tracking changes, and collaborating on your theme. Link your repository to your Shopify store for seamless updates and version control. With GitHub, you can clone Dawn, modify it, and push updates to your live store effortlessly.

Mastering Liquid for dynamic content in Shopify

Liquid is the engine behind Shopify themes. It's a templating language that enables dynamic content rendering within HTML. To create a custom theme, you need a firm grasp of Liquid’s syntax and structures. While Liquid is straightforward, the magic happens when you integrate it with other programming languages.

You'll use HTML to structure your Shopify pages, CSS for styling, and JavaScript for adding interactivity. In some cases, you might need Ruby and React to handle more complex back-end and interactive features. Understanding these languages will give you the flexibility to create a theme that is not only functional but also visually appealing and engaging for users.

Gaining access to a Shopify store for theme development

To build and test your custom theme, you need access to a Shopify store. This could be your store or one where you have developer privileges. Testing your theme in a live environment is crucial to ensure everything works. If you don’t have a store, set one up and use Shopify’s trial options. This will allow you to experiment and troubleshoot as you develop your theme.

Custom Shopify theme development

Creating a custom Shopify theme is rewarding but requires careful planning and technical skills. With the right tools and knowledge, you can build a unique storefront that reflects your brand and enhances the user experience.

Creating custom Shopify themes from scratch

person with coding setup - Shopify Custom Theme Development

Getting your bearings: Plan before you code

Building a custom Shopify theme from scratch isn’t just about diving into code. It starts with a clear plan. You need to lay out exactly what you want your theme to look like and how it should function. This planning phase is crucial.

Think of it as setting a blueprint for your project. It will help you avoid unnecessary detours and ensure a design meets your needs. Before you type a single line of code, sketch out your vision. This way, you’ll have a concrete plan to guide you through the rest of the process.

Research like a detective: Validate your ideas

So, you’ve got your plan. Now it’s time to test it. Start by examining whether your design and features align with what your buyers want. Then, look at other successful Shopify stores to see if they’re using strategies similar to yours.

You can use tools like Shopify’s Theme Detector to identify the themes and features they’re using. If something catches your eye, analyze the stats to see if it’s worth incorporating. This research phase is about validating your ideas and ensuring they’ll work in the real world.

Setting the stage: Install Shopify CLI

Now that you have a solid plan and validated ideas, it’s time to get technical. You need to set up Shopify CLI on your device. This tool is essential for building your custom theme. There are different requirements depending on your operating system.

For Windows, you’ll need:

Node.js
Ruby+Devkit
Git
Bundler

Linux users will need:

Node.js
Ruby
Git
cURL
GCC
G++
Make

For Mac users, installing Shopify CLI with Homebrew will automatically include:

Node.js
Ruby
Git

Once you’ve got everything set up, you’re ready to start building.

The Dawn of your new theme

It’s time to roll up your sleeves and get to work. Start by cloning the Dawn theme GitHub repository to your device. This repository contains the source code and resources you’ll need to build your custom theme. Pay special attention to the critical path buyers take from landing on your site to checking out. The smoother this path, the higher your conversion rates will be. Focus on key pages like the homepage, product pages, checkout pages, and About Us.

Keep in sync: Git integration with Shopify

As you build your theme, keep your Git repository synchronized with Shopify and your local directory. This integration is crucial for real-time changes. You can preview changes using Google Chrome, and the Git integration will automatically store your data in the repository. This allows for seamless updates and ensures that your theme is always up-to-date.

Test drive your theme: Preview and refine

Regularly check in to see how your custom theme looks and feels for users. Use the Shopify theme dev command to preview real-time changes. This command Instantly reloads locally made changes to CSS and the theme’s sections, letting you see your progress through Google Chrome. Generate a permanent link to the theme for sharing or prepare for publication by uploading it to your theme library. Testing is integral to fulfilling pre-established requirements and adhering to Shopify’s testing and accessibility requirements.

