The Nicheologist

If you’ve launched an online store on this eCommerce platform, you may have noticed that Shopify currently offers 8 free themes to install on your site. Here, you will see each of them along with 30+ others offered by third parties. 

Unlike most directories of this nature, you can actually use these Shopify templates at no cost. Use this list to expand your options and make an informed design decision on a low budget. 

First, What is a Shopify Theme?

A Shopify theme or Shopify template is a pre-designed website layout that can be used for online stores hosted on the Shopify platform. Your theme determines the look, feel, and layout of your website. 

Before we get to the full list of free theme options, learn everything you need to know about how they work. 

Can You Customize Shopify Themes? 

Yes. Shopify themes can be customized from within your admin panel. The task requires knowledge of CSS, HTML, and Liquid coding languages. To make changes to your theme, navigate to the theme editor. 

Can You Change Your Shopify Theme or is it a One-Time Purchase? 

Yes, you can change your Shopify theme. And, no, it is not a one time purchase. When switching to a new theme, you may lose some design elements such as images used in headers. You will not lose your product catalog, images, or descriptions. 

Can You Install a WordPress Theme on Shopify? 

No, you cannot install a WordPress theme on Shopify. All content management platforms vary, as do the format of their templates. 

However, Shopify does have a new WordPress plugin that enables Shopify sales on the WordPress platform. 

Where Can You Get Free Shopify Themes? 

Of course, Shopify offers easy installation of platform-supported templates from within your user dashboard. Outside of Shopify, you can find free themes on template marketplaces and through some web developers.  

Why Would Third-Parties Offer Free themes for Shopify Stores?

There are a couple of reasons why a third-party would offer a Shopify theme for free. Some marketplaces use the templates as lead generation tools to get Shopify users to their site in hopes that they can eventually migrate their stores to another platform like WordPress. Others are interested in upselling their development services like theme installation or GDPR compliance. 

External developers do make money by giving away their products. 

How Hard is it to Install a Third-Party Theme on Your Shopify Store? 

Installing a third-party theme on your Shopify store is not rocket science, but it does require some understanding of the technical aspects of the platform. Read Shopify’s official instructions for installing a third-party template before you begin. 

Free Shopify Themes

A ton of research went into finding the best Shopify themes you can download for free. Some of them are lite versions, meaning you can upgrade to use a paid version with more features. Still, each of them will get the job done without a dime invested upfront. 

The first 8 made the top of the list because they’re officially supported by Shopify. This means they require little to no tech knowledge to install, and you will receive a lifetime of platform support when issues arise. The rest on the list are still worth checking out, but if something goes wrong, you will have to reach out to the developer, not Shopify, for support. 

1. Brooklyn

Brooklyn, whose “playful” version is super bright, is a trusted theme, perfect for apparel stores or baking and decorating supplies. 

2. Simple

Simple is a minimal theme creates a nice, sleek online store that can work well for nearly any product catalog. 

3. Minimal

With this free option, choose from three elegant minimalist theme styles. Each enables a unique twist on simplicity. 

4. Supply

If selling products is your goal, Supply might be the theme for you. The design is perfect to display and navigate through large inventories. 

5. Venture

Venture gives you three variations of the perfect free theme for sports stores and outdoor suppliers. 

6. Debut

Debut provides are two adaptations of a theme perfect for aesthetically inclined shopping. Think home decor, trendy accessories, and gifts. 

7. Boundless

Give your shoppers an interactive experience with fading effects on your slideshows, built-in social media icons,  and more with the Boundless Shopify theme. 

8. Narrative

Narrative is an excellent theme for smaller product catalogs that want to tell a stunning visual story. 

9. Fashe

Designed for fashion brands, the Fashe theme from Colorlib is a favorite for clothing and accessories sellers on the Shopify platform. 

10. AP 2020

AP 2020 is Apollo Themes’ newest free Shopify theme, built for online sellers who prioritize fast-loading product pages. Download the free version now and upgrade later to leverage the full suite of available features. 

