[Shopify themes] Similar but different "themes" and "templates"

The themes used on Shopify are like templates, but they are a little different from templates!

Of course, it can be used as a template, but the theme is more than just a template.

What the heck?

I think that's the case, so after explaining that, I'd like to explain free and paid themes as well, introducing some examples.

Shopify's strength is that it allows 95% freedom in design

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The difference between a theme and a template

First of all, here's the difference! A template is essentially a template, so you could say it's something that has a beautiful shape already made, but the shape cannot be changed, like a mold.

The frame is set and cannot be changed.

If you don’t edit the code of a Shopify theme, it will be exactly the same as this template! However, the unique feature of Shopify themes is that they allow for extremely flexible “code editing.”

It's okay if you don't understand what it means, so first let's take a look at the code in the image.

Even if you show it to me, you won't understand it at all ^^;

A typical homepage is structured using "html + css", but Shopify uses its own language called "liquid" here. The parts enclosed in {{ }} and {% %} are like that.

This system itself is similar to creating a homepage with WordPress. Although WordPress also has a variety of templates available, you can also create completely original templates from scratch to create the homepage you want. This has elevated WordPress from being a "tool for blogs" to the CMS of choice for creating homepages!

However, since Shopify is an ASP for e-commerce sites, it is not possible to freely design anything like WordPress. Certain parts of the site cannot be completed without using Shopify's functions.

There is a language that can be used to accommodate this mechanism, and a language called "liquid".

Usually, when you create an EC site with other ASPs, there is no dedicated language provided (although there are some short codes available), so you cannot create it completely freely and you have to customize it within the template. Therefore, there are restrictions on making major changes.

For example, even with WordPress, if you use a template as the basis, there will be a limit to how much you can customize it. This is the limit of the template.

However, as I have said many times, Shopify is a theme. Since it is a theme, the general outline is already in place, but what makes it different from other templates is that you can customize anything based on the theme .

Customize anything

The meaning of is almost infinite. That's all I can say. Anyway, you can modify it as much as you want!

I rarely create original themes.

While there are themes that can be modified as much as you like, is it possible to create a completely original theme like WordPress? Yes, it is.

However, this is only a matter of whether it is possible or not. In reality, most sites do not use completely original themes. It is common to customize a theme based on some kind of theme.

Why?

If you want to create a completely original theme

• Add to cart button
• Member login function
• My Page
• Cart Page
• Search function
• Filter Function
• etc...

You will need to program the functions normally provided by these e-commerce sites yourself. This means that you will need a process that is very close to "full scratch production."

The amount of work required to create functionality from scratch is enormous, so it defeats the purpose of using an ASP to create an e-commerce site while keeping costs down.

So in most cases, it's "possible but not done." If you have a budget of 5 million yen or more, you can create a completely original website! You can do anything!

As a result, when creating a Shopify website, in order to reduce the effort of creating the minimum functionality, it is often the case that a theme is used as the base for customization!

The theme is building blocks set

What a theme can do varies depending on the theme. I will introduce some free and paid themes later, but each theme has its own original and easy-to-use functions, so one of the things you can do with Shipify themes is to take advantage of what the theme can do (obviously).

As for other functions that the theme does not have, a typical customization would be to add "apps," which allows you to expand the range of features.

But since this article is about themes, let's focus on what themes can do, not apps. Themes can be customized as much as you like!

Shopify themes are basically structured like building blocks, with blocks called "sections" stacked on top of each other to create a homepage.

Regarding sections, the theme itself has some built in, and a homepage can be completed with just these sections, so if you create just this, it can truly be called a "template."

However, this section can be modified as much as you like, and you can also create your own sections .

Sections that you customize or create yourself can be used like building blocks and can be inserted anywhere on your homepage.

In other words, the first theme I used was like a " beginner's set of building blocks " that you buy for your child, and when you run out of blocks, your child begs you to buy new building blocks, right? (This mechanism might be easier to imagine with Plarail, for example.)

So, in the case of Shopify, this new building block you buy is called the "customization section" or the "customized section."

Most beginner sets you buy at the beginning don't have enough building blocks, right? So if you think of it as the same principle as buying more blocks, it's easy to understand.

Other EC platforms don't allow you to buy additional building blocks, or you can add fixed "tangible" building blocks using short codes, but Shopify's sections are "intangible" and can be changed in any way you like.

This means that Shopify themes have almost infinite customizability, and themes and templates are different!

There are limits

However, it is true that among the building blocks you buy initially, there are some parts that you absolutely must use.

In other words, it is the part that is included from the beginning, such as the add to cart function and the member page. It is possible to make these parts yourself, but as I said before, it will take a lot of time and money to do so.

So there will be some scenes where you have to use the blocks you bought at the beginning. So what I often tell my clients is

When using a theme, there are some parts that you should not change, but 95% of it can be made original.

This is what I am telling you.

It seems like there are some areas that you shouldn't touch, and unless you're an expert in this area you won't notice.

As an aside, to be honest, I often come across websites that are built without knowing about these "parts that should never be touched" and end up causing a fire behind the scenes (we often receive requests to put out such fires lol).

Free and Paid Themes

There are free and paid themes, but if you can make everything, you don't need paid themes, right? You may be thinking that, but that's not the case! As I said before, themes are like "building block sets." To put it in perspective, free themes are like "beginner sets" and paid themes are like "luxury sets."

You can do it with a beginner's set, but there are a lot of things in the world that you can do even more with a deluxe set. It's exactly the same!

That being said, even with a luxury set, you can make a ship, but not an airplane... What if you want to buy more parts? I hope this gives you an idea of ​​that.

