How to choose the best Magento 2 theme for your store
Modern CMS platforms like Magento make it possible to launch an online store in just a few hours, even if you have no prior experience in web development. Setting up your store is simple, but crucial questions soon arise — how can you get reliable Magento support or choose the ideal Magento theme for your store? After all, this choice shapes the “face” of your store, creating the first impression customers will see and interact with.
In this article, we’ll dive into the essentials of Magento 2 themes, highlighting key features to look for and showcasing some popular themes worth considering. Here is your short Magento 2 theme selection guide.
How to Choose the Best Magento 2 eCommerce Theme: 9 Tips
When choosing your Magento e-commerce theme, it’s important to consider a few key factors. Taking the time to choose wisely can help you create an amazing and profitable online store.
1. Great user experience
Magento stores must combine two qualities at once: a visual-pleasant interface that is as convenient for users as much as possible. The theme should be that customers spend a minimum amount of effort performing the target action, whether a purchase or a request for a callback. However, if the Magento design template is user-friendly and beautiful but has performance issues, it is better to abandon it.
Bottom line, choosing a Magento theme must necessarily contain the following:
- Straightforward and intuitive site navigation
- Button to return to the home page in an obvious place
- The traditional layout of the search bar and shopping icons
2. Match with your business
During creation, you must choose a theme and layout that stylistically suits your business. In simple words, you have to choose between a standard design, which is universal, and a trendy, niche-oriented design. For example, if you sell computer hardware, a traditional design will go well with your product. If you sell brand clothing, it is better to use thematic templates to stand out against the competition.
3. Proper placement of promotions and banners
Choose themes with intelligently placed ad units and banners in terms of UX. A sliding or rotating banner is the best option here. It’s efficient for delivering information to users. Moreover, it does not irritate and distract from viewing the main content. Magento 2 templates, which do not provide a place for a banner or advertising slider a priori, can not be good and just limit your business opportunities.
4. Extensive customization options
Choose themes with flexible configurations. Even if you are implementing a template designed specifically for your type of business, then there is a chance that it will not ideally suit your business processes. In addition, visual or functional trends are changing at an incredible rate. Your site should be easily customizable without involving developers, so you can stay on top of the wave.
5. Cross-browser compatibility
Ensure that the theme you have chosen for your online store is displayed correctly and works in all browsers. Otherwise, you can lose part of the customer base that prefers a specific browser, negatively affecting your income and reputation. The client will not try to enter through another software, being sure that this is a global problem of the site.
6. Responsive design
Nowadays, mobile traffic makes up the majority of overall Internet traffic. This is the reason why it is essential to ensure that users visiting your site from a smartphone or tablet get a great user experience as if they were accessing the site from a personal computer.
7. SEO optimization
As a general rule, most Magento themes are SEO-friendly. However, it is better to ensure that the site meets all SEO requirements and search engine criteria.
8. High site performance
This factor is essential for several reasons at once. The first is that search engines track page load speed and consider these results when ranking a page in search results. A slow site will never be at the top. The second reason is that modern users are accustomed to the page loading in seconds. If that doesn’t happen, they usually go to another resource. The problem of poor speed often occurs because of the large number of heavy images and the overload of various additional functions. Pay attention to these points when choosing and customizing a theme.
9. Built-in blog
You need a blog for two reasons. The first reason is the regular publication of exciting and valuable content on the site helps to improve its ranking in search results. The second reason is that you will be able to attract people to your site through this section who are looking for information related to the topic of your business.
Types of Magento Themes
Magento themes can be divided into two types: ready-made and custom.
You can purchase ready-made themes on particular marketplaces such as Themeforest or the official Magento Marketplace and others. Currently, the number of available themes is in the thousands, which allows you to find a template for any type of business. At the same time, it can confuse those who have no experience in this area. You don’t need any special knowledge to install such a theme. However, it may require updating and customization for the needs of a particular business that, which you cannot do without experts. Their main problem is the lack of uniqueness. How can your website attract buyers with its design when it is used all over the place?
Custom Magento 2 theme development solutions address this issue. You can create a unique design to stand out from the competition and increase brand awareness. In addition, the development of the theme by qualified professionals guarantees the presence of all the main features outlined above.
Custom Magento 2 Theme Development: Pros & Cons
Magento 2 theme development gives you complete freedom to create innovative and unique features that turnkey solutions offer. The only thing that can limit you is time, technical characteristics of some technologies, and sometimes your budget.
However, it also has positive and negative sides.
Pros
Inimitable Website Design
If off-the-shelf themes fully met the needs of a business, there would be no need for custom themes. However, besides the functional component for the company’s success, it is also essential to stand out. Custom themes can make your site different and add unique features and capabilities that no one else has. It often seems minor changes from the canon become a competitive advantage that disrupts the market and becomes a trend.
The Most Optimized Feature Set and Design
When creating a custom theme, you can incorporate the necessary set of features by eliminating everything unnecessary. Such a solution contributes to site speed and performance increases. The same is true with the design — when creating from scratch, you can think about the visual elements. For example, you use a Magento enterprise theme. However, not all shopping cart realizations suit your product promotion ideas. Custom theme smoothly solves this issue
Guaranteed SEO-friendly Сode
If you are not an expert, it’s difficult to determine whether a theme from the marketplace is SEO-optimized. Suppose we are talking about custom development, and you have applied to highly qualified professionals. In that case, you can be sure of high-quality code and SEO friendliness. The growth of the site’s income is directly proportional to its ranking in search engines.
Cons
There are two related drawbacks to custom Magento 2 templates. This is a longer development time for the site and a higher price, respectively. When you use ready-made templates, you just need to install and customize them. Custom, in turn, first requires the development of a design, its implementation, and only after that deployment on the site.
Best Magento 2 Themes
Here are two of the best responsive Magento 2 themes
Porto
Source: ThemeForest
- Compatibility with the latest Magento extensions
- Advanced control panel
- SEO-friendly Magento 2 themes
- Extensive library of layouts
- More than 20,000 users worldwide
- Professional support
- Regular License – $129
Summary
Magento’s customization options are truly impressive, offering endless ways to shape your online store to fit your vision. If you’re a small business just entering the market, a ready-made Magento theme can be a perfect, cost-effective choice to get started quickly and make a strong impression. But, if you’re gearing up to launch a large-scale online supermarket with thousands of products and customers, a custom-built theme might be the way to go — creating a unique, branded experience from day one. Don’t settle for a one-size-fits-all solution. A custom Magento theme is the key to standing out in a crowded marketplace.
Ready to make your mark with Magento? Our experts at IT Delight are here to guide you through every step of the process, from choosing the right theme to full-scale development support. Let’s bring your ideal storefront to life — contact us today!