11. Remos

Remos from Smart Add-Ons is a Shopify theme that supports drag and drop builder sections for clothing, accessories, and tech products. 

12. Gift

All you have to do to access the free Gift theme download from Roartheme is to like or share on social media (as with many of the others). 

13. SuitUP

SuitUP is an excellent theme option for Shopify sellers in the fashion niche. Users love the promotional marketing features. 

14. CarAudio

An excellent choice for auto parts and audio accessories sellers, CarAudio is another great free Shopify theme you can download today. 

15. Kardone

Another top option of auto parts retailers is Kardone, designed with cars in mind. Deliver a fully-responsive, stunning shopping experience. 

16. Styler

Styler was created with fashion stores in mind but works well for other types of products sold on the Shopify platform. 

17. Spare Parts

Spare Parts is another automotive-specific theme for Shopify that can help you deliver a great user experience for your shoppers. 

18. Tools

If you sell tools, you can’t afford to look past this free Shopify theme. It enables everything your customers want in a web store. 

19. Coffeera

Coffeera is a one-of-a-kind Shopify theme created specifically with coffee and tea sellers in mind. 

20. Classygift

Running an online gift shop? Check out the Classygift theme for an elegant and comfortable-feeling website. 

21. Medical Equipment

Medical equipment merchants will want to see what the Medical Equipment theme has to offer. The design is responsive, bright, and clean. 

22. Multifly

The Multifly theme was designed for fashion stores on the Shopify platform but will work well for other products. 

23. Annabelle

The Annabelle theme from Space Squirrel offers a highly-customizable option for Shopify stores. For example, choose a full-width or overflow layout for your home page. 

24. Debutify

The Debutify theme has a ton of positive user feedback. Site owners and admins boast about the multitude of available features. 

25. Kristix

Kristix is a free theme for Shopify stores presented by Azexo Builder. If you’re willing to learn a bit of tech, this theme is a great option. 

26. Fyre

ShopFree boasts to be the world’s first free Shopify setup service. With this service, users can take advantage of the exclusive Fyre theme. 

27. Wear

Wear is a free theme just for fashion merchants using Shopify. The design is modern, clean, and completely responsive. 

28. Bulb

Bulb features a clean, simple design for all types of online retailers using the Shopify platform. 

29. Lamp

Lamp is a Shopify theme with a similar layout to Bulb, designed with electronic sellers in mind. 

30. Doodad

Doodad for toy sellers is another favorite free theme that you need to check out. Enjoy a fun, responsive layout. 

31. Calk

If you’re looking for a multipurpose theme for a general product offering on Shopify, see the Calk theme. 

32. Rink

Are you selling skate supplies, boards, accessories, or something related to skateboarding? Well, that’s exactly what inspired the Rink theme design. 

33. Goods

Goods is a nice, clean theme, perfect for Shopify stores selling gifts, home decor, or other household items. 

34. Marriage 

Do you run a wedding-related online store on Shopify? If so, you need to look at the Marriage theme before you make a final decision. 

35. Haunt

The only thing spooky about the Haunt theme is how clean the navigation is. Leverage a great design for a jewelry or accessories store. 

36. Corpus

Corpus can help you sell clothing and accessories for men, women, and children with a user-friendly, easy-to-navigate design. 

37. Forest

Make this theme your own and sell home decor, furniture, or something else. Delight your shoppers with a clean, aesthetic layout. 

38. Star

Customize various product sections and deliver a simple shopping experience with the Star theme for Shopify. 

Honorable Mentions

Technically, the following themes aren’t free. However, with a paid Envato account (only $16 per month), you can download and install these specialty templates (and many others) on your Shopify store at no additional charge. 

1. Elise

Elise is a theme that claims to boost your conversions. The most beautiful part is that it truly empowers multiple-concepts within one design.  

2. Phuler

Phuler seems to be designed for online florists and flower retailers. It would also be a great fit for decor and accessory shops. 

