The Best Free Shopify 2.0 Themes

Introduction

When setting up your Shopify store, you’ll need to carefully select a theme that is best suited to your brand and how you market your product, as well as considering the functional requirements to ensure excellent user experience.

There are lots of Shopify themes to choose from, with various layouts, features, customization and price points available. When researching themes, you’ll surely come across some that have since been retired or phased out with the introduction of Shopify 2.0. Fortunately there are newer versions that have been tweaked or are variations on the previous, much-loved, Shopify 2.0 themes.

The newer themes are more modern and offer better features that are compatible with the new Shopify 2.0 architecture. New themes are all optimized for speed, customization, and improved user experience to help you with your Shopify ecommerce store’s overall performance.

Some of Shopify’s older (1.0) themes are still available to use but will no longer be supported in favor of the new Shopify 2.0 themes included in their update. However, there are some similarities between the old and new themes, so let’s take a look at which themes have been retired and which are the best (and Saikai recommended!) alternatives.

Retired Shopify 1.0 Store Themes

Older themes are now sadly incompatible with the newer Shopify framework and have fewer built-in customization options. You are still able to use an older theme if you choose to, but the theme will not receive technical support, such as updates, meaning your Shopify store’s performance, site security, speed, and integrations will not be optimized and working as well as you might like them to. The new Shopify 2.0 themes have been created in line with current user expectations of how an ecommerce site should perform, with a strong focus on mobile users and optimizations.

Some of the most popular themes that have been retired include:

Minimal

Known for its straightforward design, Minimal was best for store owners who wanted to showcase products in a minimalist way (aptly named, right?). This included easy to use navigation, whitespace on pages, and simple font choices

Brooklyn

Most suited to fashion and clothing ecommerce stores. Brooklyn lent itself to leading with visuals, hero images and carousels, and a grid layout to easily display products

Venture

Venture also featured a grid layout, making it easy to display large amounts of products at one time. This theme was best for those who have a wide range of stock

Debut

Another theme that focuses on looking clean and being minimalist, but most suited to Shopify store owners that were new to using Shopify. Debut did not require any coding and was intuitive to use, but only had basic customization options

Narrative

Designed specifically for brands that love to tell a story and have a strong brand identity. Narrative was, again, minimalist in its design but allowed store owners to focus on using visuals throughout their site

Boundless

Boundless worked well for ecommerce stores looking to combine display images and visual storytelling. It was optimized for large imagery but still had a lot of simple elements in its design such as whitespace and font, making it feel minimalist Despite their popularity, Shopify 1.0 themes no longer meet the requirements of current ecommerce store owners, especially regarding performance and features. Shopify 2.0 has paved the way for newer, better optimized, and more customizable themes.

Best Free Alternatives for Retired Shopify Themes

Remember, you are still able to use Shopify 1.0 themes, but there are some slight risks associated with this. As the newer Shopify 2.0 themes age, these will receive more upgrades and developments and the older themes will become harder to work with. You can change your Shopify store theme at any stage if you wish to do so. However, if you’re using a Shopify 1.0 theme with a lot of customizations (coded or otherwise) or integrations, as time goes on these will become harder to work with. If you’re currently using a Shopify 1.0 theme and wanting to make the switch, or perhaps you’re just starting out but like the look of a retired theme, these are our recommendations:

Dawn

Shopify 2.0’s default theme! Dawn is closest to the 1.0 Debut theme and is preferred for its versatile use, quick set-up, and minimalist design. Dawn is excellent for general use and has the option to customize different sections within your store.

Craft

Craft is most similar to the 1.0 Minimal and Brooklyn themes in its focus on product imagery and storytelling. Best for Shopify store owners who want to use image galleries that really speak to their customers, but prefer a minimalist design. Craft is also budget friendly and great for beginners.

Sense

Offering enhanced search and a mega menu, Sense is suited to store owners who rely on visual storytelling but have limited budget. Sense is free to use and makes your branding shine throughout your site while still having ample space to display everything you need - similar to the Brooklyn Shopify theme.

Palo Alto

Palo Alto was originally a Shopify 1.0 theme but has faced major updates with the 2.0 release. Best for store owners who prefer a minimalist design, with a focal point on visuals. Palo Alto is a highly versatile theme thanks to its use of modules in its design, and can be used by many different types of business.

Studio

Studio is designed with creatives in mind and is best for Shopify sites that heavily rely on visuals to sell products, such as portfolios or collections. The layouts are more artistic than other layouts but are highly engaging and dynamic.

Ride

Specifically tailored to outdoors or sports brands with bold layouts and typography. Ride uses full width imagery, product slideshows and image galleries, as well as features to improve your upsell and cross-sell.

Conclusion

It’s always sad when something we like and are familiar with is no longer a viable option. But, and this is a big but, Shopify 2.0 themes have been improved in order to support your store’s performance. This includes the ability to create custom layouts, customize sections across the entire page (and site), faster performance by way of reduced load times, plus prioritizing mobile devices in the theme designs.

Your favorite Shopify 1.0 theme might still be available at the moment, but there’s a chance they won’t exist at all at some point in the future. While you can, consider choosing or changing to a Shopify 2.0 theme and reap the benefits of advanced customization, better performance, and improved design - especially if you want to keep making those sweet, sweet conversions!