BigCommerce offers over 100 free and paid themes to choose from:
- configurable
- Responsive on mobile device screens
- Easy editing with drag and drop interface
These themes are powered by the BigCommerce theme engine which is called Stencil. With this, BigCommerce promises "next-gen" capabilities in themes built on this platform to give customers more design freedom. Let's dive into Stencil and see what it has to offer for BigCommerce themes.
BigCommerce Theme Features
What exactly makes Stencil different?
First, it is important to know what Stencil is.
BigCommerce has not always used the Stencil framework. Before Stencil, BigCommerce used a framework called Blueprint. There are probably still theme shops built with this original Blueprint framework, and they are probably missing some key features and benefits.
Overall, Stencil was developed as an update to Blueprint. It's a better overall foundation for eCommerce sites. It is more efficient to build, easier to upgrade and easier to operate.
The key features that make Stencil an improvement over Blueprint are:
- Designed for mobile devices
- Much easier content management
- Combined, minified and parsed files for lightning-fast loading of templates (important for mobile commerce)
- More API content
- A logic-based language with rich front-end development options
- Simplified local development to facilitate design before deployment
Here's an example of why these features are important, especially for more API content:
In the original Blueprint framework, it was not possible to access the product MPN on the product details page. However, this information is easily accessible using the Stencil structure.
Advantages of the template structure
Easy to use
The template template editor allows non-tech-savvy team members to change the design of the store without knowing the code. This can be a huge benefit for smaller teams that cannot rely on their developers to update the homepage at any time.
The editor allows you to choose from the available theme styles with a mouse click and various customization options, including:
- variable theme colors
- fonts and font sizes
- theme icons
- theme logo
You already have a lot on your plateBigCommerce inventory management, marketing, logistics and customer service. It's good to know that updating a theme is easy.
Control over product pages
The simplicity of modifying your BigCommerce store with Stencil also extends to product pages. In the editor, the Products menu provides almost all the options you need to customize the look of these pages. This includes the number of products displayed per page, image sizes, and more.
Even minor changes that previously required CSS customization can now be made using the Template Theme Editor, including:
- Show or hide the payment icons (credit card logo) in the footer.
- Remove "Powered by BigCommerce" from the footer.
- Add the GeoTrust SSL seal to your footer and checkout pages.
- Add Analytics tracking codes to your payment pages.
Best performance
BigCommerce claims that themes built on the Stencil framework are faster than themes built on its older framework (Blueprint). As mentioned above, these themes are fully responsive, so they work much better and faster on mobile devices, regardless of screen size.
In fact, because the themes in Stencil areAMP by Googlesupported, performance is noticeably better across the board with a more up-to-date architecture. Read more about AMP here:https://youtu.be/uPOElMgRy2Y
Better image management
used templateAkamai Image Administrator, an industry standard, to process images in your store and make sure they're the right size so extra pixels don't slow down page speed.
Flexible and efficient for developers
The Stencil command line interface (Stencil CLI) allows the development team to work on the current theme of the store without any problems with a live, external storefront.
Recommended template themes for BigCommerce
Photo album
One of the Shogun's associates,pixel connection, publishes beautiful and responsive themes for BigCommerce under Stencil. One of our favorites is its theme.Photo albumwhich takes a fresh and modern approach to really showcase product images as the centerpiece of the store.
Milan
PSDCenter is a BigCommerce registered design and solution partner and has had several issues in the BigCommerce marketplace. So far, they have created 21 themes for BigCommerce, of which several were built on the Stencil platform.
Each of his topicsTheme of Milan, feature clear hero images to emphasize the call to action, along with intuitive editorial layouts that showcase products in a more visual way. For those looking for a lot of variety in a Stencil theme, this is a great place to start.
Store at 22 Savile Row
style adviceturned it around22 Savile Row Boutique Themeto the Stencil platform, and for good reason: it has long been the best-selling BigCommerce theme on the Blueprint theme store. This one stands out from Flair's focus on conversion boosters as conversions are always the top priority in e-commerce.
While this theme may be aimed at the fashion industry, it advertises itself as extremely customizable (like many Stencil themes) and will suit almost any brand that wants to sell through highly engaging product images.
If you want to get more out of this topic but don't have the knowledge to tackle it yourself, the Flair Consultancy team can certainly do the job for you. They have years of experience designing, developing, optimizing and custom designs to transform this (or any other) Stencil theme to suit your store.
minimum scale
Sometimes the best way to keep guests engaged is to minimize distractions and keep them focused. Brands often use minimalist e-commerce designs to achieve this with great success.minimum scaleis a great example of this approach, designed and developed bypixel connection.
