How can you change the theme on Shopify without losing content?
Quick Summary
Updating your Shopify theme can improve user experience, modernize your store's design, optimize for mobile, add new features, and align with your branding for better customer engagement.
Explore the Shopify Theme Store, consider your store's needs, preview themes, check customization options, and read reviews to find a theme that fits your brand and goals.
Install the new theme (from Shopify or a third party), customize it using the theme editor, publish it, and back up your old theme to ensure a smooth transition.
Communicate changes to customers, test functionality thoroughly, optimize for SEO, monitor performance post-launch, and seek professional help if needed to avoid disruptions.
Changing your Shopify theme can rejuvenate your online store. It will give it a new interface and address functionality issues in the older one. Whether you are rebranding, improving user experience, or just updating the design to keep up with the times, changing the theme is an effective option.
While Shopify makes the work easy, one has to be quite mindful not to cause any disruptions. Each of the steps is crucial—from selecting an applicable theme to customizing it for one’s brand. You should hire Shopify developers if you’re planning extensive customizations.
In this guide, we’ll walk you through how to change your Shopify theme with ease, ensuring a smooth transition while keeping your store running seamlessly. Let’s get started!
Why Change Your Shopify Theme?
If you’re changing the theme of your Shopify store, you’re probably asking yourself what benefits it can bring. Updating a theme is much more than changing the design; it offers the opportunity to update functionality for improved customer experience and better alignment with business goals.
Before we start the process, let’s take a look at some significant reasons why changing your Shopify theme could be such an exciting opportunity for your online store.
Better User Experience: If you have an outdated, cluttered theme, you drive potential buyers away. Fresh themes focusing on user-friendliness can greatly reduce bounce rates and keep visitors engaged, eventually leading to more conversions.
Change Your Store Design: Business ideas change, and some of the designs that would have looked modern just a few years ago might seem outdated at present. A new theme will lend your store the much-needed modernity for its appeal towards current aesthetics. It makes your store appealing and signals that your brand is trendy.
Optimize for Mobile: Since more people are shopping on their phones, mobile responsiveness is a must. Without a properly optimized theme for smaller screens, it is possible for you to lose sales. A storefront will work perfectly and look good on all devices with a mobile-friendly theme, adding greater satisfaction to customers.
Add New Features: Many themes are made with certain functionalities, such as quick view or advanced filter or dynamic product display, which your theme may not have. Upgrading to a feature-rich theme can maximize your store’s functionality and thus the browsing and buying process of the customer.
Align with Branding: Your theme must change when your brand changes. Rebranded or updated messages call for updating the theme. A theme that communicates with the identity of your brand builds trust and consistency in the eyes of customers and gives your store a cohesive, professional look, which might be effective for customer loyalty.
Changing your theme on Shopify is all about offering a better experience to your customers. Maybe you want to improve performance, keep your site current, or add some new features. The right theme will make as big a difference as any. Factors such as these will help you decide if you want to make that decision.
Once you’ve chosen the perfect theme for your store, it’s time to install and activate it. Follow this step-by-step guide to ensure a smooth transition:
Step 1: Install the New Theme
The first step is to add the new theme to your Shopify account. Here’s how:
Test the responsiveness of the theme by previewing it on different devices (desktop, tablet, mobile).
Pro Tip: Keep your branding consistent by using the same color palette and fonts as your logo and marketing materials.
Step 3: Publish the New Theme
Once you’re happy with the customization, it’s time to make the theme live:
In the Themes section, locate the new theme in your theme library.
Click Publish.
Confirm the action when prompted.
Your store will now use the new theme, and customers will see the updated design immediately.
Step 4: Backup and Monitor Performance
Changing your theme is a big update, so it’s important to take precautions and monitor the results:
Backup Your Current Theme: Before publishing the new theme, duplicate your existing theme as a backup:
Go to Online Store > Themes.
Find your current theme and click Actions > Duplicate.
This ensures you can revert to the old theme if something goes wrong.
Check for Issues: After publishing, test all links, buttons, forms, and checkout processes to ensure everything works correctly.
Monitor Analytics: Use Shopify’s analytics tools to track how the new theme impacts your store’s performance:
Are there changes in bounce rates or conversion rates?
Is the site loading faster or slower?
By keeping an eye on these metrics, you can identify any areas for improvement and make adjustments as needed.
With these steps, you’ll have successfully changed your Shopify theme while minimizing disruptions to your store. By following this process carefully, you can ensure your new theme not only looks great but also enhances your store’s functionality and customer experience.
How to Choose the Right Theme for Shopify?
When it comes to the Shopify store, upgrading your store theme is one of the most important tasks. Your store theme is the core feature in determining the look of your site, so this portion requires careful consideration. The chosen theme should best match and mirror your branding and meet the requirements and obligations of your business.
Here’s how to find a theme and make it work for you:
Explore the Shopify Theme Store
Browse themes relevant to your specific industry, like themes focusing on fashion or electronics, or even art-related themes. The themes can also be filtered for special features like mobile responsiveness, quick view, or product filtering.
