I recently updated my website, (yes this one that you are looking at right now). It had been the same for the last couple of years with just changes to banner images and design tweaks. I'm not a huge one for changing things that are not broken, but a trusted friend suggested i update the Shopify theme and i thought i'd consider it. It turned out to be a good decision.
I made this video below which talks through the new Shopify theme and the reasons behind some of the design decisions made.
Updating your website doesn't need to cost a fortune and be a huge project that takes months. I realised early that the Shopify platform is really user friendly and allows you to experiment with different themes designed by professional designers and Shopify experts.
My tips for designing a great e-commerce website on a shoestring are:
1) Use a platform such as Shopify (there are other platforms that are similar too)
2) Research websites that you like that work with brands with a similar vibe to yours. Use the knowledge and research that other brands before you have done. You don't always have to re-invent the wheel.
3) Experiment with different themes and get feedback from trusted friends and colleagues. I looked at about 3 different ones before settling on the one i chose called 'Broadcast'.
4) Spend money on good images, not matter how slick the theme is, if you have crappy or unprofessional images it won't look good. Commission a photoshoot like this one we did during lockdown.
5) Don't wait too long to set it live and get feedback. Think of it as a work in progress that you can keep improving and tweaking.
6) Use photoshop to edit the background of images, you don't have to re-shoot everything if you can update images easily and cheaply yourself.
Check out some of our other blog posts
Lockdown Photoshoot in Brighton