What makes this Stencil theme so expressive is the intuitive use of an oversized hero image to grab the visitor's attention as soon as they land. A simple grid of reviews and product reviews helps provide social proof of the shopping experience, which is key to driving customers to the checkout.
As a bonus, the Scales-Minimal Template theme comes in four different styles so you can find the one that best suits your store.
modern supermarket
For brands that sell a wide range of products or changing collections,modern supermarketA theme built on the Stencil platform is a smart choice. developers,Baptema, created this responsive and mobile friendly theme based on the Amazon Marketplace. Considering Amazon's investment in understanding what consumers click on, this template theme is guaranteed to improve sales and drive traffic to different brands and categories in your store.
It also comes with various menu customizations, dynamic banners and content blocks, live chat, social integration, and a powerful theme editor that makes customizing and customizing this winning template even easier.
cool and safe
Who said the best BigCommerce theme themes have to cost money?cool and safeis a popular and free template built using the Stencil framework. The clean, product-centric design improves readability and consumer engagement and prevents store owners from sweating themselves over endless content modules that clutter the pages.
Sometimes less is more, and Vault Cool knows how to use white space strategically.
The theme also comes with advanced store design features, so even though it's a free theme, you can still customize and personalize everything from text and images to layout and fonts. Really, almost every element of the theme can be customized without touching the code.
Whether you sell just a few products or have a large catalog,lonely star templatesprovided a Stencil theme with a clean and modern design, made for almost any type of online store.
Camden B2B
Camden B2Bis another topic worth mentioning at Flair Consultancy. While many developers provide default themes for B2C eCommerce spaces, it's not often we see themes made for a B2B audience.
B2B is a different beast and purchases (often wholesale and bulk) are treated very differently. Flair Consultancy took this into account when developing this Stencil theme. The clean and modern design includes features such as adding single or multiple products by SKU, grid/list view options, contextual navigation, customization by client/customer type, and of course, password protected directories.
top technology
Sales and conversions are based on trust. According to Nielsen, 92% of customers trust recommendations from others more than any other form of advertising and promotion. Trust is a powerful thing in e-commerce and it can also come from familiarity.
top technologyis another fantastic BigCommerce theme by Lonestar Templates. Create a sense of comfort and familiarity. The left-hand navigation and bold product-centric design match some of the most popular tech sites that consumers visit, such as Best Buy.
With a highly customizable editor and theme built for catalogs of any size, this clean and modern theme could be exactly what your eCommerce startup is looking for. If the tech aspect isn't quite right for your brand, check out other styles including Pinnacle Sport, Impact and Euro.
To stand out
Many e-commerce brands start out with a small product line or just one product. Unfortunately, it's not easy to find a BigCommerce theme that works well if you don't have a large catalog. And many of them are simply not designed to support a single product.
To stand outis a theme built on the Stencil platform you covered.
What makes this theme stand out is the ability to make your products stand out. The theme is based on full-width graphics with prominent CTAs that encourage visitors to take action. There is an option to quickly add an item to the cart and a one-page checkout for an optimal shopping experience. It is a clean and efficient UI built with conversions in mind, with plenty of room for further customization and optimization based on directory size.
Solo
Speaking of people with a small catalog of products…
Solois a template theme that is a dream come true for any brand selling a single product. Simply put, it is one of the best BigCommerce themes to showcase a single product. It is retina ready, responsive and the use of full width images makes your product visible to the visitor.
It's pretty obvious that Pixel Union understands brands with smaller catalogs.
Oscuro Covent Garden
Content has a big impact on eCommerce branding. With the rising cost of paid marketing campaigns, content like articles and videos can help ensure a steady stream of organic (unpaid) targeted traffic to your store.
If that's the approach you're taking, it's helpful to have a content-aware theme.Covent Garden, by Flair Consultancy, is a great option for those who invest in content marketing. Powered by the Stencil platform, this highly customizable theme features a variety of easily configurable modules with editorial layouts and animated page elements to help you promote content that will sell your products.
Customize your BigCommerce theme
ZShogun Page Builder app for BigCommerceallows you to easily customize individual pages and save themes with just a few clicks.
You can use the drag-and-drop editor to rearrange pages, add and remove elements, and modify content on the fly, all without touching a single line of code.
There are even conversion-tested and effective page templates available, so you don't have to start from scratch.
Finding the right BigCommerce theme
The Stencil framework is one of the most trusted and popular theme development frameworks for the BigCommerce platform. We've listed some of the most popular options for brands with different catalog sizes above, but it's not an exhaustive list. The BigCommerce marketplace offers a much wider variety of themes built using the Stencil framework, and even more can be found online. Remember that if you can't find a suitable theme, developers like Pixel Union and others mentioned above can always help you create a custom theme to suit your growing online store.