How can theme design choices make the difference between mediocre and serious online marketers?

02.12.2024

Time to read: 6 minutes

Views: 498 times

Категории: Ecommerce tips News
How can theme design choices make the difference between mediocre and serious online marketers?

A significant aspect of the development of any online store is its visual design. Small and large brands place varying levels of importance and effort into creating an online store that is memorable for users and stands out from the competition. Unlike informational websites, the design of online stores encompasses the entire user interface through which customers interact with the system and business. This makes the task of creating it much more complex and challenging compared to developing pure graphic design.

“Most people make the mistake of thinking design is what it looks like. People think it’s this veneer—that the designers are handed this box and told, ‘Make it look good!’ That’s not what we think design is. It’s not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.”
Steve Jobs

The quote above is a confirmation from one of the greatest minds about the complexity of user interfaces. Simultaneously, the dominance of mobile shopping—where online stores often look quite similar—elevates the discussion about attention to detail and how small changes can make a significant difference.

This raises the logical question: “How do we choose a design theme for our online store?

To answer this, we need to broadly examine the possible options and solutions, as well as understand some fundamental principles of creating user interfaces for online stores.

What is a design theme?

The term “design theme” in web design and user interfaces encompasses the entire visual aspect of a site, including colors, fonts, buttons, graphics, and page architecture. Design themes are a key element in eCommerce platforms, providing not only the look but also the user functionality of online stores.

Generally, in web development (websites and e-stores), there are two approaches to creating a design for a client project: using a ready-made theme (template) or creating a custom design. There are also nuances within these approaches, which we will explore further below.

Ready-made themes (templates)

The main idea behind ready-made themes is to provide a quick and cost-effective way to launch an online store. They offer a specific look, often come with additional functionalities, and can be installed and configured quickly and relatively easily. They are suitable for small and startup businesses that want to begin their online sales as soon as possible with minimal investment in this area.

Ready-made design themes are a cornerstone for building online stores based on SaaS (software-as-a-service) platforms with monthly subscriptions, where access to the system's source code is limited, and often the client creates their own online store (self-service).

These themes are also used in open-source systems, primarily by smaller agencies that lack in-house designers, front-end developers, and testers.

In many cases, ready-made design themes not only include established standards for user experience but also feature innovative functions aimed at creating a "WOW effect"—not so much for the users of the online store as for the merchants choosing a design theme among available options for their platform.

Ready-made design themes play a role in the lifecycle of almost every online merchant, typically used in the early stages when the business is at the “business model testing” phase, except in cases involving specific products, unique needs, or a defined brand image that must be transferred online.

Ready-made design themes in Magento

For Magento, known as the most prominent (or only) enterprise open-source eCommerce solution, countless themes are available, developed by both well-known and unknown developers, accessible after purchasing a license for a few hundred dollars.

If you are a client who has accurately assessed your capabilities and ambitions for growth, you should avoid using ready-made themes in the context of Magento. The platform is complex, and while it can support all kinds of online stores, it is best suited for medium to large-scale and complex projects. This inherently means that each project should have an allocated budget instead of being treated as a secondary investment. The broader topic of investing in software and digital business assets will be explored in another article on our blog.

Nevertheless, to cover the topic from all angles, we need to address them.

The benefits of ready-made themes in Magento are not fundamentally different from those of other eCommerce systems mentioned above.

Here are some common issues we’ve encountered with projects based on ready-made themes from other agencies:

  • Slow Speed: Almost without exception, ready-made themes contain a large amount of code, leading to low speed scores for the online store. Some themes are designed to be fast, but making changes often drastically reduces their speed.
  • Compromised UI/UX: Even minor changes in a ready-made theme can disrupt the user experience.
  • Additional Updates: Besides system core and module updates, the theme itself requires regular updates.
  • Development Constraints: Ready-made themes often lack flexibility for further development, limiting growth potential.
  • Dependency on Third-Party Developers: Although we strongly support using extensions in the Magento ecosystem for individual functionalities, overall dependence on third-party themes can be risky.

Businesses must be aware of both the advantages of ready-made themes and the potential risks and limitations associated with these solutions. Choosing a budget-friendly solution can lead to costly consequences in the future, which should be carefully considered. While these options may initially appear to be a good solution, they often result in higher expenses and challenges in the long run.

Custom design themes

Custom design themes are created specifically for a business and tailored to the unique requirements of a project. Personalized themes are suitable for medium to large businesses looking to create an excellent user experience and stand out from the competition by following industry best practices while imparting individuality to the business. The creation of a custom design theme involves a multi-step process, including:

  • Design (UX/UI).
  • Development (DEV).
  • Testing (QA).

