How to choose the best Magento theme for your website?
Endowed with great functionality and excellent business-friendly features, Magento has become a top choice for most eCommerce development projects.
More than 2.5 lakh traders utilize Magento for their eCommerce endeavors and have successfully gained an edge over their competitors. Its exquisite functionality also facilitates a better user experience and ultimately improves the conversion rate. If you want to build a Magento store, you can choose to hire Magento developers for your next project.
( Image source)
However, ‘functionality’ is not the only thing that matters in determining user experience. Along with usability, your online store also needs a visually pleasing design. Here is where choosing the suitable Magento theme comes into the picture.
Owing to the vast base of themes offered by Magento, many entrepreneurs find it overwhelming to choose the perfect theme for their site. This blog is for you if you are confused about selecting the perfect Magento Theme design. Before you hire a Magento developer to help you select the theme, you need to conduct an in-depth research to know how to select the right Magento theme for your website.
We have curated this comprehensive guide to aid you in choosing the right one for your site. In this article, we have covered the following topics:
Before we get started, let’s delve into the features of Magento 2 Themes and figure out why they are beneficial for contemporary businesses.
Magento Features That Will Help You Triumph Over Competition
Responsive Design
There has been a massive surge in the number of smartphone users in the past decade, which makes ‘responsive design’ a prerequisite for eCommerce stores. Magento 2 facilitates the seamless operation of online stores on various devices.
Its exceptional responsive design guarantees an engaging browsing experience for mobile and desktop users, making shopping better for them.
Incredible Product Presentation Functions
Magento themes allow businesses to offer the option of choosing between menu & framework category illustrations to their users.
When paired with a responsive stock carousel, your business can expand its horizons and achieve new heights of customer engagement.
Multi-Language Support
All the Magento 2 themes are available in 4 widely-used languages, including English, German, Russian and Spanish, allowing you to expand your business internationally.
Furthermore, Magento’s massive plugin & extension base can allow your developers to customize the online store according to your unique needs and language preferences.
Simple Installation Process
This functionality plays a colossal role in making Magento a top choice for eCommerce businesses. With Magento, anyone can seamlessly install and manage diverse design themes with a comprehensive document.
One can carry out the essential functions themselves, leaving only the technical tasks on expert Magento Developers. This makes it a cost-effective and highly feasible solution over its alternatives.
8 Factors To Consider Before Selecting A Magento Theme For Your eCommerce Site
1. Visual Appearance
The one aspect that you should consider before anything else is the visual appeal of the selected theme. A graphically aesthetic design leaves a positive impression on the shoppers and prevents bounce rates caused by unattractive visuals.
Your Magento theme design must align with your business niche or at least with the color palette of your products.
Suppose you are a home decor seller; in that case, a pastel and elegant theme will resonate perfectly with your products. On the other hand, if you specialize in ethnic clothing, it is recommended to go with a vibrant and colorful theme.
To experience the look and feel of your site, you should check it on the demo site during your development process to avoid unnecessary hassles later on.
2. Customization Of Theme
As mentioned in the above point, your Magento theme should align with the eCommerce business. If you do not find a template/theme that matches your vision and preference, you should opt for a customizable theme.
This ‘customization feature’ facilitates the adjustment of the technicalities to meet your specific needs and choices. In addition, it allows simple advertising of new products, removing old ones, and changing the color palette for seasonal discounts.
3. User-Friendliness
After appearance and personalization, the next factor to consider is ‘user-friendliness.’ When shoppers navigate your site, they expect a seamless experience. Often achieving user-friendliness is not a complicated undertaking; a simple search bar or filter icons can work wonders in improving UX.
Ideally, a website with excellent UX solutions must not take more than 9 seconds to load on a mobile device and 4 seconds.
A visually stunning and user-friendly interface will improve the user’s overall experience and significantly increase the retention rate.
4. Technological Advancements
Responsiveness is a crucial factor for all websites, and eCommerce sites are no exception.
Technologically advanced features such as SASS, Bootstrap 3, HTML5, and CSS3 improve the effectiveness and efficiency of your Magento framework.
Hence, it is essential to choose a theme that is equipped with such technologies. Go for a theme that is highly responsive, easy-to-navigate, and flexible. However, it’s vital to ensure that the theme isn’t too technical, making it difficult to use for customers.
The Luma theme depicted in the image below is a perfect example of a visually aesthetic theme and easy to use.
( Image source)
5. Cross — Browser Compatibility
Chrome, Safari, Firefox, your customer base can be scattered over various browsers and devices. Therefore, it is essential to ensure that your Magento theme is compatible with different browsers.
Though most Magento’s premium themes are inherently compatible with multiple browsers, it’s better to cross-check before selecting one.
You won’t miss out on leads because your themes operate with various browsers, and you’ll be able to reach a larger audience. This will eventually lead to higher conversion rates and sales all across the world.
6. SEO Friendliness
A saying goes like “If you want to hide a dead body, hide it on the second page of Google,” which signifies the importance of SEO ranking.
7. Social-Media Friendliness
In today’s fast-paced world, businesses must reach the customers where they spend most of their time. Therefore, along with SEO, social media integration also plays a vital role in determining the success of an eCommerce business.
With social-media functionalities that are inbuilt in Magento, you will be able to share promotional content, the latest collections, discount offers, etc., on your businesses’ social platforms.
This way, you can actively engage with your shoppers and stay connected with them throughout their buying journey.
Another remarkable benefit of the social media-friendly Magento theme is that you can receive instant customer feedback and promptly solve their queries. This positively affects your customer experience, eventually improving brand loyalty.
The main features that you should look out for when selecting a social-media friendly theme are
- Social media icons & integration
- Display of latest social media posts on the website
- Backend support for social media management.
8. Arrangement Of Blocks And Banners
Banners and promotion blocks are as crucial for an online website as a ‘window’ or display section is for a physical store. By looking at the banners, your customers will understand whether or not they are at the right place.
By regularly updating the banners, you will give a fresh outlook to your site every once in a while. Moreover, these promotional blocks make it easier for visitors to glance at all your offers at once.
These elements are the key to leaving a positive first impression and directing the customers to targeted product pages.
Furthermore, strategically placing promotional blocks on different navigation points will help you boost your marketing effort and raise awareness among visitors and customers.
Although all the themes in Magento 2 cater to banners, you should consider the sizing, proper placement, arrangements, and functionality in advance.
Where Can You Find The Magento Themes?
It is no secret that Magento’s online presence is extensive. It is an eCommerce development mammoth that drives hundreds of global sites and lakhs of regional ones. Consequently, a lot of people have developed Magento themes.
The key here is to be a part of the community and regularly explore the community drive sites to look out for new themes.
The majority of these themes are free, and some of them are paid versions.
Here are some of the popular platforms where you will be able to find themes for Magento eCommerce stores -
Conclusion
You can easily find pre-built themes for your website on the sites mentioned above. By following the tips, you can simplify your theme-selection decision.
However, the best solution for you would be to work with a professional Magento developer. You can hire Magento developers from us to help you build custom themes matching your business objectives. Their expertise in the field will make your process seamless and help you yield maximum results from your website. We are backed up with a team of experienced and skilled Magento theme designers to provide you with custom solutions matching your exact requirements and preferences.
Moreover, expert Magento developers also offer backend support and site assistance after the site launching. This will ensure that you get prompt & effective support for your online site throughout your business tenure.
Originally published at https://www.zealousweb.com on October 19, 2021.