Have you ever purchased a WordPress template from Themeforest with the intention of developing a webshop and after implementing the demo content you realized that there is more work needed to meet customer requirements than to build one from scratch? Have you ever been annoyed that something was messed up regularly during updates?
These pre-produced themes can be used effectively if you don’t want any custom development. But to be honest, I have never met a client in my carreer who was satisfied with changing only the logo, pictures and text, or modifying the colors in the template.
The so-called “multi-purpose” templates available at Themeforest are not really suited to individual needs. Dozens of JavaScript files, unnecessary plug-ins, fonts and CSS files are applied during the installation, which have a particularly negative impact on the load speed and also make the admin interface confusing for the end user.
Many “WooCommerce-ready” templates have their own WooCommerce settings, which override the default template files for the webshop engine. There is therefore a risk that the website may fall apart during the updates. In this case, a message will appear in the admin interface stating that the system contains obsolete template files.
Which theme to choose for WooCommerce webshop development?
Over the years I have created many webshops, tried out many systems, but based on my experience so far, the most stable and reliable template has been the Storefront – The Official WooCommerce Theme developed by Automattic. (This company is behind WordPress and WooCommerce.) It is built on Underscore basics, just like all native WordPress templates. Personally, I prefer the Bootstrap grid system, therefore I usually integrate it during development.
With its simple and clean appearance, Storefront is the perfect starting point for developing complex and personalized webshops. There are no limits, practically any image can be used with it.
Advantages
- Clean code
A real lightweight basic template, you can quickly create functional webshops with it. - Search engine optimized structure
The WooCommerce Storefront has a built-in schema markup that significantly improves your ranking in the Google search results list. - Official WooCommerce integration
Deep integration with WooCommerce webshop engine and many official WooCommerce plugins. - Responsive appearance
Whatever device you are looking at, mobile, tablet or desktop, the visual content will adjust to the size of the display. - E-Commerce focused home page
The homepage shows the product categories, latest, featured, promotional, and top rated products by default. - Accessible design
A structure that complies with accessibility guidelines is good for Google and will make your product range accessible to a wider audience.
Disadvantages
- It only provides basic customization options, therefore it requires basic coding knowledge.
- You need to be proficient in HTML, CSS, JS, PHP.
- If you are not yet a junior frontend developer, you need to invest in a premium child theme that you can customize with the Customizer.
- For these websites I used Storefront as a starting point for my web store development.
During the development of these webshops, I created a unique theme, which is called child-theme and made all the custom changes there. This is beneficial because security updates are regularly received by the parent template, while individual changes remain intact, so I don’t need to worry about the website to be fallen apart.
If you don’t want to code that much, you can buy premium Storefront Child Themes from the developers of WooCommerce for $ 79, which you can customize securely as well. Of course, this is only worth choosing if the client’s needs are mostly in line with the demo content.
Summary
Storefront is an official template designed specifically for developers, which is well documented and supported. As it is part of the lightweight category, it enables seamless development. If you want your webshop to work long-term, stable and secure, be sure to choose an official WooCommerce Storefront template for your development.