When examining the design phase in more detail, it typically includes:

  • Workshops with the business owner.
  • Research into the industry/niche/competitors.
  • Analysis of the business’s strengths and weaknesses.
  • Developing a sitemap.
  • Creating wireframes to outline the architecture of the project's public-facing sections.
  • Setting up a moodboard to define the visual tone, including color schemes, typography, imagery, and visual messaging.
  • Creating graphic designs (often using tools like Figma or similar graphic software).
  • Collecting client feedback, making revisions, and finalizing the graphic design.

With the visual design completed, it must then be coded, involving HTML, CSS, and JavaScript programming. Once front-end development is finalized, the design theme is ready, though back-end programming is often required before the theme is ready for testing.

As we can see, the difference between using a ready-made design theme and creating a custom one extends beyond just graphic design creation—something many clients are surprised to learn when deciding which path to take.

What is a Storefront, and why does it matter?

Having defined the term "design theme," we must mention the concept of a storefront in the context of Magento. In simple terms, a storefront can be described as the "skeleton behind the visual layer (theme)."

The most popular and standardized storefront solutions are:

Luma (the default storefront provided with the system)

Hyvä (utilizing newer technologies and offering faster load speeds).

Developing a design theme for Magento involves a fundamental decision at the outset: whether to build it on one of these storefront solutions or on a blank template. The flexibility of the platform allows developers to craft themes however they see fit, even creating an entirely custom storefront. However, the importance of standardization cannot be overlooked.

Creating a design theme that adheres to standards and is implemented on a standardized storefront solution offers extensive possibilities for the developed online store to be upgraded with external extensions, updated, and maintained according to best practices.

Nonetheless, many developers opt to create design themes that are not adapted to storefront solutions because it is often easier, allows them to bypass best practices, and saves time. In certain specific cases, the requirements of a project may necessitate a completely custom storefront and theme solution.

Can Luma & Hyvä be used as ready-made design themes?

The short answer is yes, but not for everyone. While they have a complete look, the primary purpose of these storefront solutions is demonstrative. They offer a more minimalist design that might not meet the needs of more ambitious merchants or those with specific corporate identity requirements. Our vision for their use is simple – they provide an excellent foundation for creating impressive and unique design themes for the projects we develop and maintain.

Design solutions by Stenik – standardized, optimal, and innovative

Following all best practices mentioned above, Stenik has always developed in-house design and front-end teams working in synergy to deliver solutions that meet diverse client requirements and are standardized. This is one of the key aspects that sets us apart from most other agencies that work with ready-made templates or develop non-standardized design themes.

Currently, the most popular user interface solutions for our projects are:

  • Custom design theme based on Luma Storefront. Luma is still the most standardized storefront for Magento and is compatible with the largest number of third-party extensions.
  • Custom design theme based on Hyvä Storefront. Hyvä is the best solution for achieving higher loading speeds.
  • Adapted design based on our Cypho B2C & B2B design themes.

What is Stenik Cypho?

In response to the needs of a specific segment of clients and based on proven components, we created our own design theme, called Cypho. It allows for customization within reasonable limits and delivers an optimal result in terms of implementation time, budget, and quality of the final product. This theme is inspired by established eCommerce trends we’ve implemented in various projects, which have proven successful. As the needs of B2C and B2B merchants differ, the theme offers two fundamentally different interfaces tailored to these business channels. The theme is 100% standardized as it is based on the Luma Storefront and works seamlessly with all our modules and all third-party Magento extensions by default.

Online merchants from various industries in our portfolio have trusted us to build their stores using our Cypho Storefront solution.

Projects implemented with Cypho Storefront

We are currently working on several new projects based on Cypho Storefront and have observed increased interest from online merchants in this solution. We expect to complete many more successful projects in the coming months.

Conclusion

The choice between ready-made and custom-developed Magento themes is fundamental to the successful online growth of merchants and the satisfaction of their customers. From better speed, through opportunities for custom development, to sustainable growth and reduced long-term costs, the right design solution at the right moment can determine many of these factors. These, as we know, directly influence standing out from the competition, increasing revenues, and overall success in eCommerce.

About the author:

Dimitar Dimitar Dimitrov

Dimitar Dimitrov has been a partner and Commercial Director at STENIK since 2006.

Over the years he has gained valuable experience as a web consultant, successfully finding new clients and maintaining relationships with existing clients. He has also participated in the development of a number of major projects ranging from Douglas, Ozone, AIKO, Tehnomix and more. Dimitar's strength is advising clients to integrate online stores with various ERP systems and warehouse software.

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