How to Build a Custom Shopify Theme from Scratch

An Overview: How to Build a Custom Shopify Theme from Scratch

It’s hardly a secret that people form opinions about others based on their looks. The theme of your e-commerce website is the first thing customers notice when they arrive. If the general look and feel of your website is unappealing or unpleasant, visitors will click away immediately.

A workaround for this problem is to create your own Shopify theme, which might help you stand out from the competition. This is a step-by-step guide on how to build a custom Shopify theme from scratch.

Thinking of how you can come up with a unique theme that will enable you to build the online store your business requires?

Continue reading to learn how to create a Shopify theme from the ground up with Folio3, as well as the many ways you may take to evaluate which is ideal for your company.

Before going further, you must know what the Shopify theme is:

What is Shopify Theme?

A Shopify theme is what defines a store’s overall look. It serves as the basis for the remainder of your store. The theme you choose serves as the basis for your shop. To guarantee long-term survival, make sure your websites, apps, photographs, and other media are constructed on a solid foundation.

If you want to know that how to develop an Ecommerce app on Shopify, contact Folio3 for Shopify custom development services!

Key Steps for How to Develop a Shopify Theme?

Step #1. Evaluate your needs with the help of Folio3 Shopify Experts

Each theme has its own distinct appearance and feel. Keep in mind what kind of aesthetic you’re attempting to achieve while you’re imagining the look and feel of your ideal internet business. If you’re selling spa products, for example, your online store should have a calm and sumptuous feel. A firm that sells devices can benefit from a more dynamic and simplified aesthetic. Well, no matter what your store is, and whatever your needs are, Folio3 can fulfill all needs related to your Shopify theme. We offer top Shopify customization solution to our customers.

Step # 2. Choose a theme that meets your needs

Your e-commerce business may need a lot of time and effort to choose a suitable theme. In addition to looking good, your theme has to perform effectively and generate sales. Despite the enormous number of pre-made themes available in the Shopify Theme Store and other marketplaces, a Shopify app development services company may be unable to locate one that is ideal for their needs. Fortunately, Folio3 can create Shopify themes to meet your unique branding needs. You can select from the best 5 Shopify 2.0 themes in 2022.

The following are some factors that may come to your mind while selecting a theme for your store:

How to Build a Custom Shopify Theme – Budget:

As a newbie, free themes are the best alternative available. This does not, however, mean that free themes are of inferior quality to paid ones. Free themes, on the other hand, only provide a small number of customization options. Product pages, checkout pages, and so on are only a few of the instances. A web store may be opened with this amount of money.

Don’t spend all of your money on a single theme. Keep in mind that premium themes aren’t required for your business. They help your website work well. If you don’t have the funds to pay for a premium theme, use a free one instead. Modifying it is always an option.

However, getting the best Shopify website design services from Folio3 can reduce expenses while providing you with the best themes.

How to Build a Custom Shopify Theme – Features:

Make a list of all the functions you need. Using this tool will help you select a theme that has all the characteristics you need.

Read Also How to install Shopify theme kit

There’s a good possibility you won’t find everything you’re looking for in a single theme. Installing a theme that has the majority of the functionality you want is an option. Additionally, a Shopify app can help you access the other capabilities. We can help you customize the theme that meets all your needs.

Step # 3. Customize the theme to fit your brand

It’s important to compare themes after they’ve been customized with photos, fonts, and colors before making a decision. In order to have the theme look its best once you’ve put it in your shop, you’ll need to make a little effort.

Design decisions come into play here, which might be scary if you’ve never made them before. Keep in mind that developing a brand relies on being consistent, even though it is tempting to experiment with various fonts and colors on different pages or just because the mood strikes you. Sticking to a core collection of typefaces, colors, and styles will help your consumers quickly and simply recognize and navigate your shop. Folio3 can make it easy for you to customize your Shopify theme the way you want.

Step # 4. Launch your Shopify store

When it comes to increasing sales using Shopify ecommerce systems, our professionals go above and beyond to ensure that you get the best results possible. We are a customer-focused firm devoted to providing bespoke and simple-to-use Shopify store solutions. We’ll handle everything for your Shopify shop, including registration, setup, designs, payment methods, inventory, and everything else. Hire Shopify developer to launch the theme of your store.

Choosing a theme for your Shopify business may be as easy as following these seven simple steps before going live to the public:

• The first step is to figure out how much money you have to work with, since bespoke themes may be pricey for a new firm.
• If you’ve prioritized the themes from the Shopify Theme Store or any other third-party resource, then you’ve prioritized the themes.
• List the features and services your Shopify business is best suited for after prioritizing the theme.
• You’ve narrowed the scope of your store’s focus.
• The style and aesthetics of your Shopify shop must be decided once you’ve narrowed down your topic.
• Keep in mind that this is a lightweight Shopify theme that prioritizes mobile-friendly features when choosing a theme.
• Finally, improve the checkout process.