3. Foodly

The Foodly theme was created with organic online grocers in mind. But, there are at least 100 other things you could do with this design. 

Final Thoughts

One of the beautiful aspects of running a Shopify store is that you don’t have to reinvent the wheel to succeed. And, you can launch a business on a moderate budget. Use one of the themes above to create a stunning, fully-customizable design for your storefront. Ready to launch your first store, learn how Shopify works. 

There are so many options when looking for the best free screenshot software. And different options come on and off the market. Take the screen capture tool TinyGrab for example. TinyGrab was once a leader with its automatic uploads and messaging capabilities. But they are no more, so… what is the best free screenshot software? Jing is the best free option our there in terms of use and features, but our favorite is actually Snagit (a paid tool). Read below to see why!

Choosing the best screenshot software comes down to finding which one provides the most relevant features that are important to you. To help make this choice easier, let’s take a look at the top ten screenshot software on the market.

#1: FireShot Screen Capture Tool
As its name suggests, the main feature of the FireShot screen capturing tool is speed. Speed is an essential quality to have when taking a screenshot as users often have only seconds to make a grab. Apart from that, FireShot is also known for its business compatibility. It allows users to annotate on the fly, highlight their screen, and perform other quick edits in real-time.

Best Paid Screenshot Software

#2: Snagit Screen Capture Software
The Snagit Screen Capture Software is arguably the most well-known software on the market today. Above everything else, what makes it stand out is its advanced image editing options that are unlike any other software. Also, it has a built-in screen recording facility to make any necessary adjustments. Overall, it provides a productive feel with its quick toolbar capture process, its cross-device sharing capabilities, and its preview window as well. This is the best you can get and is available for a very small cost.

#3: FastStone Capture Software
FastStone Capture Software is another well-known tool for digital marketers. Its unique feature is that it captures the entire screen with high precision and quality. Other tools capture sections of screens and opt to give users more control by lowering the quality of the grab. That said, FastStone is also very powerful for a lightweight tool. It can save everything from BMP, JPEG, and TIFF formats. As if that wasn’t enough, it also comes equipped with a color sampling tool if you ever need it.

#4: Skitch Screen Capture Tool
The Skitch screen capture tool is a self-described screengrab editing and annotating capture tool. For this reason, its capabilities lean more towards that side of functions. For example, it comes with a Skitch highlighting tool, a photo editor, and a pixelation tool as well. The idea behind these capabilities is to add more value on top of what is simple screen capturing. Although they took a somewhat risky approach, it has paid off in the form of being popular among beginner digital marketers and social media users.

#5: TinyTake Screen Capture Program
The TinyTake screen capture program is one of the tools that opt for user-specified or region screen capturing. As mentioned before, this gives users more accuracy and control over what they can capture. It does this with the use of a webcam which also makes it one of the most unique tools on the market. Other specific capabilities of TinyTake include drag & drop functions, local drive capturing, and a file viewer for virtually any type of file.

#6: GreenShot Capture Software
GreenShot has shown to be one of the most well-rounded tools for digital marketers. As a user-selected grab tool, its surprisingly fast and allows for quick edits pre and post-capture. All captures can also be saved and edited later in various formats. Other bright spots of this tool include easy configuration, a wide range of sharing options, and memory utilization.

#7: ShareX Screen Capture Tool
If you want to skip all of the fancy capabilities and focus solely on production, then the ShareX screen capturing tool is the choice for you. ShareX is a lightweight open-source tool that is always improving te be more user-friendly. It’s a simple tool on purpose with capabilities such as quick capture, file sharing, and other productivity functionalities. It’s also highly customizable with tools such as a color picker and QR code generator which all increase workflow when using it.

Best Free Screenshot Software

#8: Jing Screen Capture Tool
The Jing Capturing tool is unique in that it can work across different operating systems without changing its interface. This makes it one of the easiest tools to learn. That said, its capabilities include image removal editing, social media integration, and quick-share functions as well. This is by far our favorite free screenshot tool and is super easy to use!