Also, there are areas that you absolutely shouldn't mess with! I think I've mentioned this before, but the way this part works also differs depending on the theme, so I think it's best to choose a theme that has the functions you want in these areas that you absolutely shouldn't mess with.

You can make the other parts later, but there are some parts that absolutely shouldn't be moved so it's best not to move them.

Free Themes

Free themes have a small number of building block parts, but they can do the bare minimum.

You can easily make a simple website, and it seems like you could make a simple tower using the building blocks above, right? It's the same idea.

Dawn

This is Shopify's representative free theme and is included in the default settings.

Functionally, it's just safe! You can call it the "Bunan of the Year 2022 winner." I think it's good to think of it as an all-3 student.

It has all the basic functions, and the product list page is normal. The filter function can be used normally. To be honest, I think it needs a few more parts to create the top page, but it has enough functions to make a simple page.

Since it is a very plain theme, when creating a customized site, it is very common to start by building on Dawn!

Taste

To be honest, there are nine free themes available from Shopify, but there is not much difference in functionality.

The second theme I chose, Taste, is probably best suited for displaying large photos, but I would say that there is almost no difference in functionality between it and Dawn! As for free themes, I recommend comparing the nine and choosing the one that best suits the atmosphere of the website you want to create.

Options like Crave have strong quirks and it can be difficult to match customized parts with object and theme parts, so if you want to customize, it's probably best not to choose it.

Paid themes

Paid themes have lots of building block parts or specialized sets.

For example, paid themes are ones that have "a huge number of parts" or "a building block set specialized for trains."

Impulse

It's one of the two big paid themes, isn't it? There's a reason why it's so popular.

You can create a stylish website just by combining the parts of this theme, and it is easy to customize as it does not have any strange quirks, so it is easy to use as a base! This is one of the reasons why this theme has been adopted by many of our companies.

I especially recommend it for those who want to focus on photos when creating apparel websites, but it also has a wide range of easy-to-use functions for multi-product websites, so it was also quite easy to use when we used it for a merchandise sales website we created! (We created it with mostly original sections, but the header was attractive.)

Additionally, the same company (Archetype) produces many excellent themes, and "Expanse" and "Motion" have been adopted multiple times.

Prestige

This is also one of the two big paid themes. I don't think the reason it's popular is because of its ease of use...

As the name suggests, I think this theme is suitable for high-end websites. What makes it easy to use is that it supports Japanese without any effort, which is rare for paid themes.

Other themes will generally require translation work.
(Companies with a lot of experience in this area often have translation files for other paid themes as well)

Also, the official Shopify blog mentions that "Tsuchiya Kaban" is creating a website based on this theme! I think this is also a reason for its popularity, but Tsuchiya Kaban has customized it so much that it's almost unrecognizable. In other words, it's just a base.

A common request is "I want a website like Tsuchiya Kaban," but to be honest, it would cost several million yen to customize it to that extent. I think it's a wonderful website, but I think it would be impossible to operate without a dedicated person just to manage the product information, etc.

Also, Presgite itself is actually quite quirky, so I don't really like it. It's fine for sites that want to have a high-end feel, but it's heavy.

If you are using the same company (Maestrooo), I personally recommend the following theme.

Focal

It's made by the same company as Prestige, but there are some significant differences in functionality!

It has some unique features, such as a function that makes it extremely easy to see the photos of each color of a product that is available in multiple colors on the product page. The settings are a bit quirky, but it's a unique feature and it's well worth investing $320 just to get it!

It also has a section that makes it easy to upsell, so if you are looking for functionality and the features of this theme suit you, this is one of the most recommended themes!

The same company also has a theme called "warehouse," which is easier to use for multi-product sites. It's probably the least popular though. (Maestrooo) is the most popular but the hardest to use lol

showtime

If you want to display a large amount of merchandise, this is it! Unfortunately, it has nothing to do with Shohei Ohtani.

From the product grid to the header menu, it's a great way to make choosing from a huge selection of products!

In particular, the header area is a place you shouldn't mess around with, so if you were to incorporate this function into another theme, it would end up costing you less in total if you used this theme! So, if you want this function in the header, it's better to use this one!

There are some parts that are a bit quirky, but if you have a site with a large amount of products, I would definitely recommend giving it a try!

Pipeline

A theme that is often recommended but never adopted lol

You could say it's simple yet highly functional, and since it doesn't have any particular quirks, it's easy to use for people who like to customize!

There are also parts that can be placed on the product page to encourage additional purchases, and when you switch between tabs, you can see the number of items, which is nice! There are also many parts that aim to increase sales.

Since it is not flashy in appearance, it is a theme that is popular among connoisseurs and is difficult to appreciate after looking at other themes.

When actually creating a theme and doing extensive customization, it's best to choose based on the theme's functionality rather than its appearance, so I almost always add it as a candidate when that happens, but it's always rejected and there has been no adoption record.

Summary of the theme

Now you know the difference between a theme and a template. Basically, a theme is

Building blocks set

That is to say, it is like building blocks, so if you add more parts you can make new things, and just by creating sections you can create your own original website!

Also, you can tinker with core parts that are extremely difficult to modify, but it can take a lot of work, so it's best to stick to the theme for those parts, as this will save you money and time.

If you can grasp this, you can create a website quickly using the theme's functions at first, and then spend money to customize it to your heart's content later !

After that, decide on a base theme from the perspective of what is best for your own site, and then start creating. (This order is often mistaken. Make sure to decide on a theme first!)

The result may be a free theme or a paid theme, and if it is a complex site, you can buy some of the features you want from a paid theme, and then add more features through customization and apps! This is the most common way to create an original site.

Let's realize the ideal website creation while understanding that the templates of Shopify themes are different!