Top 11 Magento 2 themes
What can Magento 2 themes do for your website? After all, they’re just there to make your site look pretty, right? Actually, nothing is further from the truth.
Modern research shows that whether customers do business with you relies heavily on your website's user experience (UX), layout, and structure. Suddenly, your Magento 2 theme goes from a surface-level creative element to a powerful weapon for your eCommerce store. But, with so many options available, how do you choose the most effective theme for your business?
Have no fear. Nexcess is here! This guide will give you an in-depth breakdown of the top Magento 2 themes. We’ll discuss what a theme is in Magento 2, discuss critical points to consider when selecting one for your store, and outline some of the most popular options in the market today. Let’s put the visual elements of your website to work for you.
What is a Magento 2 theme?
If you migrate to Magento 2, consider which theme you’ll use. A Magento 2 theme is a file set that dictates the visual elements your customers see when they visit your site. Themes keep those visual elements (layouts, templates, images, styles) consistent across pages. Magento offers a variety of themes that allow you to quickly style and switch the UX and look of your site through a combination of different layouts, images, styles, and storefront structures.
Checklist for a Magento 2 theme
Navigating the vast selection of Magento 2 eCommerce themes can be challenging. To help narrow your search and make a choice that best benefits your business, consider the following key points:
- Consider your target audience – Who is your ideal customer? If you’re managing your customer data properly and using eCommerce analytics tools, you should have a pretty good idea of this person. Factor their psychographic and demographic traits into the design you choose. Scope out the competition by looking at their sites as well. Don’t copy them exactly, but if they’re in the same industry (and targeting the same audience), you can get inspiration from their sites as you craft your own.
- Check for mobile-friendliness – A mobile-friendly design has never been more important. Consider that 84% of Americans own a smartphone, and 79% of those people shop on that mobile device. While many Magento 2 themes look nice, some have bloated features that don’t load or align well on a mobile screen. Conduct independent research and read user reviews to ensure the theme you’re considering can optimize your site for mobile browsing and checkout.
- Think about your products or services – What’s the best display style for your products or services? For example, you may want users to land on a page displaying thumbnails of your inventory if you sell products. If you sell services, you may want to guide users to a portfolio of your work, customer testimonials, or an order form. Each requires different design elements, so viewing each theme through this lens should help guide you toward the right choice.
- Decide your budget – Do you want a free or paid Magento 2 theme? Some themes offer entry-level functionality for free and make more features available once you pay. Take inventory of your budget and decide what model works best for you as you shop for your theme.
- Evaluate the features and functionality of the theme – Each theme in the marketplace will list the features and functionality it offers. Consider how customers will use your website and your product or service as you research themes and their features.
- Read reviews from other users – User reviews are great for gaining a complete picture of how you can expect your theme to perform before buying or downloading. See what feedback customers have left to help determine whether the specific theme you’re vetting fits the needs of your business.
- Confirm the theme is supported – Going through the steps of how to install a Magento 2 theme will be just the beginning of your support journey. You’ll want to ensure your theme also provides a level of post-installation support you’re comfortable with. Magento 2 themes come with varying levels of support. Magento or the individual developer may provide full support, no support, or perhaps a knowledge base of blog articles users can consult to troubleshoot issues. Decide what level of support you’re comfortable with and theme-shop accordingly.
Top 11 Magento 2 themes
Now that you understand what to look for, let’s look at some of the top Magento 2 themes and their pros and cons. As you explore the potential themes you can install for your website, you can always consult the Magento 2 FAQ library to help address troubleshooting or installation concerns.
Porto
The Porto theme is popular among Magento users for its out-of-the-box optimization and ease of use. With over 25 homepage layouts to choose from, users have near-limitless customization potential for their website. Take advantage of features like Porto’s megamenu (a primary banner menu similar to Best Buy or Amazon), customizable category pages, and adjustable product labels.
Pros of Porto
- Visual elements instantly attract visitors to your site.
- Supports an array of useful functions and design elements.
- Browsing experience is clean and user-friendly.
- Easy to install.
- SEO-friendly.
Cons of Porto
- Limited tech support is only available in English.
- SEO issues and errors that users must troubleshoot themselves sometimes pop up.
- Uncertainty surrounding product updates.
