Shopify Pipeline Theme Review: Is It Worth Paying For?
By Sam Nguyen
Key Takeaways
- The Pipeline Theme Shopify offers a clean and modern design with robust support documentation, mobile responsiveness, and affordability but lacks instant chat support, cart customization, and flexible content editing options.
- Pipeline’s features include a multi-column menu designed for large catalogs, a modular-style homepage for visual brand storytelling, a parallax effect for a dynamic browsing experience, advanced product filtering for improved user experience, and content sections on the product page for detailed information display.
This article explores the versatile Shopify Pipeline theme, highlighting its importance for both experienced e-commerce entrepreneurs and beginners to enhance their store’s look and functionality.
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Shopify Pipeline Theme: Pros & Cons
Pros
- The theme is distinctly modern yet retains a minimalist and neat design.
- Its layout is mobile-responsive and well-structured.
- Their support resources are exceptional, incorporating visual aids like video tutorials, gifs to illustrate the setup process for different sections.
- The pipeline theme Shopify allows the creation of Lookbook and FAQ page.
- Its cost is more affordable than most Shopify Themes available on the Shopify Theme Store
- Demo stores are not part of the offer, but you can access free high resolution photos through Shopify Burst
Cons
- Support is solely offered through email, lacking the immediacy of chat support for urgent queries.
- The editor could use a wider variety of mobile responsiveness options.
- Cart customization options are notably missing.
- The theme could benefit from more flexible editing options for content sections.
Shopify Pipeline Theme: Overview
The Shopify Pipeline theme, renowned for its clean and attractive design, is a product developed by Groupthought. Additionally, Pipeline theme has been a part of the Shopify ecosystem for many years and is currently in its fifth generation. Interested users can refer to the release notes for more details.
How much does Shopify Pipeline theme cost?
The cost for the Pipeline Shopify theme stands at $360 USD when you’re ready to publish the theme to your store. Before that, the Pipeline Theme offers an unlimited free trial. You can explore Pipeline Shopify theme with your own products, personalized brand colors, and customizations absolutely free.
Pipeline Theme Styles
The Pipeline Theme on Shopify has 3 main styles, which are light, bright and dark
Light
The Light style symbolizes the essence of a clean, light design. It features a basic navigation layout with a logo on the left and dropdown menu items on the right. The homepage is dominated by a full-width banner image focusing on the product, followed by collection lists and a featured collection, providing visitors with a quick overview of the business within 5 seconds.
Combining a white background with light grey Serif-type text font, specifically “ITC Johnston,” creates a refined, classic store layout.
Bright
The Bright style is even more simplified than the Light version. After the hero image, it presents featured products and a custom banner slideshow. It concludes with a ‘news’ section and custom info blocks.
As the name implies, Bright uses a brighter color scheme than Light, and its overlay header imparts a modern yet basic look to the homepage.
Dark
The Dark style stands out with its sticky navigation and a top-placed video banner, emanating a rugged feel distinct from the other two styles and creating an adventurous store look.
Despite the distinct vibe, the clean design principle is still in effect, with modular content blocks producing a neat and uncluttered layout.
Clean
The Shopify Pipeline Clean preset is sleek and modern, focusing on basic colors and an intuitive layout that creates a sense of professionalism and high-end quality. Its minimalistic-inspired design gives the products an elegant appearance.
Who’s Shopify Pipeline Theme Best For?
- Vendors who appreciate simplicity, contemporary, and sleek aesthetics.
- Individuals seeking a high-quality theme from the Shopify theme store but at a more budget-friendly rate.
- Vendors who manage Shopify stores with extensive product listings.
- Individuals who desire to display large pictures in their stores in a straightforward design.
- Physical stores engaged in face-to-face sales.
Why you should choose Pipeline Theme for your online business?
The Pipeline theme for Shopify stands out as an exemplary choice for online stores, offering a blend of modern aesthetics and functional prowess. Its sleek and contemporary design instantly elevates the professional appeal of your site, engaging visitors with a visually appealing interface. A key feature is its mobile responsiveness, ensuring a smooth and seamless shopping experience across various devices, including smartphones and tablets.
The theme’s flexibility in customization empowers you to personalize your store to reflect your brand’s unique style and identity, backed by a range of versatile presets for quick and easy visual adjustments without needing extensive coding. Furthermore, Pipeline excels in performance with fast loading speeds, which is crucial in reducing bounce rates and enhancing user experience. It also comes equipped with built-in SEO features to boost your store’s visibility in search engine results.
The theme guarantees a consistent user experience across different web browsers due to its cross-browser compatibility. Shopify’s reliable support enhances the theme’s value, offering necessary assistance and updates. Additionally, Pipeline is rich in essential e-commerce features, including product filtering, image zoom, and a user-friendly shopping cart, making it a comprehensive solution for online retailers.
Despite its price of $360 USD, the Pipeline theme represents a significant value for money considering its extensive feature set and the potential it offers to elevate your online store’s performance.
Shopify Pipeline Theme: Main Features
Would you like to know what makes Pipeline a remarkable option for your Shopify store? Here are some prominent features to pay attention to:
- Multi-column menu: Particularly designed for extensive Shopify theme store catalogs, Pipeline facilitates the effortless creation of an impressive mega menu. Moreover, you can even showcase products directly under menu items, providing direct access to shoppers from the navigation.
