The roll-out of Shopify 2.0 has reinvented the way that Shopify merchants can build and design their eCommerce stores. This new update opens up countless possibilities for eCommerce businesses to maximise their online sales and streamline their customer experience through exciting new features and tools.
So, what do all of these new features mean for eCommerce brands looking to make the move to Shopify or update their existing Shopify site?
What’s New in Shopify 2.0?
The most exciting thing about Shopify 2.0 is that its features are available to all Shopify merchants, regardless of what plan they’re on, and for no additional cost. Users can look forward to the following updates:
- A fully customisable online store
- Additional product information and adaptable content
- Faster themes
- Liquid input settings
- New and improved developer tools
- A streamlined checkout experience
Customise Your Online Store
One of the most exciting updates to have been announced is the ability for merchants to fully customise their online store. Web sections are customisable without an inbuilt coding feature – meaning that merchants are able to leverage and re-use sections that their developer has previously built, giving them much greater flexibility to customise their stores.
There is also now an inbuilt editor view across most Shopify page templates, including collections, products, pages, and blogs. Previously, this was only available for the homepage.
These flexible options grant eCommerce businesses complete control over how they wish to present their store and products, regardless of their level of technical knowledge.
Create Additional Product Information and Adaptable Content
Shopify 2.0 gives users the ability to modify meta fields from within the dashboard of their online store to add additional information about products and services – a feature that wasn’t previously available to Shopify customers, and which often meant Shopify customers would need to install a third-party Shopify app to achieve this functionality. The new “sections on every page” function provides users with the flexibility to create adaptable content anywhere on their online store, without the need to rely on page builder apps. Sections on every page gives users the freedom to decide which sections of their website appear within the lists that section each page.
For example:
- More Products
- Additional Services
- Blog Articles
- Help
The ease of site navigation leads to an overall more positive user experience.
Enjoy Faster Themes
Merchants who are new to Shopify will kickstart their experience with the base default theme, “Dawn”. Dawn is sleek and 35% faster than the previous default theme, Debut. Dawn also requires minimal coding knowledge, making it user friendly and more easily accessible to a range of people.
Add Custom Liquid Code From the Editor
Another Shopify 2.0 update is the new Liquid Input Setting. It allows developers with coding knowledge to input custom built liquid code (similar to HTML) from the site editor, while giving them access to both global and template-specific liquid items.
Liquid input is beneficial for Shopify customers as it simplifies the process for eCommerce store owners to make informed updates to their store, without needing to engage the help of a developer, and keeping the money in their own pockets.
Take Advantage of New and Improved Developer Tools
A new set of easy to use tools have been seamlessly integrated within Shopify to enable developers to build out their ecommerce stores and apps by helping them to:
- Develop their site
- Test different themes to establish what works best for their business
- Experience robust theme development through Shopify GitHub integration, theme check functions, and CLI tools
These new tools offer merchants the ability to develop their themes locally, collaborate and work alongside other developers and access native support.
Streamline Your Checkout Experience
While not specifically introduced as part of Shopify 2.0, a streamlined checkout feature has also recently been announced. The updated checkout experience gives stores the power to process thousands of transactions per minute, thereby increasing lagging and wait-time upon checkout. Checkout customisation features gives site visitors the option to select from faster online payment methods, leading to increased conversion rates for eCommerce stores.
As well as this, merchants are now able to upsell site visitors when they check out by advertising additional products. While this feature was available with Shopify Plus (Shopify’s enterprise solution), this exciting update makes the feature accessible for all Shopify merchants.
Make the Switch to Shopify 2.0
In short, Shopify 2.0 is packed full of new features and tools that, when used in conjunction with one another, will improve the overall performance of your eCommerce store. The user-friendly customisation options ensure that, without extensive technical knowledge, eCommerce site owners are now able to enhance their website and its features without having to pay developers. Improved page load times and the ability to up-sell customers at checkout will result in a more positive customer experience (nobody likes extensive wait times!) and enhanced SEO performance.
Those currently utilising other eCommerce solutions can look forward to all these features and more when taking advantage of any Shopify subscription. If you’re a current Shopify customer, you can look forward to these changes coming later this year for no additional cost.
Want Some Shopify Experts at Your Fingertips?
Our team of Shopify consultants at BlueRock Digital are equipped with the right tools to help you make the switch to Shopify 2.0, or get the most out of Shopify under your existing subscription. Our team will be there for you every step of the way, from implementation to site management, to help you maximise the added features and benefits of Shopify 2.0.
Get in touch with our eCommerce team today to get started!
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