This blog post was originally published by Deliverr, which is now Flexport. The content has been adjusted to fit the Flexport brand voice and tone, but all other information remains unchanged. With the merging of Deliverr’s services (DTC fulfillment, B2B distribution, and Last Mile delivery) into Flexport’s existing international freight and technology services, we’re now able to provide merchants with true end-to-end logistics solutions spanning from the factory floor to the customer’s door.

Shopify is the perfect eCommerce platform for starting your own eCommerce business or expanding your existing business to online marketplaces like Walmart and Amazon.

Shopify and Shopify Plus are incredibly versatile, professional-looking, and easy to set up. But with more than 70 awesome Shopify themes to choose from, getting started involves some serious decision making.

To help, we’ve sifted through Shopify’s 70 different themes and narrowed them down to the top five free Shopify themes and the top five paid-for Shopify themes. But first:

How To Pick a Shopify Theme

We’ve done most of the hard work, but you still need to decide which Shopify theme to choose. And it’s an important decision to make – affecting both buyer and seller experience.

1. Look at the examples below for inspiration and ideas
2. Decide on your top 3 must-have features, like home page videos, grid layouts, or product recommendations
3. Set your maximum budget, as Shopify themes vary in price (especially when custom-built)
4. Envision your ideal front page for customers to land on. Think about: single-product promotion, telling a brand story, or showcasing item collections
5. Talk with your developer (if applicable) about their requirements and recommendations
6. Sleep on it – the best decisions are made after a good night’s sleep

5 Awesome Free Shopify Themes

Shopify comes with a number of free themes, perfect for new sellers and those will a small budget. Our favorites are:

1. Brooklyn

Brooklyn is the most popular free Shopify theme, thanks to its modern design and sleek interface. This theme comes with two different style options: Classic, for the more contemporary brand and Playful, for the more fun brand.

Features that make Brooklyn one of the best free Shopify themes include:

• A header slideshow for showcasing multiple products at the top of your home page
• A dynamic product grid that auto-adjusts according to your product numbers
• A slide-out cart that reduces cart abandonment
• A home page video for telling your brand story

Ideal for: Modern apparel stores with strong imagery and powerful branding.

2. Narrative

The Narrative theme is all about engaging your customers through brand and product storytelling. This theme comes in three different styles: warm, light, and cold – allowing you to tailor according to your existing style.

Features that make Narrative particularly popular among Shopify subscribers include:

• A hero video to tell your story at the top of your home page
• Customizable image blocks and quote slides to enhance the customer journey
• Fixed navigation for a better browsing experience
• A wide layout to make the most of your product imagery

Ideal for: Stores with a strong brand story, selling a single or a small number of products.

3. Venture

If you’re looking for the ideal theme for your large-scale eCommerce venture, then Venture is for you. With three different sports-themed styles (snowboards, outdoors, and boxing) you can create an eCommerce website that takes customers on a journey aligned with your products.

Built for larger catalogs, Venture comes with must-have features, including:

• Multi-column menus
• A slideshow to showcase multiple products on the home page
• Promotional banners to advertise fast shipping on your Shopify store
• Product filtering for navigating your extensive product selection

Ideal for: Stores with a large number of products, particularly sports and outdoor equipment.

4. Boundless

The possibilities are virtually unlimitless with the Boundless Shopify theme. Simply choose the black & white style for a clean and clear interface, or the vibrant style for a modern and upbeat twist and then begin customizing your store to match your brand.

The Boundless theme is optimized for stores with larger images and comes with features, including:

• A slideshow with a fading effect
• Sticky navigation to make the customer journey easy
• Single product picture galleries to showcase all product angles
• A home page video to tell your brand’s story

Ideal for: Stores that have high-resolution and professional product photography to showcase.

5. Debut

The Debut theme has been beautifully designed to showcase your brand and products, and comes with two styles included: default and light.

Debut also comes with a number of must-have features, including:

• Single featured product for promoting single products on your home page
• Product filtering to enhance the search experience
• Promotional banners to highlight sales and discounts
• Product recommendations to personalize the journey and increase discoverability
• Customer testimonials to fuel social proof

Ideal for: Stores with a small number of products and existing customer feedback and reviews.

5 Awesome Paid Shopify Themes

Paid Shopify themes, also called premium Shopify themes, come with more built-in features, enabling you to further customize the customer experience. Our top premium Shopify themes are:

6. Startup

If your eCommerce business is in startup mode, then the aptly named Startup theme might be just for you. Startup uses a modular layout of four different styles, making it perfect for one-page stores and one (or small) product catalogs.

Startup comes with a number of premium features, including:

• An Instagram feed to engage visitors and increase followers
• A wide layout to showcase high-resolution imagery
• Customer testimonials to promote your brand
• A mobile-friendly design to engage customers on the platform of their choice

Price: $180

Ideal for: Stores selling one product or a very small catalog of products.

7. Split

Visuals are everything in the Split Shopify theme – great for brands with a strong story to tell. Split comes with three impactful styles to match your branding: cuber, looker, and jagger.

Split also comes with features, including:

• A vertical slideshow to display product images in a different way
• Two menu options; product recommendations
• A social feed grid to add even more content to your home page

Price: $180

Ideal for: Stores with striking images and professional photograph.

8. Colors

The Colors Shopify theme comes in three different color styles: generic, fluor, and pastel – all focusing the attention on your products and story.

Premium features in the Colors theme include

• Search engine optimization for getting you to the top of Google
• Free stock images to get you started
• Product quick view to prevent the need for customers to leave their current page
• Grid-style layouts to feature multiple products at once

Price: $180

Ideal for: Medium-sized stores with a story to tell.

9. Empire

If you’re looking to build an Amazon-like empire out of your eCommerce store, then this is the perfect theme for doing so. Empire is an Amazon-inspired Shopify theme built for large catalogs and multi-product sellers.

Accordingly, Empire comes with some impressive features including:

• Live search to display quick product links
• Custom promotion tiles to promote sales and feature products
• Home page menu lists to assist navigation
• Quick buy to streamline the conversion process
• Mobile compatibility to improve your Shopify mobile conversions

Price: $180

Ideal for: Large and enterprise eCommerce brands.

10. Prestige

And last, but in no circumstances least, is the most popular paid theme on Shopify: Prestige. Coming in three stylish options (allure, couture, and vogue), this premium theme creates a high-end shopping experience.

Prestige also comes with some high-end features and tools, such as:

• Image hotspot linking for easier in-content product discovery
• A built-in timeline to tell the story of your brand
• Home page menu lists to streamline customer discoverability
• A full-width Instagram feed to increase followers
• Search engine optimization to boost your organic search ranking

Price: $180

Ideal for: Premium and high-end brand stores.

Summary

Picking a Shopify theme is an exciting step in launching your own eCommerce website. It gives you a platform to tell your story, market your products, and entice shoppers to buy from. We love these themes for their engaging and conversion-boosting features – all you need to do is decide.

The contents of this blog are made available for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon for any legal, business, or financial decisions. We do not guarantee, represent, or warrant the accuracy or reliability of any of the contents of this blog because they are based on Flexport’s current beliefs, expectations, and assumptions, about which there can be no assurance due to various anticipated and unanticipated events that may occur. This blog has been prepared to the best of Flexport’s knowledge and research; however, the information presented in this blog herein may not reflect the most current regulatory or industry developments. Neither Flexport nor its advisors or affiliates shall be liable for any losses that arise in any way due to the reliance on the contents contained in this blog.