Free themes are great for entry-level businesses or small business operations that work with a really tight budget. Premium themes usually come with bells and whistles and extensive support.
Consider Your Store’s Needs
Think carefully about what your store needs to function well before you settle on a theme. Some pertinent questions would be:
Will the theme support the types of products that you sell? For instance, in the case of fashion stores, themes with great galleries of products or zooming features would be desirable.
Is it mobile-optimized? With shopping on phones getting popular, having a mobile-friendly theme will be a must.
Preview the Theme
You can preview most of the themes available in the Shopify Theme Store before making a decision. Use this handy feature to see if the theme sits well with your brand and meets your requirements.
Check for Customization Options
A theme that allows customization according to the store owners’ needs is considered best. Preferably, select a theme that allows users flexibility in customizing the colors, fonts, and layouts, including sections such as headers, footers, and sliders. Inflexible themes with little room for customization can compromise your unique design and the functionality of the store.
Read Reviews and Ratings
Before you finalize your decision, check the experience of other Shopify users who have used the theme through their reviews and ratings. Reviews may uncover the theme’s performance, usability, and potential problems.
It may take a while to choose the perfect theme, but it is worth the effort to make sure that your store looks good and runs smoothly. You could narrow down your options based on your audience, goals, and budget to find a theme you truly envision.
Tips for a Smooth Transition
Switching your Shopify theme is a big update, and although the process is straightforward, you can take a few extra steps to make sure everything goes smoothly. Here are some practical tips to help you execute that transition seamlessly:
Communicate with Your Customers
If you are going to make significant changes to the design and layout of the store, we recommend informing your customers beforehand. Use emails or social media posts to keep them updated. This will set expectations and reduce any confusion when a customer comes to their store.
Test Thoroughly Before Publishing
Before you put your new theme live, test every aspect of your store to catch any possible issues:
All product pages, collections, and links should be checked for correct functioning.
Forms such as contact or newsletter sign-ups should also be tested to confirm functionality.
Check whether the checkout is error-free and smooth.
Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test and other such tools will also help ensure your site interacts well on all devices.
Optimize for SEO
Changing themes may affect your store’s search engine rankings due to the metadata, alt texts, or URLs being interrupted. So, before initiating any transitions, be sure that the following steps are taken:
Make sure that you preserve the meta titles/descriptions/image alt texts during a transition.
Update the sitemap and submit it to Google Search Console to speed up indexing of your new design by search engines.
Keep Your Old Theme as a Backup
Always duplicate your current theme just before publishing the new one. That gives a safety net in case something goes wrong and the design needs to be reverted. The way to do this is:
Go to Online Store > Themes.
Find your current theme and click Actions > Duplicate.
A backup lets you restore your store quickly in case it is needed.
Monitor Performance Post-Launch
Once you’ve published your new design, monitoring the performance of the store becomes integral:
Monitor your store’s metrics, such as bounce rates, page load times, and conversion rates, using the analytics offered by Shopify.
Listen to customers who give positive or negative reviews to assess areas of improvement.
Quickly look after any unusual issues that arise, because they may result in a huge disturbance if left unattended.
Seek Professional Help if Needed
If you need assistance customizing or debugging your new theme, feel free to contact Shopify experts. You can also choose an eCommerce development agency that specializes in Shopify to help you with the change. They will assist you in customizing and fine-tuning your store for the best possible experience.
With these suggestions, you can ease your transition into the new Shopify theme. These measures will not only protect your store from malfunction but will also enhance your customers’ experience.
FAQs on Changing Themes on Shopify
Will changing my Shopify theme affect my products and orders?
No, switching themes only updates the visual layout of your store. All your products, customer data, and order history remain intact in Shopify’s backend. However, some theme-specific settings (like custom fonts or colors) may need to be reconfigured.
Can I switch back to my old theme after changing it?
Yes! Shopify automatically saves your previous theme versions. You can restore an old theme anytime by going to Online Store > Themes and selecting “Publish” on your preferred version. This makes testing new themes risk-free.
Do I need coding skills to customize a new Shopify theme?
Basic customizations (like colors, fonts, and layouts) can be done easily using Shopify’s built-in theme editor. For deeper changes (e.g., modifying templates or adding custom features), basic HTML/CSS knowledge helps, but many themes offer user-friendly settings to avoid coding.
Let’s Conclude
Updating your Shopify theme goes beyond mere graphics. It is a way to improve the functionality and aesthetic aspects of your shop and thus enhance the overall customer experience. Selecting the right theme, customizing it to match your brand, and following a step-by-step approach can create a store that generates better results and looks good.
Believe us, all your hard work will eventually come back to profit you. A suitable theme enhances user engagement, which, in turn, increases conversions and gives your store a touch of modernity and professionalism. Be it for a stunning look, performance, or other functionalities, being tactful about how and when you will execute the transition is key.
If you face any difficulties during the process, you can consult with us to get instant help.
John Niles, a dedicated Technical Consultant at BrainSpate since 2023, specializes in eCommerce. With a global perspective, he crafts insightful content on cutting-edge web development technologies, enriching the digital commerce landscape.