#9: LightScreen Capture Software
The LightScreen capture software is best known for its automated processes of saving. This saves users valuable time during the editing and cataloging processes. It also has a system tray icon for easy access to functions that makes it relatively quick for a lightweight tool. Its hotkey access and image viewer features are more bonuses than anything else.

#10: Screenpresso Capture Software
Last but not least, Screenpresso is one of the more powerful tools you can get on the market. Since it prioritizes heavy functions such as a built-in image editor and image conversion, it’s one of the slower tools but it makes up for it in other areas. For example, it comes equipped with editing arrows, text boxes, and other capture highlighting functionalities.

In the era of eCommerce, everyone knows there is money to be made selling online. But, what happens after you invest a ton of energy into building a Shopify store only to find that you don’t know what to do when you get your first order. Sure, you can follow the guides in Shopify’s knowledge-base, but you still don’t know if you’re making the right decision.

Here, you’ll learn how to fulfill orders on Shopify, no matter what type of online retail you offer. Let’s take a look at everything you should know when that first order or wave of orders comes in: online sales fulfillment basics.

What is Order Fulfillment?

Some new online sellers, when learning how Shopify works, ask if “fulfillment” is the same as shipping. While shipping is one aspect of order fulfillment, it’s not the whole picture. Order fulfillment is every step taken to process a sales transaction from order to delivery. Another way to look at the term is to think of it as the footwork necessary to get your product to your customer’s door.  

[Image source: BestBuy]

In some cases, you will allow pre-orders of select inventory that is not yet in stock. In these cases, more steps over a longer time period will be taken to fulfill the orders than usual (which is part of why you can’t think of fulfillment as just shipping & delivery).

In other cases, online store owners utilize dropshipping and print on demand services for the physical part of their order fulfillment. In these cases, less steps are needed to fulfill and order.

Still, there are a set of best practices that go into fulfilling an order on a Shopify store.

1. Inventory Receiving
2. Product Storage (Warehousing)
3. Order Processing & Handling
4. Shipping & Delivery (*Logistics)
5. Returns, Exchanges, & Refunds

Largely, your receiving, warehousing, and returns processes will vary greatly depending on what type of e-tail business you run. So, for this purpose, let’s focus on item numbers three and four from above: Order Processing and Shipping.

Related Reading: Making Money with Shopify: a Blueprint for New Online Sellers

Does Shopify Handle Fulfillment for Sellers?

Because of the external services the platform promotes, many newbies wonder if Shopify handles fulfillment for sellers. The short answer is, “no.” But, automation is easier than you could imagine. And, even manual order fulfillment in the platform is user-friendly.

Your fulfillment operations within the Shopify admin can vary greatly depending on the third-party services and apps you use. I’ll recommend some later. For now, let’s find out how manual fulfillment works in the Shopify admin. 

How to Manually Fulfill Orders in the Shopify Admin

As a standalone product, Shopify has enough power to generate a successful sales operation. Without the use of any external software, you can sell on the platform. And, when it comes time to fulfill an order, manual steps can be taken.

You would want to use this option when you require greater control over your operations. For example, you might sell handmade or custom products. In this case, you may want to maintain full control over the fulfillment process for the sake of customer service.

[Image source: Coralie Reiter]

You might also want to implement manual fulfillment when you need to offer partial fulfillment for one reason or another. For complete, partial, and multiple orders, here’s how to manually fulfill with Shopify.

Complete Manual Fulfillment in Shopify

Here are the steps to manually fulfill a complete order from your Shopify Admin.

1. Log in to your Shopify admin and go to Orders.
2. Find and click the number of the order you want to fulfill.
3. If using Shopify Shipping, select Create Shipping Label in the Unfulfilled section and buy a shipping label for your order.

OR

1. If you’re NOT using Shopify Shipping, select Mark as Fulfilled, and enter the tracking number from your shipping provider.

