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Choosing the Best ReadyTheme Website Template for your Store

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By Miva | December 15, 2017
Miva ReadyThemes

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From the website navigation to the checkout process, most ecommerce professionals can recognize the importance of providing an enjoyable online user experience for customers. The website template or design layout of your ecommerce site plays a significant role in the user experience.

Choosing the best Miva ReadyTheme for your business can be overwhelming, especially since Miva offers more than a dozen free ReadyTheme website templates for merchants. Often times, merchants struggle to choose the best website template for their online store.

We have simplified this process for you by developing a list of criteria to help you determine the best ReadyTheme for your ecommerce store. As a general rule of thumb, the template for your ecommerce website should be selected based on the complexity of your product offering and the size of your product catalog.

Each of our ReadyThemes is suited for a particular type of business. To narrow it down, we have categorized ecommerce sites into three types: Photo-Friendly, Complex Product Catalog, and Simple Product Catalog. Further down, we review our top ReadyThemes and provide examples to demonstrate the versatility of the Miva enterprise ecommerce platform.

Photo-friendly websites typically have a large stockpile of high-resolution images. Companies that want to showcase their beautiful imagery should select a website template that incorporates the use of a lot of images.

Miva’s ReadyThemes that are best suited for photo-friendly ecommerce websites.

Ecommerce websites that have a simple product catalog don’t necessarily need a website template with a large mega menu. Instead, merchants can opt for a website template that beautifully displays their carefully handpicked product lines.

Miva’s ReadyThemes that are a great fit for ecommerce websites that have a simple product catalog.

One size does not fit all. Online stores that have a complex catalog should use a website template that enables potential customers to easily view and browse your products. A website that is using a Miva ReadyTheme that is not a perfect fit for the specific volume of items on your site can obstruct the user experience and increase the bounce rate .

ReadyThemes that are best suited for large, complex product catalogs.

All of our free ReadyThemes are mobile responsive, and can be fully-customized to meet the needs of your online business. The install guide and documentation included with each Miva ReadyTheme can be referenced at any time to assist you with adding functionality and building your site. Miva’s searchable documentation center, docs.miva.com, is also a helpful resource that allows you to uncover tutorial videos and reference material containing the technical answers you need, when you need them.

Features of Our Top ReadyThemes

Booc ReadyTheme

Outfitted with our newly refreshed checkout process, the Booc ReadyTheme is packed full of cutting edge ecommerce features. The simple, yet modern design of Booc immediately draws attention to your products, starting on the storefront. The featured categories on the home page allow customers to quickly start shopping and browsing your products. Booc is ideal for ecommerce websites that do not have a complex category structure.

Miva clients using the Booc ReadyTheme

StoryTeller ReadyTheme

A perfect fit for a more ‘crafted’ ecommerce store, the StoryTeller ReadyTheme can help a storeowner tell the story behind 4 to 5 unique products. This beautifully-designed website template leverages the power of stunning imagery to create an unmatched user experience.

Miva ecommerce stores using the StoryTeller ReadyTheme

Levels ReadyTheme

One of our most popular website templates, the Levels ReadyTheme is the perfect foundation for ecommerce stores with a complex product category. This feature-rich ReadyTheme includes a fly out mega menu that allows for three levels of product categories. The optimized global header and prominent search box give shoppers the ability to easily and quickly find the product they are searching for. Showcase the details of your products with the vertical additional images, located above the fold on product pages.

Miva ecommerce sites using the Levels ReadyTheme

Suivant ReadyTheme

Ideally suited for ecommerce businesses that have large datasets, the Suivant ReadyTheme has a drop down top menu and mega menu functionality to help users shop quickly and easily. Seamless transitions with the “quick look” and “AJAX add to cart” features, promote a stunning user experience for your shoppers. Developers have full control of important SEO features like meta tags and page title tags to ensure their online business is visible to search engines. Best of all, you can match branding guidelines by easily adjusting the look and feel using the ReadyTheme items in the Miva admin.

Miva ecommerce sites using the Suivant ReadyTheme

Iron & Wool ReadyTheme

A version of the Suivant ReadyTheme, the Iron and Wool Theme is another great website template for an online business with a large product database. This theme is outfitted with an easy-to-use navigation and countless built-in capabilities for your ecommerce store.

Miva clients using the Iron and Wool ReadyTheme

Optics ReadyTheme

A terrific choice for an ecommerce business with a smaller product catalog, the Optics ReadyTheme is optimized for speed. Cleanly showcase new products and current promotions with the easily interchangeable hero image and secondary promotional banners. The clean, minimal design of the Optics theme keeps shoppers focused on finding the products they are looking for and completing the sale.

Miva ecommerce sites using the Optics ReadyTheme

Miva’s expert Design and Development teams are working diligently to create beautiful ReadyThemes to enable you to showcase your products and promote a great experience for online shoppers. New ReadyThemes are released regularly throughout each year.

For questions about Miva’s ReadyThemes, Miva’s Professional Services team is available to help you narrow down your choices and select the best website template for your new or redesigned online store.

 

About The Author

Katy Ellquist

Katy Ellquist, Miva’s Digital Marketing Strategist, is an accomplished writer, marketer, and social media analyst who has created sophisticated content campaigns for a broad range of professional clients. She brings to Miva a complex understanding of ecommerce trends and techniques, building upon extensive digital agency experience and a prior role as direct liaison to Miva’s top accounts. Katy is a regular contributor to the Miva blog, covering essential ecommerce topics like design & development strategy, site optimization, and omnichannel selling, with the goal of increasing the actionable knowledgebase of the entire Miva community.

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Author's Bio

Miva

Miva offers a flexible and adaptable ecommerce platform that evolves with businesses and allows them to drive sales, maximize average order value, cut overhead costs, and increase revenue. Miva has been helping businesses realize their ecommerce potential for over 20 years and empowering retail, wholesale, and direct-to-consumer sellers across all industries to transform their business through ecommerce.

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