Off-The-Shelf vs Custom Themes

An off-the-shelf theme is a pre-designed template that determines the visual and functional layout of an online store, including its colour scheme, typography, and page structure. It provides a cohesive design and user interface for presenting products and content, while often allowing for customisation to fit specific branding needs.

Historically, the standard of most off-the-shelf themes often left a lot to be desired. The quality of such themes was questionable, they were slow and bloated. They were notoriously difficult to work with and support was often non-existent. As such, I would be quick to dismiss the notion of using an off-the-shelf theme, preferring instead to build custom, proprietary themes from the ground up.

Fast forward to the present and my opinion on off-the-shelf themes has changed drastically, along with the template landscape.

What has changed?

Developer Accountability

The Shopify Theme Store allows merchants and developers to review and rate themes, thereby holding theme developers accountable for the quality of their work. By empowering merchants and developers to provide feedback, the Shopify Theme Store fosters a community-driven approach to quality assurance, encouraging higher standards from theme developers - leading to more reliable and well-maintained themes for all users.

A Focus on Performance

Most modern themes prioritise performance above all else. High performance is a crucial requirement for most merchants, as it directly impacts user experience and conversion rates. Theme developers understand that in order to stand out is crowded market, their product must not only look great but also perform well. As a result, theme developers invest significant effort in optimising their themes for speed, ensuring they meet the demands of performance-conscious merchants.

Enhanced Developer Experience

As web standards have evolved, best practices have improved accordingly. Modern theme developers adhere to these best practices by writing clean, efficient code, which greatly enhances the developer experience. For developers like myself, this means it’s easier to understand, adopt, and work with their coding standards. Clear coding guidelines and well-documented code provide a solid foundation for customisation and further development.

Off-The-Shelf theme benefits

What benefits do modern off-the-shelf themes have over custom themes?

Faster deployment times

Off-the-shelf themes are pre-built and ready to use, allowing for quicker implementation compared to the time-consuming process of developing a custom, proprietary theme from scratch.

Lower project costs

Off-the-shelf themes are generally more cost-effective. Since they are fully functional out-of-the-box, they eliminate the need for extensive development work, significantly reducing overall project costs.

Offloading support & maintenance

Many off-the-shelf themes come with dedicated support and regular updates from the theme developers, reducing the burden of ongoing maintenance and ensuring that the theme remains compatible with platform updates.

Why choose custom over off-the-shelf?

A custom theme can be tailored for a very specific purpose, allowing greater scope for optimisation than most off-the-shelf themes, allowing for greater performance, better alignment with the brand’s identity, and the ability to meet unique functional requirements. For merchants considering a headless e-commerce solution, a custom theme is essential.

A custom solution grants a development team full control over the front-end technology stack. This control means developers can choose the best tools and frameworks for their needs, ensuring a modern, maintainable, and scalable solution.

Despite these advantages, for many small to medium-sized merchants, an off-the-shelf solution remains a practical choice. Off-the-shelf themes are cost-effective, quicker to deploy, and often come with pre-built features that can meet the basic needs of most businesses.

They eliminate the need for extensive development time and can be easily updated and supported. Therefore, while custom themes do offer numerous benefits, off-the-shelf solutions provide a viable and sensible option for merchants looking to balance functionality and budget.