1. Select Fulfill Items to mark the order complete.
2. Click Buy Shipping Label.

The steps are pretty cut-and-dried.

Partial Manual Fulfillment in Shopify

Here are the steps to manually fulfill a partial order from yous Shopify Admin if you’re using Shopify Shipping.

1. Log in to your Shopify admin and go to Orders.
2. Find and click the number the order you want to partially fulfill.
3. Select Create Shipping Label in the Unfulfilled section and buy a shipping label for your order.
4. Go back to the Fulfillment page.
5. Change the number of products that you want to fulfill for each line item in the Items section.
6. Select your shipping method.
7. Click Buy Shipping Label.

At this point, you will need to repeat these steps until the order is entirely fulfilled or issue a refund. When the process is complete, don’t forget to mark the order fulfilled in your admin.

Manual Fulfillment for Multiple Orders in Shopify

Here are the steps to manually fulfill multiple orders at one time in Shopify.

1. Log in to your Shopify admin and go to Orders.
2. Open the Unfulfilled tab to see only the orders that still need to be fulfilled.
3. Click the checkboxes next to the orders you want to fulfill.
4. Select Actions.
5. Select Fulfill Orders.
6. Select Fulfill.

Voila! That’s it — you’re done.

(Note: Shopify does allow users to fulfill orders via mobile. When fulfilling an order from an Android or iOS device, these steps may look a little different.)

How to Automate Order Fulfillment for Shopify

While manual fulfillment is great for smaller stores with handmade goods and one-on-one customer relationships, it won’t work for stores with massive product catalogs. And, it will probably not benefit a store whose inventory is stored in multiple warehouses.

So, if you’re an enterprise seller or you’re just interested in automating your workflow for convenience, here’s more on Shopify fulfillment automation.

Can Fulfillment be Fully-Automated with Shopify?

If you create handmade gifts or you run a small boutique out of your home, of course the entire fulfillment process can’t be automated — you need to deal with packaging, shipping, etc. But, if your inventory is stored in a warehouse/ fulfillment center, you are probably wondering how to completely automate the fulfillment process. Can it be done?

While part of your job as an online seller is to monitor your operations, you can mostly automate the fulfillment process in Shopify.

In 2017, an automation platform called DropVessel attempted to fully-automate the drop shipping processes in Shopify.

[Image source: Shopify Community]

Unfortunately, their run didn’t last. Technical issues arose and it turned out there was no one-size-fits-all method for automating fulfillment. Now, there’s no sign of DropVessel online or in the Shopify App Store.

[Image source: Shopify App Store]

Today, to automate your processes, you will need to enlist the help of a set of apps, not just a single one. And, you can automate many operations with the right combination of tools.

Does Oberlo Automatically Fulfill Orders?

Oberlo is one of Shopify’s top-promoted partners, connecting sellers directly to dropshippers worldwide.

[Image source: Oberlo]

And while their platform provides users with tons of automation, they themselves don’t claim to deliver a fully-automated system. Instead, Oberlo themselves refer to the process as “semi-automatic.” As a user, you will still need to initiate fulfillment by placing orders in your Oberlo dashboard after they are ordered on Shopify.

Recommended Tools for Shopify Fulfillment Automation

A few apps stand out from the rest when it comes to fulfillment automation. Here are a few favorites along with costs and a brief summary.

1. ShipHawk | Price: unknown

A powerful, all-in-one shipping and transportation automation platform, referred to as TMS 2.0.

[2] 

2. Upinus | Price: $19.90 per month and up

A global supply chain platform for all internet retailers. Includes product sourcing, fulfillment, and inventory management.

[3] 

3. Ali Orders | Price: Free plan available

Dropshipping automation with product imports and integrated reviews.

[4] 

Final Thoughts

While you can’t completely set your eCommerce operations on auto-pilot, you can come pretty close. Use this guide as a starting point to fulfill orders on the Shopify platform no matter what type of online retail company you run. Reach out if you have questions and stay tuned for more Shopify advice.