Crossing the finish line: Publish your theme

You’re almost there. Before going live, conduct a thorough review of your theme to confirm the completion of all ongoing development activities. Once satisfied, use the “theme push” command to push the theme to your store. This is the moment you’ve been working towards. Your new Shopify theme is ready to launch, and you can finally share it with the world.

The easiest way to Shopify custom theme development

woman coding - Shopify Custom Theme Development

The true cost of custom Shopify themes

Custom Shopify themes can be a double-edged sword. While they offer the flexibility to create a unique look and feel, they come with hefty price tags. The costs can quickly increase, especially if you work on a tight budget. Often, many hidden costs come with custom themes, such as the need for ongoing maintenance and support. These can take a toll on your wallet and your time.

Customization takes time

Time is money, and nowhere is this truer than when you’re working on a custom Shopify theme. Every hour you spend fiddling with code is an hour you’re not making money. Small bugs and glitches can consume precious time, reducing your hourly rate and making the project less profitable. If you’re a freelancer or solopreneur, you know the feeling of being ‘over’ a project because you’ve spent way more time on it than you anticipated.

Design doesn’t always make sense

Your client might have a crazy vision for their site and need a custom theme. A custom design may need to make better sense for UX. E-commerce design generally follows clear patterns that shoppers are used to, which is important for getting conversions. You can still have some fun with the design, but you’ll notice most successful stores are careful not to confuse visitors.

It’s expensive

If your client wants additional features, it will be expensive when a theme might have had those features built-in, or an app could have easily been integrated to save time and money. When you start adding up the costs of custom features, it can quickly become clear that a pre-built theme would have been a better choice.

You need a developer

If you’re building a store from scratch, you’ll need the expertise of both a designer and a developer. Most of our audience identifies as some kind of designer (web, brand, graphic), not a theme developer, and most likely, your clients were attracted to you for your designs. So, you might need to explain to them that building themes from scratch is a completely different skill set.

Maintenance is a pain

All themes require maintenance to:

Maintain browser compatibility
Enhance speed performance
Improve SEO
Improve accessibility and more

When you use an existing Shopify theme, the developers do this maintenance and provide theme version updates every few months. Updating the theme version is far less work (in some cases just a single click) than keeping on top of all the maintenance requirements and making them yourself.

There’s a better way

If you need a site up fast and facing a looming launch deadline, then coding a Shopify theme from scratch might not be possible. And while a pre-built Shopify theme can be installed with a few clicks, you may find it doesn’t have the necessary functionality and flexibility to support your online business.

You can still create your own Shopify store theme using other tools that give you all the control you need to:

Drive traffic through your sales funnel
Deliver an outstanding customer experience
Increase conversion rates

Use a drag-and-drop page builder

Page builders are powerful tools that allow you to customize your Shopify store without needing advanced technical skills. Instant provides an intuitive interface for easily modifying and enhancing your store’s pages.

Installing a page builder app from the Shopify App Store enables you to create and edit custom pages using a drag-and-drop approach. With Instant, you can avoid the stress of learning Liquid and coding individual pages independently. Instant is a drag-and-drop page builder that lets you build any type of eCommerce page with many customization options at your fingertips.

Pre-designed templates save time

Many page builders, including Instant, come with pre-designed templates that can be a starting point for your custom pages. You can select a template that fits your needs and modify it to suit your preferences. This feature is handy for quickly creating landing pages or promotional content without starting from scratch. You can create your own templates for a more customized store look.

Optimize your Shopify store for conversions without breaking the bank with Instant's Shopify product page builder

Instant is changing the game for Shopify web design, offering a user-friendly way to create advanced, customizable product pages. Whether you're part of an eCommerce team or an agency, Instant's drag-and-drop interface lets you craft high-converting:

Landing pages
Blog posts
Product pages
Sections

You remain in the driver's seat, completely controlling your store's design. And the best part? Instant integrates seamlessly with Figma and other eCommerce tools, making it a versatile and powerful choice for boosting your online store's performance. Give Instant's Shopify product page builder a try today.

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