Since its inception in 2008, Magento has become one of the leading eCommerce development platform used by some of the most highly reputed brands spread across the globe. Written in PHP, it offers a user-friendly, faster, more flexible and scalable e-commerce platform. It is even capable of product configuration, payment option, and smart delivery integrations.
Magento basically offers three different platforms:
- Magento community edition (free)
- Magento enterprise edition (Paid)
- Magento enterprise cloud edition
We all are well aware of the fact that PSD to Magento Theme Conversion has proven to be a successful combination for building robust sites for your customers. By doing this, a Magento developer gets full rights to control over the content, appearance as well as the usability of the stores.
Magento themes are pretty known for their simple user experience and user interface (UI) of the platform. Without them, your online store might appear bland and generic looking. Presently, there are two main choices available for Magento themes:
Free Magento themes
Pros
- One of the biggest advantages of using free Magento themes is the price aspect. It’s completely free and no money requires to be paid. May be this is the reason why a lot of online business owners end up choosing the free theme for their e-commerce stores.
- Such kind of themes is pretty easy and simple in terms of installing and use. A non-coder can even succeed in setting up a website. All he needs to do is download the theme, spend a few minutes in its installation and your online website is ready to use!
- Though they are free, they are even compatible with all major versions of Magento as well as optimized for all major web browsers.
Cons
- The amount of free Magento users is really huge. Due to themes available on the Magento store chances are there that you chose a theme which is already used by other shop owners. No one wants to be the same with others, especially with their rivals.
- Customizing or upgrading free Magento themes according to the newest market trends and standards become next to impossible
- In the case of any mishap, chances for you to get technical support becomes almost zero.
Custom designed Magento themes
Pros
- You are paying money. Thus, you will have a fresh and unique design that brings out your own style. And overall your site looks different from others.
- Managing the site becomes pretty easier for any Magento development company as well as the website owner.
- By hiring a team of theme developers, one can own a highly functional store that comes with minimal downtime.
- Sites incorporating such themes can be easily optimized for SEO as well as SERP operations.
Cons
- Custom Magento themes usually come with a hefty price tag. Moreover, there are a few people who may feel hesitative to open their wallets.
- Creating more sophisticated and more unique website means more time consumed for customization.
- They might slow down the store
Now choosing the wrong theme can either drive your customers away or help your store get popular and loved by all visitors. However, finding a Magneto theme isn’t an easy task. Down below I would like to mention a bunch of few Magento themes to watch out for in 2017.
Ebajes – HaloThemes
The clean and elegant look offered by the Ebajes theme will completely improve your online store’s experience by a large margin. In addition to all the standard looking features, one can even think of empowering their website with extensions offered by the theme. The key features include:
- Responsive Design
- Grid 960 CSS Framework
- Included Filter Products
- CSS 3
- HTML 5
The theme works well for anyone especially those selling electronics and gadgets. With its techy and futuristic outlook, one can empower their laptop shop, computer shop, etc.
EM Titany – TitanyShop
It is a clean looking theme that is meant to make the shop look eye catching and offers the owner enough functionality to do what they desire. It is considered as one of the most fluid and customizable themes on the list. And if your store is running on Magento 1 then this responsive theme can offer you an edge over your competitors.
Its key features include:
- Visual Content Editor
- Bootstrap
- CSS 3
- Cloud Zoom
- Ajax Cart
Being a highly customizable theme means you can utilize it for whatever industry you would like to operate in. It offers an elegant look that catches the eye whether you are selling apparels, electronics, or furniture!
Grayscale
Another basic Magento 1 theme is Grayscale. It packs an arsenal of options and sleek in terms of design. The elegant looking colors make it well-suited for jewelry, electronics and accessories stores. The key features include:
- Homepage image slider
- Horizontal product/categories menu
- Admin-side-manageable banner slider
- Newsletter sign-up block
- Shopping cart sidebar
It’s a professional-looking template that offers premium extensions.