If you’re launching a new store on Shopify or just wanting to change your theme - you have a decision to make. There are so many themes to choose from. Do you want to go with a paid premium 3rd party theme or a free Shopify 2.0 theme? Paid themes are usually in the $200-$500 range - but that should be the least of your concerns. I’ve used both paid and free and I’ll tell you my preference and why.
Theme Cost Difference
There is obviously a cost difference between a paid premium theme and a free theme. But it’s not what you think. The few hundred dollars you’ll spend on a paid premium theme is nominal in the grand scheme of things. If you were leasing a brick and mortar retail store for your products, you might spend $100k or more on a build out. So a few hundred bucks should not be your concern. Of course, if you don’t have that much money then a free theme will be your only option.
In terms of cost, I’m much more concerned about the long term costs and my goals for the site. Most store owners (including myself) are not developers by trade and therefore unable to do serious coding. So we’re usually looking for drag and drop, out-of-the-box functionality that will allow us to avoid a lot of development work.
The temptation is to start looking for a theme that does “everything” we need it to do. That way (we tell ourselves) we’ll limit our up front development costs. We may look at the very basic nature of free Shopify themes like the Dawn theme and think that it doesn’t have everything we need so we lean toward a premium theme. This approach is a mistake in my opinion.
Short Term Thinking vs. Long Term Thinking
In the short term, it may be nice to have a premium 3rd party theme that already has the features you want. But much like a bowl of ice cream, that feeling won’t last long.
Support & Updates
When you choose a free Shopify 2.0 theme like the Dawn theme or similar ones made by Shopify, you’re not just getting a free product. You’re getting free/included support from Shopify, a known stable framework and an easier path to future upgrades/versions. These benefits can save you a lot of money and headaches over time. And having Shopify stand behind it is confidence inspiring.
The world of ecommerce moves very quickly. I’ve had paid themes before that get left in the dust as new products/features come out. When you go to upgrade to a newer version of that paid theme, it may not be so easy. Often, it may be cleaner just to start over and rebuild on the new theme version. That can get very expensive, depending on the size of your store.
Beginner Themes?
Now, you might be thinking: yeah but I’m not a newbie and my store is generating a lot of sales already - I can’t get a beginner theme.
First, it’s not a beginner theme. It’s a well built theme on a native framework with the essential features - it’s just missing some of the “extra” features. There’s a big difference. Second, there are many large successful stores that have built beautiful customized themes on top of Dawn (or similar Shopify 2.0 themes). So if you have a large Shopify store, customizing on top of a free Shopify 2.0 theme should not be a concern for most. Plus, if you’re a large store, you are going to end up customizing a paid theme anyway.
If you have a small store, ask yourself whether you “really” need the missing feature(s). If it’s just a few things, the cost to make those tweaks may not be as high as you think. We have trusted partners we can refer you to for small, medium and large customizations at reasonable prices.
Best Use Cases for a Paid Premium 3rd Party Theme
I’m not against paid themes at all. There are some really good ones out there and I’ve used them. I think there are two main scenarios when a paid 3rd party theme can make a lot of sense.
First, if you have a very specific niche store and there is a paid theme that was built exactly for that niche. Having a theme with that level of specificity and feature match right out of the box can be valuable. As long as you’re comfortable with the theme developer and the future path to customizations and updates, this can be a great option.
Second, beyond the feature list, it’s true that paid themes often spend a lot more effort on design. If out-of-the-box design is the most important factor and you have done a cost-benefit analysis on the things I mentioned above, then this could make sense for you. Plus, there’s something very satisfying about having a beautifully designed site that you (and hopefully your customers) love. Again, assuming you won’t need a lot of customization work.
Final Thoughts
I wrote this article because I do think that the free Shopify 2.0 themes get overlooked. Human nature is to associate price with value. But I think that’s often a mistake when it comes to Shopify theme selection.