Athlete2
Experience a Magento 2 theme with the spirit of an athlete with Athlete2. This theme is optimized for the best shopping experience possible. Users can leverage Athlete2’s design elements and website effects to give their site a bold, sleek, and modern look.
Pros of Athlete2
- Lazy loading of products and slider.
- Mobile-friendly.
- Limitless product tabs.
- Flexible store layout.
Cons of Athlete2
During our research, concrete disadvantages of Athlete2 were hard to come by. However, in sifting through the reviews for this theme, some users note that support is subpar. They say the support team takes longer than expected to resolve troubleshooting issues.
There were also some issues with theme documentation. Users felt the documentation didn’t cover the full extent of Athlete2’s functionality. But, overall, the reviews were a net positive.
MinimogMG
Focusing on higher conversion rates, increasing sales on your Magento site, and an extensible product platform, the MinimogMG theme could be the perfect solution for our eCommerce store. This theme is rich in eCommerce features and boasts a simple installation process. Experts consider MinimogMG a complete eCommerce solution out of the box, without extra fees or any installation hiccups.
Pros of MinimogMG
- One-time purchase.
- One-click install.
- Dedicated support team.
- Detailed video learning guides.
- High-speed site optimization.
- 70+ layout templates.
Cons of MinimogMG
The user reviews for this theme speak of several bugs and a lack of documentation. Users say bugs crop up with attempts to upgrade from one version to the next. And though some felt the theme lacked documentation, users still had an overall positive experience with MinimogMG.
Market
Quickly design a beautiful and effective eCommerce interface with Magento 2’s Market theme. The theme is multipurpose but excels for eCommerce shops with products spanning several categories — a clothing store, jewelry store, supermarket, or high-tech store, for example. With over 24 layouts to choose from, users can have the perfect eCommerce storefront up and running in no time.
Pros of Market
- One-click importing.
- Cutting-edge search tool, Search Box Pro.
- Streamlined checkout feature, Quick Cart Pro.
- Lazy load for product listings.
- Hot Deal tag for products.
Cons of Market
Customers who purchased the Market theme for Magento 2 cited a lack of customer support as one of the primary cons of the platform. Others say the platform lacks customizability and contains several significant bugs. And some cite documentation and back-end code quality as making it challenging to use the theme.
Electro 2
If you’re looking for a Magento 2 theme that’s ready to go out of the box, Electro 2 is for you. The platform comes with all the major features ready to go. On top of that, Electro 2 offers over 10 additional extensions native to the theme — enabling you to rely less on bloated third-party plugins that will slow down your site.
Pros of Electro 2
- An unlimited color palette to match your branding.
- The hover feature on product pages reveals additional images or buttons.
- Continuous updates and support from the developer.
- Equal responsiveness and speed on both mobile and desktop.
- Convenient tabs for both products and categories.
Cons of Electro 2
The only knock we could find on the Electro 2 theme is its specificity. The platform’s design is primarily for electronics stores. Although it has robust features and functionality, its elements, layout, and other components may not translate well to other industries or niches.
Claue
ECommerce entrepreneurs in the fashion industry should check out the Claue Magento 2 theme. This platform offers robust functionality and can support more complex visual components via its Elementor integration. Despite its robust feature list and stunning design elements, Claue still offers a sleek, minimal feel without sacrificing the ability to pair up with powerful plugins that elevate your store to new heights.
Pros of Claue
- Mobile and desktop-responsive design.
- LookBook plugin for fashion and portfolio-centric sites.
- Frequently Bought Together functionality to help customize your users’ shopping experience and increase conversions.
- Instagram Shop integration allows you to conveniently sell on social media.
Cons of Claue
The main issue users have with Claue is their plugins. Some users felt that a library of plugins was necessary just to achieve basic functionality on their site. Another said the Claue plugins create a conflict with other plugins, resulting in the loss of important information like order details. The overall recommendation was for the Claue developers to update their plugins — namely, their add-ons plugin.
Infinit
The Infinit theme for Magento 2 is extremely versatile. If you’re just starting your website and unsure what functionality may work best for your business, this one’s for you.
Experience near-limitless functionality across numerous potential verticals like fashion, baby, mobile, grocery, and jewelry. Infinit’s design elements are flexible, the developer continues regular updates, and users can save money with the platform’s robust feature library and integration-first design.