- Modular-style homepage: With Pipeline, your homepage becomes a canvas featuring multiple sections to display your content. The key attraction is the smartly segmented layout that allows you to show your brand story in neatly arranged, chic blocks. This design element not only maintains a crisp look of your Pipeline online store but also adds a touch of modern aesthetics.
- Parallax effect: Are you worried about a dull homepage? Pipeline ensures an appealing browsing experience with its large images and the stunning parallax effect.
- Advanced product filtering: Furthermore, Pipeline enhances user experience with advanced product filtering that allows products to be sorted by tags in a sidebar menu on collection pages. Common categories include brand, color, size, or product type. This feature significantly increases the likelihood of converting casual visitors into purchasers.
- Content sections on the product page: Lastly, Pipeline excels at displaying detailed product information in tabs on your product page. It’s an excellent choice for merchants whose products come with extensive descriptions and data.
Main Factors When Building Your Store With Pipeline Shopify Theme
1. General settings
Rather than jumping into content creation and site-building, begin with the fundamental settings guided by your business strategy.
- Choose appropriate colors and font styles, as these define your brand and will stay consistent across your site. The color scheme and text should be harmonious and representative of your brand image.
- Optional elements like social media links, favicon, and checkout can be added at your discretion. They offer ways for customers to connect with you and direct substantial traffic from your shop to other platforms showcasing your brand.
- The header and footer are customizable to your preference, providing space for a brand logo, product placement, images, or collections. Additionally, the footer can include menus, text, and newsletter sign-up.
2. High-quality Images
Despite its simplicity, the Pipeline theme can engage your users through high-definition images on the homepage. Visual content is a vital component that instantly grabs the user’s attention.
Ensure to tailor your images so they function responsively across mobile and desktop versions. Pipeline provides extensive support documentation to assist with image sizing. A simple “image size” search in their help center provides numerous relevant articles.
3. Video Feature
The video function of the Pipeline theme enriches your website with dynamic and engaging visual elements. It allows merchants to seamlessly incorporate YouTube or Vimeo videos into their home or product pages. You can even associate videos with specific product variants, providing unique multimedia content for each product.
Moreover, the theme allows setting a cover image or thumbnail for each video, an ideal spot to feature your top-selling products. Beyond the fundamental features, this theme supports looped MP4 videos for an immersive hero section on the homepage and full-width YouTube or Vimeo videos.
For more complex customizations involving coding, assistance from the Pipeline support team is readily available.
4. Products and Collection Lists
Promoting your prime products and collections on the homepage can increase visitor engagement and encourage immediate purchases.
5. Unique Selling Propositions
Unique Selling Propositions (USPs) are what set your brand apart. Highlighting these on the homepage helps users understand your brand’s values.
The Pipeline theme allows users to create “Icon columns” with demo icons and headings for easy customization. The USP information should be concise and prominently displayed for the best impact.
6. Collection Page
An easily navigable site increases the likelihood of a purchase. The Pipeline theme’s sidebar filter feature allows you to sort products by style, color, brand, etc., enhancing user experience.
The “collection filters” section is simple to modify in the backend settings, with options to hide it by default or display navigation menu items, collections, or tag filters on the sidebar.
7. Product Page
The Pipeline theme provides massive space for large product images or videos on the product page. However, you can customize the display size as needed. The overall layout is clean and straightforward.
A unique feature of the product page is the option to add custom tabs adjacent to or underneath the product image. This is especially handy for products with extensive information, as it allows for organized presentation.
For more informations, take a look at the Pipeline Support and Documentation
Shopify Pipeline Theme: Users Review
The Pipeline theme has been welcomed with favorable reviews from nearly 150 vendors on the Shopify Theme Store. Upon evaluation, here are the TOP 3 reasons for their affinity toward the Pipeline theme:
The attractive and straightforward design of the theme has won many hearts. The back-end interface of the Pipeline theme is user-friendly, facilitating easy setup. The users have highly appreciated the outstanding support service and comprehensive documentation.
Shopify Pipeline Theme: Real-life Case Studies
Altamont
A lifestyle brand focusing on skateboarding culture, Altamont uses the Pipeline theme to showcase its unique collection of apparel and accessories, providing a visually appealing and user-friendly shopping experience.
KØBN
Known for its minimalist design and sustainable products, KØBN leverages the Pipeline theme to effectively exhibit its high-quality textile products, highlighting simplicity and elegance.
Saint Martin Bookshop
An independent bookstore, Saint Martin Bookshop utilizes the Pipeline theme to create a refreshing and easy-to-navigate interface, making searching and purchasing books hassle-free for customers.
The Store at MAD
The Museum of Arts and Design online platform, The Store at MAD, applies the Pipeline theme to tastefully display its curated selection of jewelry, home goods, and other unique artistry items.
Workshop Living UK
Offering various homeware and lifestyle products, Workshop Living UK uses the Pipeline theme to present its products in a clean, modern layout, showcasing each item’s craftsmanship and quality.
Shopify Pipeline Theme: FAQs
To Sum Up
The Pipeline theme suits Shopify store owners who prefer a clean, intelligent design aesthetic. Its simplicity is its main appeal, making it worth the investment. However, for those requiring greater customization and dynamic features, Pipeline might not be the best choice.
Remember to follow us to explore other interesting Shopify theme examples besides the Pipeline theme.
