If you’ve learned anything as a business owner during the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s the importance of having online sales channels. So many business owners have been left scrambling to get their products online to keep sales rolling even when customers couldn’t visit their stores.
E-commerce platforms have become vitally important to the success of businesses over the last few months, and that’s why we want to share my favorite hidden gem with you—the Shopify Express theme!
What is the Shopify Express Theme?
Recently unveiled, Express is a quick-start theme developed and supported by Shopify. It’s goal is simple: allow merchants to get products online as quickly as possible to keep their business running.
The best part? Express is completely free to use! Other themes can range from $150-$200, so the Shopify Express theme will save you money in addition to setup time. The only costs you’ll be responsible for are the purchase of your domain name and the monthly subscription fee to Shopify (as low as $9 per month).
As you can see, the design is clean, minimal, and user friendly. Two basic styles are built into the theme by default, but users have full customization control over color, font choice, checkout, and all other aesthetic elements of the theme. You can customize as much or as little as you choose. If you’re looking to set up a quick and easy e-commerce website, Express is the perfect platform for you.
Express Features
This free Shopify theme is built for ease of use from both the admin and the user’s perspective. For you, the admin, Express is designed to be easy to set up, customize, and manage so you can start selling products online fast. For the user, Express makes browsing your catalog simple and straightforward. This is accomplished through a variety of user-focused features including:
- Single-Page Layout: All products are displayed on a single page and grouped by category to create an easy and straightforward shopping experience for customers.
- Mobile-First Design: Express is fully responsive on mobile devices and creates a smooth and seamless mobile buying experience.
- Quick Buy Modals: Rather than redirecting to an individual product page, an informational modal will appear when a customer clicks on a product. From this modal, customers can view the image (if present), read the description, and add the product to their cart without ever leaving the main page of the site.
- Slide-Out Cart: Customers can view their cart without interrupting their shopping experience and make any necessary adjustments before heading to checkout.
- Local Pickup Option: This feature is not exclusive to the Express theme but bears mentioning. In a recent update, Shopify has added the ability to offer local pickup as a shipping option to accommodate those businesses that wish to offer curbside pickup to their customers.
Is Express Right for You?
Although we love the Express theme and think it’s a great option in many cases, website themes are never one size fits all. Every business is going to have its own unique needs that this theme may or may not meet. With this in mind, Shopify’s Express theme is best suited for businesses that:
- Want to get their e-commerce site up and running as soon as possible
- Have small- to medium-sized product catalogs
- Require no unique functionality added to their site
- Have limited (or no) product photos or written content available
Express is perfect for: restaurants, small locally-owned shops, crafters and makers looking to sell products on their own platform, and just about any small business that is venturing into e-commerce for the first time. No matter your industry, Shopify’s Express theme offers all the tools you need to set up a quick and easy e-commerce website and sell your products online fast.
Are you ready to get started with your own Shopify Express site? If you’re ready to build your own site, get started today with a 14-day free trial from Shopify. And if you’re feeling overwhelmed at the idea of building your own website, contact us today to turn your vision into a reality with our done-for-you Shopify website design and development services.
