As an online merchant, you want your store to be up-to-date and the best possible. As you know, one of the best features of Shopify is the continuous development of the ecosystem to promote better and more profitable trading. For an merchant, this means continuous development and updating of the online store. However, sometimes there are updates that you are not sure if you should update or not.
Last year, Shopify announced one of its biggest updates to date: Shopify 2.0. Today, the paid themes are already 2.0 versions, but if you are still using the Shopify 1.0 version, you should consider updating it. Shopify 2.0 gives the merchant more opportunities to customize the site to be more and more commercial.
Next, we will tell you what features Shopify 2.0 brought with it and why you should upgrade to the new version now at the latest.
Faster site
One of the best features of the update is a faster site. Shopify's 2.0 default theme "Dawn" is 35% faster than its predecessor "Debut". The new features and functionalities that come with the update reduce the need for third-party applications, which still lowers the site's loading speed and improves the site's reliability.
According to Google's recommendations , the optimal site loading speed on mobile devices should be less than 3 seconds, the less the better. Site visitors require fast site loading when clicking on the site, if this does not happen there is a risk that user, i.e. a potential customer, will leave the site. A faster site also guarantees better search engine visibility when Google evaluates the site's technical features. Thanks to a better customer experience and increased search engine visibility, your sales will increase.
Elements for each page
The limitations of Shopify 1.0 may have hampered your site's content, but with the Shopify 2.0 update, that's no longer the case!
In the 2.0 update, Shopify enables site customization and personalization for each page without having to touch the code anymore. In the new update, all existing sections and modules in the themes are available on the entire site, and no longer only available on the front page, as in the old 1.0 version.
The update means that you can now address the customer in a more versatile way with your brand on every page, and design and optimize the site exactly the way customers demand it - to achieve a better user experience. Changes and continuous development on the site will become easier and speed up considerably. Thus, you can quickly create personalized landing pages for marketing campaigns or other content needs, saving euros without touching the code.
Theme App Extension makes it easier to add and remove applications
Even though in version 1.0 there were a lot of applications available, their installation has not been very flexible and they have not been implemented in the best possible way. The Shopify 2.0 theme app extension changes the way merchants interact with apps. The merchant can easily add applications to their theme directly from the theme editor, without the need to touch the code. If the merchant decides to remove the app later, the ghost code will be automatically removed from the store. This reduces the risk that installing the app will break some of the theme's functionality.
And in addition, of course, the need for third-party applications decreases with new functionalities, which means that the site's loading speed decreases.
Better metafields
Shopify has long been lacking in terms of product information or page-specific personalized content compared to other e-commerce platforms. One common need is to be able to add more text fields in addition. Now, however, in version 2.0, with the help of advanced metafields, it is possible to add additional content to products, product groups, customers or even the checkout, without the same information appearing everywhere on your site. The possibilities are almost limitless, everything that is not visible in the editor can be added using meta fields.
With new metafields, you can personalize the site in a more versatile way and embed different instructions or product-specific information. Check out our customer's maintenance page here, which has been enriched with metafields.
Check out
The goal of Shopify 2.0 is to make trading easier. Customization of the checkout site is still only available to Shopify Plus merchants. However, with the 2.0 update, other Shopify licenses also have access to various Checkout applications. Use applications to enrich the customers' experience at the checkout and entice your customers to buy and keep coming back.
Easier everyday life
Shopify 2.0's advanced theme editor UI makes your work much easier. Overall, building and customizing your Shopify store is faster, smoother, more efficient and more rewarding. The new update makes navigation and the site hierarchy easier to understand. Thus, you save your time instead of slow development for new innovations and a better user experience.
So should you update to Shopify 2.0?
We think you should. 2.0 is not a new paid application or an increase in costs, quite the contrary. The update is available to every existing merchant, who have a paid Shopify license and a compatible theme.
Full 2.0 features only come in 2.0 themes, so you should upgrade to the new theme if you want to take advantage of all the features. If you have a paid 1.0 theme, the merchant can upgrade to the 2.0 theme without buying the theme again. However, when switching to a 2.0 theme, coding knowledge is required so that all the customizations and information of the old site are transferred along with the theme update.
Not sure if you are using Shopify 2.0 with all its features?
Feel free to contact us and we will check your website and develop it up to date so that your time can be directed to the most important thing; for your business and. increasing sales.
