What is Online Store 2.0 and what does it mean for me?
At long last Shopify's updated Online Store 2.0 is finally here - perhaps the most highly anticipated update ever! Here at Blue Horizons we are genuinely excited about this and have been utilising the new theme builder on new client stores for a few weeks now. But what does it mean for you and your store? Here's a brief overview of what the update entails.
The background
You may have noticed your theme editor change over the last couple of months with a new interface and editor options. This is all part of Shopify's recent upgrade to Online Store 2.0. Launched at the recent Unite Conference, Shopify have rolled out a bunch of new options and features for app and theme developers to use, culminating with a brand new theme editor and some great new features. The aim is to help create amazing experiences for merchants and shoppers.
The benefits:
Sections
everywhere
Customising your inside pages or product pages used to involve duplicating templates or hard coding sections - not anymore.
You can now customize the content on most of your online store's pages using all the sections you find on the homepage! Add, rearrange, or remove sections and blocks to create unique page layouts.
Richer content using dynamic sources
Stuck with just being able to add content to the existing product page fields without an app?
With native product metafields you can add additional fields to a product page to allow you to showcase extra attributes, like materials, weights, award badges and logos and update these dynamically on the front end, meaning you can display product specific information in different places on a product page with ease.
Different layouts for different products
Customising a product page now no longer needs touching the code.
Re-order and hide elements in the theme editor, add accordions, modals and custom badges and graphics with ease and apply different layouts and sections to different products with just a few clicks!
Collection
filtering
Allow customers to filter collections in your store by availability, price, product type, vendor, plus variant options, like size and colour. All without an app and without custom tags.
This means quicker load times and reduced running cost!
Enhanced
app support
Install or change apps without touching any code.
Add app functionality anywhere in your theme using app blocks. Plus removing apps is just as quick.*
*This feature is only available with a few apps so far...
Faster
loading
2.0 has been built for speed.
Shopify's free Dawn theme loads 35% quicker then their Debut theme, and with the improved speed available for developers to utilise, we're expecting quicker stores to start appearing in the market soon.
What do I need to do? Should I upgrade?
Upgrading or changing your theme isn't critical. Your store will still function just as well as it did before and will still look great and be easy to manage. So if now is not the right time to invest in a revamp, refresh or an upgrade to get the new features, or you've recently just done this or just launched your new site, then don't worry, you don't need to do anything.
But, if you were thinking of having a redesign, adding new features or apps or making lots of custom changes, then now might be the perfect time to upgrade to 2.0!
Please do get in touch for any advice or any questions you have or if you'd like a quote for moving to 2.0 - every client is different, so let us tailor a quote to you.