Pros of Infinit
- Visual page builder lets you easily build your site with drag-and-drop functionality.
- One-click import of your choice of demo or design.
- Right-to-left layout for international markets.
- Users can browse inventory by brand or category.
- LookBook professional extension offers versatility in your product inventory display.
Cons of Infinit
Some Infinit users were unhappy with the theme’s page load speed, claiming bugs in the code caused load speeds as high as six seconds, and that was just for menus. Product pages could load just as slowly or, sometimes, even slower. Additionally, users claimed to need extensive knowledge of phtml templates and CSS styles to perform any level of customization.
Autostore
As the name suggests, the Autostore theme in Magento 2 is for auto industry eCommerce businesses. This could be an auto parts dealer, auto accessories retailer, and seller of automotive tools.
Pros of Autostore
- Product parts finder navigation makes it easy for users to find what they need.
- Fully responsive on both mobile and desktop.
- Multiple layouts to choose from to match your branding.
- One-click import.
- Dedicated support.
Cons of Autostore
Autostore users experienced a handful of challenges using this theme. Some reviewers said the theme was slow, and customer support was lacking. Another said the instructions to customize the megamenu and other settings were vague.
ShoeShop
Any eCommerce entrepreneur in the shoe, sneaker, or fashion industry should look into the ShoeShop theme for Magento. This theme and its pages are easily customizable to fit any business. ECommerce stores can also take advantage of ShoeShop’s standout megamenu that site visitors won’t be able to ignore.
Pros of ShoeShop
- Support requests are handled within 24 hours.
- Easy installation.
- Fully responsive.
- Product filtering.
- Out-of-the-box SEO optimization.
Cons of ShoeShop
The Magento 2 community hasn’t had many negative things to say about ShoeShop. Our research brought us to several reviews and theme marketplace sites, but none had negative feedback about the platform. We can only say that several sites had a low number of reviews. So far, it looks like ShoeShop — initially published in 2021 — delivers on its promises, but be sure to do your research, as it may be too early to tell.
ALO Market
The ALO market theme is fully responsive and extremely customizable. This platform is compatible with color swatches and integrates with numerous popular Magento 2 extensions like Sticky Cart, Mega Menu, and Product Slider. ALO Market also supports Magento 2’s Instagram integration for easy social media selling.
Pros of ALO Market
- Blog included in the theme.
- Fast page caching to help with site speed.
- Over nine page layouts to choose from.
- Optimized for mobile.
- Customizable headers for complete control over the look of your store’s pages.
Cons of ALO Market
Users tend to encounter bugs when using ALO Market. This may not necessarily be an issue, but the support team seems hard to track down, according to customer reviews. In fact, the developer doesn’t provide much in the way of support. Customers can only consult the FAQ library on the developer's website.
Utero
For a modern and clean eCommerce storefront, look no further than the Utero Magento 2 theme. With over 10 page layouts to choose from and customizable admin settings, Utero is a universal option that can easily adapt to any store.
Pros of Utero
- Provides users with fast site speed.
- Out-of-the-box SEO optimization.
- Supports over 20 helpful extensions like lazy loading, search, mega menu, and daily deals.
- Includes color swatches to match your branding.
- Allows visitors to customize their shopping experience with Compare and Wishlist plugins.
Cons of Utero
Our research found no negative feedback on the Utero theme, which launched in late 2021. However, the theme’s listing on ThemeForest had only one review. This may be a situation of the theme being too new, or it could just be that good. As always, do your due diligence before purchasing.
Magento hosting with Liquid Web
These Magento 2 themes offer a variety of functionality and features. The information can be overwhelming, but as long as you follow the checklist from the beginning of the article, you’ll be well on your way to choosing the perfect theme for your growing eCommerce business.
Of course, your store's stunning functionality, features, and visual elements require proper hosting to reach its full potential. Every content management system, like WordPress or Magento, has its own nuances. You must ensure you’re working with professionals or vendors who are well-versed in the platform of your choice. For Magento, this is simple enough. Simply look for vendors with a Magento 2 certification.
Not only does Liquid Web have a certification, but we also offer Magento hosting packages specifically designed to support the themes and features the platform offers. Contact our support team to see how our hosting can elevate and improve the power of your Magento 2 theme and storefront.
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