Latest Tips & Tricks for Building Your First Shopify Theme

Creating your first Shopify theme might feel like standing at the base of a mountain with no map. But it doesn’t have to be that way. With the right steps and some practical advice, you can build a theme that works well, looks clean, and helps sellers run their stores without trouble.

This guide walks you through the important parts—from setting things up to adding that final polish.

Before You Start: A Quick Look at Shopify Theme Building

If you’re planning to build your first Shopify theme, don’t rush into the code just yet. It helps to know what a theme does and how it fits into the store-building process.

A Shopify theme isn’t just about colors or layouts. It controls:

• How products appear on the page
• What the homepage looks like
• How menus, filters, and buttons behave
• How easy it is for a store owner to make changes without touching code

You’ll be working with a few core tools:

• Liquid – Shopify’s templating language (this is where you show product info, prices, images, etc.)
• HTML, CSS, and JavaScript – the building blocks for layout, design, and interaction
• JSON templates – these let store owners move sections around using Shopify’s editor

If you’re not comfortable with all of these yet, that’s okay. You’ll learn as you go. What matters most is understanding how your theme helps the store run smoothly for both the owner and the customer.

Before you move on to the tips, keep one thing in mind:

A good theme isn’t just pretty. It should be fast, mobile-friendly, easy to update, and built with real users in mind.

Let’s walk through the tips that can help you build your first Shopify theme the right way.

10 Practical Tips for Building Your First Shopify Theme

Building a Shopify theme for the first time might feel overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be. These tips will help you stay focused, avoid common mistakes, and build something that works well for real stores.

1. What Does a Shopify Theme Control? Start Here First

Before you write a line of code, understand what a theme controls:

• Layout of your pages (home, product, collection, etc.)
• How product images are shown
• Fonts, colors, buttons, and menus
• Custom sections that the store owner can update without a developer

It’s not just about making it “look nice.” A theme affects how easy it is for people to browse and buy.

2. Dawn vs. Custom Shopify Theme: Which Should You Start With?

Shopify recommends starting with Dawn, their official reference theme built with Online Store 2.0 in mind. If you’re just starting, this is a solid choice.

But if you’re building something very different—or want full control—you might want to start from scratch using the Shopify CLI. Just keep in mind: building from zero takes more time and testing.

3. Key Technologies You’ll Use When Building a Shopify Theme

You’ll need to work with:

• Liquid: Shopify’s templating language. It helps you bring in product info, collections, cart data, and more.
• HTML/CSS/JS: This is the core of any frontend work.
• JSON templates: These help store owners rearrange content blocks without touching code.
• Dawn’s codebase: Even if you don’t use it, studying it helps you see how things are structured.

You don’t need to master everything at once, but knowing where each piece fits makes the whole process smoother.

4. How to Use Shopify Sections and Blocks the Smart Way

Sections let users move content around from the Shopify Editor. Blocks break those sections into smaller parts (like text, image, button).

For example:

liquid

{% schema %}

{

  "name": "Image with text",

  "settings": [],

  "blocks": [

    {

      "type": "text",

      "name": "Text Block"

    },

    {

      "type": "image",

      "name": "Image Block"

    }

  ]

}

{% endschema %}

Using these right makes your theme more flexible and easier to maintain.

5. Improve Shopify Theme Speed

Speed matters. A slow theme hurts both conversions and SEO.

Here’s what helps:

• Compress images
• Minify CSS and JS
• Lazy load assets
• Avoid inline styles in large amounts
• Test with Lighthouse or PageSpeed Insights

Even tiny delays add up when you’re dealing with mobile traffic.

6. Why Mobile-First Design Matters

Most shoppers are browsing from their phones. Don’t treat the mobile as an afterthought. Build and test layouts that feel natural on small screens:

• Bigger tap areas
• Clear fonts
• Minimal clutter
• Quick-loading product images

Start small, then scale up to desktop—not the other way around.

7. Write Clean, Reusable Code for Long-Term Shopify Theme Maintenance

Create reusable snippets. Avoid stuffing everything into one file. Use comments generously. Someone else (or future you) should be able to figure things out quickly.

Example:

liquid

{% render 'product-card', product: product %}

This keeps the main file clean and makes updates easier down the road.

8. Smart Theme Settings: Make Your Shopify Theme Easy to Customize

Think like a store owner who doesn’t code. Give them options in the Theme Editor that make sense:

• Color pickers
• Font choices
• Toggles for layout options
• Upload fields for banners and logos

A thoughtful settings setup gives users flexibility without calling you every week for changes.

9. Test Your Shopify Theme Like a Customer

Try using the store on different devices and browsers. Click everything. Check what happens when you fill a cart, browse multiple pages, or filter a collection.

Also, ask a friend who doesn’t code to poke around. If they get stuck or confused, that’s a sign you need to tweak something.

10. Keep Improving Your Theme Design

Look at successful Shopify stores and ask: What does their theme do well? How do they handle menus, product zooms, or review sections?

You don’t need to copy them, but seeing how they solve problems gives you ideas worth building on.

What to Do After You Finish Building Your Shopify Theme

Finishing your theme is a big step, but you’re not done just yet. Before handing it over or publishing it, take a little time to make sure everything works as expected.

Here’s a quick checklist to follow:

• Test on different devices and browsers: Check how the theme looks and works on desktops, tablets, and phones. Don’t forget Safari, Chrome, and Firefox.
• Try it as a shopper: Add items to the cart, apply filters, go through checkout (in test mode). Make sure buttons, links, and menus behave the way they should.
• Check theme editor settings: Can the store owner change images, text, and sections easily from the Shopify customizer? If not, consider adding or adjusting your schema.
• Fix any slow-loading areas: Run a speed test with Google Lighthouse or PageSpeed Insights. Compress images and clean up any large scripts if needed.
• Document the theme: Write a short guide or README file explaining how to install and customize the theme. It helps others (or future you) know how to make updates later.

Once everything feels solid, you’re ready to publish—or even submit your theme to the Shopify Theme Store, if that’s your goal.

Final Thoughts

Building your first Shopify theme takes time, but it’s one of the best ways to learn how the platform really works. You’ll make a few mistakes along the way—and that’s fine. Each one teaches you something useful.

Start with a clear plan, keep your code clean, and test often. Focus on making the store easy to use for both the owner and the customer. With each theme you build, things will feel less complicated and more natural.

At CartCoders, we’ve seen how much progress developers make once they get hands-on. Just take it one section at a time, and don’t be afraid to keep improving as you go.