Launch your Online Business with a Storefront that Stands Out from the Crowd

Start with a fresh canvas.

A Bold Stroke

How many times have you visited an online store and had the same age-old layout hit you in the face? A menu, a list of products, a buy button and a cart. It’s the standard we come to expect when shopping online, but what if we could flip that all on it’s head? When building a store that’s solely or primarily online, how your store’s theme works and looks is everything. It’s the paint on the walls, the light fixtures hanging from the ceiling and the sign in the window that says ‘Open for Business’.

Having a lacklustre brick and mortar storefront turns away customers, so why should your online storefront be any different? Standing out in the online crowd can be hard, and converting a lead into a purchase can be even harder. Creating a new theme is one of the most powerful ways to transform your brand’s identity online, so what are we waiting for? Let’s get theme building!

Your theme is the sign in the window saying ‘Open for Business’.

A Unique Tone

There are tons of themes out there, each one seems to have it’s own purpose, audience and set of features. Pre-built themes seem like a no-brainer: they’re colourful, reasonably priced and the hard work of the theme building process is already done, right? Trouble is, like the architecture of a brick and mortar storefront, a one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t cut it for online storefronts either.

You’ve spent time and effort building your brand into what it is today, so why undercut all of that with a theme that tens, possibly hundreds, of other merchants are already using?

That’s where custom themes come in. Custom themes give you almost limitless creativity over the scope and design of your store. From distinctive features like store locators, to distinguishing brand-specific design details, a custom theme will undoubtably take the next (or first) iteration of your store to the next level. Say goodbye to those age-old layouts, let’s shake things up and make something beautiful that will keep your customers coming back to your memorable store time and time again.

Isn’t a Custom Theme Expensive?

Not always. Chances are, a custom theme that’s specifically built for you will pay off in the long run. Take into consideration the development time needed to implement pre-built themes. Each theme has it’s own quirks, so tailoring the theme to your existing brand and making sure it plays nicely with your products can take time. These themes can also be lacking in basic features and limited in design customisation that you might be looking for on your new store. Add on top of that the initial cost of the actual pre-built theme from the theme store and you see how the hidden costs of pre-built themes start to stack up.

Then, there’s the issue of longevity. Most themes that are pre-built are made for a specific type of store and come with a specific set of features. If you need to add components that are out of the original theme’s scope at a later date, you’ll need more custom development work. In contrast, we build our custom themes using sections that allow for generous customisation down the track, using the easily accessible built-in theme editor in your Shopify admin.

Diving Deeper

Not convinced yet? Some other awesome bonuses to letting us build your theme lie under the surface. We build all of our new themes on a rock solid framework we call Reinforced Concrete. It’s called Reinforced for a reason: it’s fast, responsive (a.k.a. mobile ready) and built using modern web standards that sing on the latest web browsers. It’s also designed to be easily extended and expanded, cutting down on development time for future tweaks and changes down the road.

In short, it’s future ready; just like you’d expect your new theme to be.

Where will your online store take you?

Taking Inspiration

Starting from scratch with a custom theme doesn’t need to be hard, you can still bring along inspiration from other sites. See a look you like on another storefront? Want to implement a similar feature from a shop you just discovered? The beauty of custom themes is that the possibilities are virtually endless.

Want to create a custom theme with us but don’t have any ideas? Don’t fret, we’ll be happy to point you in the right direction and develop new ideas with you. Keep in mind that the initial mockup design phase is the best chance to experiment with new looks and features. It takes longer to change design directions once the design has been approved and we start building your custom theme. Once your new theme is ready to go, bring it home with some fresh product photography.

Fresh Canvases

Speaking of inspiration, here are some recent custom themes Elkfox has been busy working away on:

The Plants Project

The Plants Project is a brand new one-stop-shop that sells the high quality artificial botanicals. By building a custom theme from scratch, The Plants Project were able to achieve a unique storefront awash with pastel colours that accentuate the vibrancy of their product and blog photography.

 

Emperor Champagne

The soon to be launched champagne destination for Australian champagne lovers, Emperor embodies the classic look that tasteful curation calls for while taking on a modern visual style. This custom theme encompasses a subscription club area that allows loyal customers to explore exclusive content, along with purchasing individual wines curated by the team at Emperor.

 

Santa Cruz Skateboards

A sharp new look for the venerable Californian skating brand’s Australian online storefront, this custom theme showcases adventurous brand photography with a minimal layout that’s unmistakably courageous and speaks truth to the brand’s 40+ year history. Custom features such as product quicklook and mega navigation menu ensures skaters and surfers alike will have a great place to shop for their next outdoor adventure without leaving the comfort of their couch.

 

Foster The People

Built as part of a larger project for Merchline, this custom storefront brings life to this pop classic’s online merch store. With an audacious layout and fearless colours, this theme screams bold and beautiful while exuding finely tuned speed and performance under the hood.

Paint at the ready?

So there you have it, custom themes in a nutshell. Ready to launch a unique storefront that stands out from the crowd? Building a custom theme may sound daunting, but that’s why we’re here. Have an idea or like us to help you envision the next evolution of your business? Tell us about it today.