To learn more about how to create Shopify app at affordable cost, hire our top Shopify development company.

What are the main types of files that you’ll work with when creating a Shopify theme:

How to Build a Custom Shopify Theme for Business – Main types of Files

Template files – control the structure and layout of your pages

Multiple pages may be shown utilizing your store’s resources with certain template kinds. To name just a few, there are:

blogs, blog posts, and pages of product collections.

The default template for each kind of theme is included with all themes. If you don’t provide a different template, this is what your resources will use.

If you make any modifications to a template, those changes will be reflected on all pages that utilize that template. If you wish to show any of those pages differently, create a new template based on an existing one in your theme. As soon as you copy an existing template, it will instantly fill your new template, which you can then alter to delete, add, or conceal portions without affecting other templates of that kind. With our Shopify custom development services, we’ll make the process easier for you!

Asset files – Contain Images, CSS, and JavaScript

Assets are the building blocks of a theme. The Asset API can be used to alter the templates, pictures, stylesheets, and Javascript in these resources.

At least one theme ID must be provided before you may alter asset files through the theme API.

For this purpose, we will make use of the theme ID that appears in our Shopify app. Because your theme ID may vary from ours, be careful to use your own instead of ours when copying this ID.

Then, we’ll add a little code inside of the foreach() loop, save your script and run the app.

Code snippets – Allow you to add custom functionality to your theme

Repeated code may be contained within a single file by using snippets. For one thing, this means that we can update every single instance of that code from a single file.

We often employ snippets in the creation of themes. Instead of dealing with lengthy files, we may focus on smaller, more manageable bits of code. It also makes it easier to include and manage Shopify components. We don’t see any performance hit, so it’s simply a pleasant way to work.

Familiarity with the terms “partials” or “includes” will be familiar to anyone who has dealt with server-side languages. Snippets in Shopify are shorthand for partials and include them. Here’s a quick rundown of how Shopify makes use of them:

• Snippets are files that contain pieces of code that may be reused. They are located in the snippets folder and have the liquid file extension.
• They are most often used for code that occurs on several pages but not throughout the whole theme.
• The Liquid tag render is used to incorporate snippets into a template. For example, percent renders a snippet named “percent.”
• When referring to the snippet name, you don’t need to include the liquid extension.
• Snippets may access the variables in their parent template when they are included.
• Snippets may be anything from social media links to pagination blocks.

FAQ about how to develop a Shopify theme:

How to develop the theme using Shopify’s template language “liquid”?

All Shopify themes are written in Liquid, a Ruby-based language that’s easy to understand and expressive. A mediator between Shopify store content and the HTML text that appears in a user’s browser is called a templating language. Placeholder structures are used in a more sophisticated way by Liquid in order to access and output appropriate data from a specific store (say, the product’s title or price).

Each liquid file in Shopify enables us to access various variables without requiring any further effort. Take the product, for instance. The liquid template gives us access to all of the product’s information. We can then produce this data without needing to know anything about the product itself, thanks to the use of liquid. This class of variables is referred to as a “template class.”

Using Liquid, you can also access data that hasn’t been made public to us before. The goods in a certain collection may be used as inputs into a variable you construct in Shopify, for example.

Using liquid structures like “output” and “loops” to show data in our liquid files once we know the names of the variables we have access to or create.

How to use Shopify’s development tools to test and preview your theme?

You should test your theme before submitting it to check that it has the Shopify features you need and that it is versatile, durable, and performant.

How to Build a Custom Shopify Theme – The following should be put to the test:

• Use the Shopify Theme Store’s testing assets to make sure your theme has all of the essential functionality and reacts to interactions and inputs in the way it should.
• Use our testing best practices to ensure that your theme complies with Lighthouse performance guidelines.
• Accessibility: Using our testing best practices, make sure your theme complies with Lighthouse accessibility requirements.
• Your theme should be tested for compatibility with older browsers like BrowserStack.
• Prior to submitting your theme to the Theme Store, make sure to properly check its criteria.

How to upload your theme to the Shopify themes store?

• Go to your Partner Dashboard and log in using your Partner ID.
• You’ll find a link to Themes in the left-hand menu.
• Submit a theme by clicking on the “Submit a theme” button.
• Enter the name of your theme in accordance with the naming standards on the Theme File and Compliance Page.
• Include the theme’s ZIP file.
• By clicking the checkbox, you acknowledge that you have read and agreed to the Shopify Partner Agreement.
• When you’re finished, click the “Submit” button.
• Enter your theme’s Shopify Theme Store listing information on the Theme listing details page. Find out more about the Theme Listings page.
• Click Submit.