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How to Optimize Your Shopify Store Designs for Maximum Conversion

August 07, 2023
Written and researched by experts at AvadaLearn more about our methodology

By Sam Nguyen

CEO Avada Commerce

In this enlightening journey, we’ll delve into the critical role of UI/UX and strategies for Shopify store designs, accentuating their significance in driving business success.

Essential Elements of Shopify Store Design 

Four Pillars of Shopify Store Design

Layout: Blueprint for Success

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The layout is akin to your Shopify store’s floor plan. It determines how customers navigate and interact with your digital space. A good layout is intuitive and puts the key products and information “above the fold,” which is part of the site visible without scrolling, akin to a newspaper’s front-page headline. It also makes use of grid systems for a neat and orderly arrangement, facilitating easy browsing.

Imagery: Painting the Picture

Imagery takes center stage in e-commerce. It compensates for the tactile absence in the online shopping experience. Excellent product photos, optimized for the web, can paint a realistic picture for customers. For instance, images that depict your products, like a model wearing a clothing item, can help customers visualize the product better.

Color Scheme: Setting the Mood

Color influences customers’ emotions and perceptions. Choosing the right color palette for your Shopify store can create the desired ambiance. For instance, if you’re selling eco-friendly products, a palette with different shades of green can be effective in reinforcing the concept of “green” or environmentally friendly.

Typography: The Silent Communicator

Typography is more than just text; it’s an essential part of your brand’s voice. The choice and arrangement of the typeface in your Shopify store directly impact readability and user experience. For example, a children’s toy store might use playful, rounded fonts to evoke a sense of fun and youth.

Importance and Tips for Achieving a Mobile-responsive Design

Mobile-responsive design is no longer an option; it’s an absolute necessity in the digital age. With the increasing trend of mobile shopping, your Shopify store needs to be accessible and functional on all devices. This plays a key role in search engine optimization (SEO) as Google favors mobile-friendly sites, improving your visibility in search results. More importantly, it significantly affects the user experience, directly influencing your store’s conversion rates. An optimized mobile design can turn casual browsers into committed buyers.

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Let’s dive into actionable strategies to create a mobile-responsive Shopify store.

  • Selecting a Responsive Theme: This theme has the capability to automatically adjust its layout according to the device’s screen size on which it is viewed.
  • Optimizing Images: This optimization includes compressing them without losing the quality, contributing to faster loading times and a better mobile experience.
  • Simplifying the Design: In the case of mobile design, simplicity goes a long way. Your website design should be clean and clutter-free. Using ample white space can enhance navigation and draw attention to the main elements.
  • Adopting a Mobile-First Approach: It is advisable to design your website with mobile devices in mind first and then scale up for larger screens. This approach ensures that your website is compatible with the mobile devices that most e-commerce shoppers use.
  • Testing on Different Devices: This testing helps in identifying any operational issues and ensures a seamless experience for all users across various devices and operating systems.
  • Implementing Responsive Typography: The typography you choose should be adaptable. It means that your chosen font should maintain its readability across different screen sizes.
  • Optimizing Navigation: Using intuitive navigation options like hamburgers or slide-out menus can make it easier for users to navigate your website on smaller screens.
  • Avoiding Pop-Ups: It is better to use less obstructive alternatives such as banners or slide-in notifications.

Overview of the Role of UI/UX in Shopify store design

User Interface (UI) and User Experience (UX) serve as the pillars for successful Shopify store design. UI, dealing with the visual elements, complements UX, which emphasizes user interactions and navigability. Both work synergistically to boost user engagement and conversion rates, build brand loyalty, and prevent user frustration. A well-designed UI/UX invites exploration, facilitates an easy shopping process, promotes brand trust, and ensures a smooth, satisfying user experience. By prioritizing effective UI/UX design, Shopify store owners can provide a remarkable user experience, making a significant stride toward business success and growth.

5 Strategies for Designing Your Shopify Store

Here are five insightful strategies to enhance your store’s design, offering it a sophisticated look. Let’s delve into the details!

Revamp Your Typography

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Typography forms a pivotal element in enhancing the aesthetic appeal of your store. Although variety in fonts can bring an appealing diversity, avoid using more than three different fonts. 

It’s advisable to strike a balance by including a script or impact-style font for understated headlines. You should opt for larger and easily readable fonts, especially considering the increasing trend of mobile browsing. Functionality should take precedence over style. Platforms like Google Fonts, which is often compatible with Shopify themes, offer an opportunity to experiment with various font pairings.

Cultivate a Consistent Ambiance

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Aiming for a luxurious look for your store demands a consistent feel. Reflect on how different brands in your niche target their specific audience and modify their marketing strategies. You should identify your position in the market and design your store to mirror this positioning. Consistency is a key ingredient in leaving a lasting, professional impression on your visitors.

Highlight High-Caliber Photographs

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The role of high-quality product photos is of paramount importance. While engaging a professional photographer can be beneficial, you also have the option to capture high-quality photos using specific techniques and reasonably priced products from Amazon. 

Your photos should be visually captivating and maintain consistency in style and form. Enhance your brand’s image by ensuring your product photos align seamlessly with the overall site design and marketing strategy.

Incorporate Striking Accent Colors

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A sophisticated design can be achieved by incorporating one or two accent colors across your site, particularly in call-to-action buttons. To prevent sensory overload for your visitors, maintain a clean and pleasant color scheme. Draw inspiration from successful brands like Allbirds, which effectively uses accent colors in its header area and site buttons. By introducing sections of rest and employing different alignments, you can disrupt the page flow and draw attention to critical elements.

