In the world of e-commerce platforms, WooCommerce has occupied a big territory by winning immense popularity, particularly among startups to SMBs. Technically, WooCommerce is an e-commerce offering of the most popular CMS platform WordPress using plugins. It means you will have the best of both the worlds, CMS & e-commerce.
Therefore, the selection of the WooCommerce theme remains a demanding task equally for online merchants and developers. Today, I am going to focus on WooCommerce specific nuances to address while picking a theme for your eCommerce dreams.
1. Check Availability of Common Features & Functionality in Theme
One more thing is some standard, and common features found almost all WooCommerce themes today. Those are
- Responsive web design
- Browser compatibility across the devices
- Design support using WordPress Customizer
- Integration of blogs
Of course, you have to run a quick checkup for these common features in your selected theme or themes to pick the right one for you. For instance, many theme providers claim the theme as completely responsive, but upon testing, they prove inadequate in many aspects of responsiveness and support for some key devices for equal performance. So, thorough checking is essential.
2. Shopping Cart Icon
Indeed differentiation between regular WordPress themes and theme made for WooCommerce is tough until you know the trick. WooCommerce themes always have an interactive shopping cart icon on the header of the web pages. It sets a WooCommerce theme apart from the standard WordPress themes.
3. Check Upgrade & Update Frequency
We know how the WordPress platform is famous for its frequent updates and major upgrades, even within a single year. It means your selected theme must match the release frequency of the core platform itself. It demands an active theme provider to manage everything as soon as changes take place.
You can check it in theme change-log where you can detect activities of the theme developer. You can see a number of the latest version of the theme in the source code of the theme available in the demo. Meta tag “generator” can give it.
| <!– WooCommerce Version –>
<meta name=”generator” content=”WooCommerce 2.0.13″ /> |
You can obtain the info regarding the latest version of WooCommerce from the web or official WooCommerce/WordPress platform.
4. Look at Reviews & Comments
Reviews and comments play a significant role while making choices. Review & comments feature is really important for the woo-commerce stores because according to one recently conducted research, about 90% of customers’ buying decisions are entirely dependent on online reviews. And it is the user reviews published in authenticated ways with sheer transparency that can tell you if anything goes wrong with the theme in a real-world scenario. You can see reviews about bugs, performance glitches, and how these providers have released the patches to mitigate those issues rapidly.
The most important thing is active support from the theme provider team, and the support forum can make a big difference.
5. Appealing Product Pages
We know that the product page is the place where actual conversion takes place. It is also essential to give a compelling product description with a clear structure that will help the customers to understand the importance of the product and how the product will benefit them. Modern shoppers look for advanced features like stunning product images with zoom facilities, navigation, and full-screen effects. Additional videos and animation and attractive product presentation using AR & VR like technologies aid in buying decisions. Most of the e-commerce developments companies have already started considering this factor while choosing the woo-commerce theme for the e-commerce store.
6. Social Media Integration
If you want your store to get the attention it deserves, then you must acquire a sustainable marketing strategy that certainly includes social media. 75% of Americans say that social media affects their purchasing decisions. This number itself says how vital is social media for any business. Your WooCommerce theme must-have a good amount of social media features or integration options. Quick share features, social follow buttons, integration with your Facebook blog or Twitter page, and live chat are a few of the features that you should not compromise on. Many shoppers prefer social suggestions before any purchase right from the product page without leaving it. So, your theme must offer advanced social media support as a built-in feature.
7. Product Comparison
Product comparison is a smart feature to allow your customers to choose a product by comparing similar products based on price, attributes, features, etc on your WooCommerce Store. There are many woo-commerce themes available that have in-built products compare plug-in which will help customers to choose the best products according to their needs which in turn increases the customer’s satisfaction on your site as well as helps you to increase your sales and network.
One of the most crucial moments during an online shopping experience is the customer’s ability to find what they are looking for in the shortest possible time. This will greatly influence the customer’s desire to spend money on your eCommerce store. This is where filtering comes into play. The in-site search bar feature with the integration of advanced search engines is a sure way to win tech-savvy shoppers. It enhances the user experience as well as reduces the bounce rate. The existence of a breadcrumb navigation scheme in the theme that serves as a step by step navigation which not just helps to tell people where they are on your site, but they also help Google to know how well your site is structured.
9. Mobile responsiveness
Mobile eCommerce is growing immensely these days. More and more customers are preferring the mobile device over a desktop for shopping. Ensuring your theme is mobile-friendly and responsive should be your priority. This starts with a responsive design, which means the theme adjusts its size automatically depending on the screen size of the device it’s being viewed on. Speed is another important feature of mobile-friendly WooCommerce themes. If you want your website to be optimized for any device your visitors may use, you have to make sure the website runs as smoothly as it possibly can.
Where Will You Get a Perfect Choice?
Premium themes for the WooCommerce platform are an ideal way to get the best choice and Themeforest, Elegant Themes, and Themelsle are a favorite place to pick the right WooCommerce themes for your e-commerce. However, the help of the SelectedFirms, as well as similar e-commerce development companies, make a big difference in picking the right theme for you. They certainly help in the selection as well as the installation of WooCommerce themes at competitive rates.
