How-to · 8 min read
How to customise a Shopify theme: a beginner's walkthrough
Every store starts from a theme that thousands of others also use. What makes yours look unique isn't the theme itself — it's the customisation. The good news: Shopify's theme editor lets you do almost all of it visually, with no code. Here's how to take a stock theme and shape it into your brand.
Where customisation happens: the theme editor
From your admin, go to Online Store → Themes and click Customise on your theme. This opens a live visual editor: your store on the right, and controls on the left. Everything you change here updates a preview instantly, and nothing goes live until you click Save.
Step 1 — Set your brand basics
Start with the settings that apply everywhere. Look for the theme settings (often a gear or "Theme settings" area at the bottom of the editor):
- Colours: set your primary brand colour, background, and button colours. Consistency here instantly makes a template feel custom.
- Typography: choose heading and body fonts that match your brand's personality.
- Logo: upload your logo and set its size and favicon.
These global choices ripple across every page, so they give you the biggest visual payoff for the least effort.
Step 2 — Build your homepage with sections
Modern Shopify themes are made of sections — modular blocks you can add, remove, and reorder. On your homepage you might stack a hero banner, featured products, a text block telling your story, a review section, and a newsletter signup. Click Add section, pick a type, and drag it into the order you want. Remove anything you don't need. This is where your homepage's personality comes from.
Need layout inspiration?
Scan stores you admire to see which theme and structure they use.
Step 3 — Refine your product pages
Product pages are where sales happen, so give them attention. Within the product template you can usually adjust how images display, add trust badges, show related products, and place review widgets. Keep the path to "add to cart" short and obvious — every extra distraction costs conversions.
Step 4 — Sort your navigation
A confusing menu loses shoppers. Under Navigation (in the admin, or via the header section in the editor), keep your main menu short and logical — shop/collections, about, contact. Make sure key pages are reachable in one or two clicks.
Step 5 — Check mobile before you save
Most of your visitors will be on phones. The editor has a mobile preview toggle — use it. Text that looks fine on desktop can crowd on mobile, and hero images sometimes crop awkwardly. Adjust until it feels clean on a small screen.
Rule of thumb: if it doesn't look right on mobile, it isn't done — no matter how good it looks on desktop.
When to reach for apps or code
The visual editor covers most needs, but if you want a feature it doesn't offer — advanced upsells, a specific review layout, custom landing pages — that's what apps are for. Adding an app is almost always easier than editing theme code. Only dip into Edit code if you're comfortable, and always duplicate your theme first so you have a backup.
Save, preview, publish
Customisation is iterative. Save often, preview as a real visitor, and refine. When it feels like your store rather than a template, you're done. And if you ever outgrow the theme entirely, here's how to switch themes safely without losing any of this work's underlying content.