It's been a few months now since Shopify released its newest latest and greatest version. Now that theme developers have had time to update their themes to utilize the new framework, now is better than ever to make the switch.
We want to outline our favorite features of the upgraded platform and how it is going to make your busy life a little bit better from a site management and performance perspective.
This is by far the best feature and what sets Shopify apart from many other eCommerce platforms. Its ease of use to build a truly customized experience for your customer is even better.
The sections feature that we love on the homepage is now available for every page on your site, including product and category pages. You can now make your site truly yours! This added benefit will allow you to communicate with your customer’s the benefits of your products and services in an easy to build sections.
Before 2.0, if you wanted to create a template for your product or page that was different from the default, it meant having to dig into the code and duplicate, rename files. Shopify has now integrated this capability that allows creating a new page and product templates with the click of a few buttons.
For an even more truly dynamic site you now have the ability to embed meta fields into your product pages. What this means is that you can easily add dynamic code into your product pages that allows you to map images, and text to your product pages for a truly customized experience without having to create pages for each different type of product you have.
Before 2.0 the way you added in an app was to load it from the app, embed code into your theme, and then if you need to manually load them into pages. With the new App Block structure, you can now pick and choose which pages the app blocks appear.
You now have access to checkout apps that allow you to integrate everything from subscription, upsells and cross-sells on your checkout flow. Before you have to use a provider's separate checkout, which leads to lower conversion rates.
With new integrations and a streamlined theme structure, 2.0 themes are faster and require less third-party app integrations, which we all know lead to slowing down your store. The new “Dawn” theme is 35% faster than the previous default “Debut” theme.
Do I need to upgrade my plan to upgrade to 2.0?
No, you do not need to upgrade, 2.0 is available on all plans.
If I do not want to migrate can I keep my current theme?
We recommend upgrading to take advantage of all the latest benefits 2.0 has to offer, but if you hare happy with your current theme your store will continue to work, without access to the latest features.
How do I upgrade to 2.0?
Here is a tutorial I created on how to upgrade your theme, whether you purchased from the theme store or bought from a company such as Out of the Sandbox.
VIDEO TUTORIAL ON HOW TO UPGRADE YOUR THEME
Now that you have heard about all the great features of 2.0, we have a service to help you upgrade your shop.
Our VIP service allows you to book our team to focus on your project for a day that is convenient for you. During your VIP day, you will have open communication via a private slack channel and we work with you to upgrade your site to the latest version and make any additional updates that fit within that time frame.
You can use your VIP Day for the following:
You can book 1 to 2 VIP days depending on how long your needs list is. Pricing starts at $1200 per day.
Comments will be approved before showing up.
Online Store 2.0 opens up huge opportunities for developers to be able to successfully build themes and apps for Shopify merchants.
Shopify has rebuilt the online store experience that includes new features and a new set of developer tools, for a smooth editing experience for merchants and a pleasant experience for shoppers. Not to mention the new reference theme Dawn, is 35% faster!