Integrate Attractive Features

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Incorporating functional features into your store can remarkably boost its appeal and foster customer loyalty. Consider adding features such as store locators, holiday-specific promotions, or rewards programs. For inspiration, you can turn to successful brands in your niche, and explore available Shopify apps that can assist in implementing these features. Even a gradual introduction of one new feature per quarter can bring about a significant improvement to your store over time.

By adhering to these five strategies, you can metamorphose your Shopify store into an impressive and high-end online shopping destination. Remember, attention to detail, and consistency is vital in crafting a store that not only looks luxurious but also resonates with your target audience. 

How to customize your Shopify store

Step 1: Logging into Your Shopify Store

The first step in personalizing your Shopify store is to sign in to your Shopify admin panel. This interface will be your command center for all modifications and management tasks for your website.

Step 2: Picking a Theme

The theme you select for your Shopify store significantly impacts its overall aesthetic and user experience. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to choose a theme:

  1. Navigate to the “Sales Channels” section in your Shopify admin.
  2. Click on the “Online Store” option.
  3. From the available options, choose “Themes.”

You’ll find a broad spectrum of themes to pick from, encompassing both free and premium options. Choose a theme that harmoniously blends with your brand and meets your unique preferences.

Step 3: Customizing Your Theme

With your chosen theme at hand, it’s time to tailor it to embody your brand identity and effectively highlight your products. Here’s how you can go about the customization:

  1. Click on the “Customize” button adjacent to your chosen theme.
  2. This will take you to the customization interface, which offers a variety of modification options.

Here are the specific customization options:

  1. Pages: Select the particular page you wish to modify, such as the homepage, product page, collection page, blog page, shopping cart, or checkout page.
  2. Theme Settings: This section allows you to adjust your logo, color scheme, typography, layouts, buttons, inputs, blog cards, collection cards, media, and icons, and incorporate social media components.
  3. Sections: Personalize individual sections of your website by adding, editing, or reordering them. For instance, you can change the banner image section, highlight a product section, or even incorporate a video section.
  4. Embeds: Boost your store’s functionality by embedding diverse widgets and applications.
  5. Design: Adjust design elements like colors, typography, and button styles to align with your brand aesthetics.
  6. Advanced Customization: For those with coding skills or the desire for advanced modifications, there’s the “Edit Code” option. However, this step is optional and not essential for basic customizations.

Step 4: Launching Your Customized Store

Once you’re pleased with your modifications, it’s time to launch your tailored store and make it available to the public. Don’t forget to save your changes before proceeding. 

By default, your store will have a domain in the format “yourstorename.myshopify.com.” However, if you own a custom domain, you can link it to your Shopify store for a more professional appeal.

And there you have it! You’ve successfully personalized your Shopify store to exhibit your products, establish your brand, and propel your business growth.

5 Examples of Shopify Store Designs 

Allbirds

Allbird store stands out for its strategic use of compelling hero images, clear calls-to-action, and vivid product imagery. Their site prioritizes storytelling through full-width videos and uses strategic micro-conversions to engage visitors. The easy navigation, informative footer, and seamless browsing on product pages enhance user experience. Furthermore, product recommendations on all pages facilitate a smooth buyer journey. Allbirds ensures user engagement and strengthens its brand identity through a meticulously designed interface.

Gymshark

Gymshark‘s Shopify design cleverly harnesses animations and full-width banners to feature the latest collections. Prominent collaborations are also showcased using large images on the homepage. The store ensures easy navigation through a mega menu that highlights new releases and must-haves, supplemented by a quick add feature with a variant selector. 

The product pages are clean, engaging, and equipped with recommendations to extend browsing time. Notable features like a customer account page, restock subscription ability, and sticky add-to-bag button in mobile view enhance user experience. Further, checkout is distraction-free, well-indicated, and streamlined, reflecting keen attention to detail.

Kylie Cosmetics

Kylie Cosmetics effectively showcases its latest collections and stocked products while alerting shoppers about sales with striking red labels. The site facilitates easy navigation through product collections, strategically utilizes labels to generate urgency, and places product reviews front and center. Unique items are suggested within the cart drawer, and connections to sister brands are maintained, demonstrating a concise yet comprehensive approach to Shopify store design.

Lindsay Letters

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The Lindsay Letters prominently highlight special offers while also effectively building brand awareness. With an elegant and visually appealing layout, the cart page creates a shopping experience that is as enjoyable as it is seamless. Notably, this design presents a seamless blend of promotional strategy and engaging UI/UX design.

MVMT Watches

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The design of the MVMT Watches store is centered on the principles of simplicity and sophistication. Full-screen imagery is effectively employed to highlight their products’ sleek and modern aesthetic. Their website maintains a minimalistic black-and-white color scheme interspersed with high-quality photos of their watches and sunglasses. 

The product pages offer an engaging user experience, complete with a variety of angles and zoom-in features, providing the customer with an in-depth view of the product’s quality and detail. Interactive elements such as customer reviews, an email subscription popup, and clear call-to-action prompts contribute to an engaging and streamlined user journey. 

Final words

In essence, mastering the art of Shopify store designs can transform your business outcomes. Embrace this knowledge, and let your e-commerce journey thrive!


Sam Nguyen is the CEO and founder of Avada Commerce, an e-commerce solution provider headquartered in Singapore. He is an expert on the Shopify e-commerce platform for online stores and retail point-of-sale systems. Sam loves talking about e-commerce and he aims to help over a million online businesses grow and thrive.