As Shopify 2.0 lands on our desks, what will it mean for developers and eCommerce businesses?
It feels like we’ve been subconsciously waiting for a Shopify update for a while now, without really expecting one to land. Now that it’s here, it’s time to explain the nuances of Shopify 2.0. Whenever an update is brought up in conversation, a flurry of questions are sure to follow. What does it do? What’s different? Why is it needed?
In this blog, we will iron out the information and take a look at how the update could benefit your business in the long run. So, fasten your seatbelts and prepare yourselves for some digital excitement. Let’s go.
Collaboration via upgraded theme architecture
In the world of web designers, everyone knows that an eCommerce project is the most fun you can have without taking your clothes off. As tricky as negotiating around Shopify can sometimes be, getting it just right really sparks joy. Within the 2.0 update, the theme architecture has been significantly upgraded, which means that eCommerce merchants can edit their website with a lot more ease thanks to the increased flexibility of the interface.
The update also means that we can build custom themes for you that are easily edited as we go along, cool right?
The update primarily supports the integration of sections across every page. Sections were previously only available on the home page, but can now be utilised across all pages. This is possible because of how the storefront renders templates, this is one update we are incredibly excited about.
Changing your products
With 2.0 comes the opportunity for businesses to alter their store products with complete ease. Thanks to a change in metafield data, developers no longer have to make deep-rooted changes to API’s to change product pages.
These changes have brought about three fundamental improvements:
- Standardised metafields – The standardisation of the metafields means that custom themes can think independently in terms of product presentation.
- Presentation hints – Hints can now be coded into the metafields so that additional information can be presented in precisely the way the business wants.
- Flexible metadata – The metafield data within the site is now far more flexible, meaning they can grow as your data does.
Enhanced theme editor
One of the most noticeable changes within the Shopify 2.0 update is the enhanced view and useability of the theme editor.
When it comes to wasting time, drilling down through websites to find specific sections is top of the list. Well, amazingly, this is no more. Theme editor instead, provides a tree view on the left-hand side of the screen of all your page content. The blocks within the view can be hidden, developers and merchants can alter the hierarchy of their pages with far less effort and wasted time.
Create8 Web Design
As an agency that specialises in web design, we understand the difficulty of building a spectacular eCommerce website. Nevertheless, we love it. We’ve been working with Shopify for as long as we can remember, and within our site, there are some great examples of our past projects. So, why not follow the link below and check out our work today?
New developer tools!
The real beauty of Shopify 2.0 comes in the form of some great new developer tools. Not to ramble on about technical jargon that you may not understand, as well as mentioning the latest tools, we will tell you exactly how they can benefit you!
Shopify 2.0 CLI tool
The CLI tool has been available to developers for some time, however rather than the traditional use to create node.js and Ruby on App extensions; it now works on theme editor too!
This means that developers can preview changes to themes inside of the development themes interface. It also allows the push and publish features from the command line and running theme check on your development theme. It’s essential to bear in mind with updates like this that anything which saves your developer time saves you money, and that’s a win, right?
Github integration
The integration of Github within Shopify 2.0 allows developers to safely make edits to a theme in a logical and planned manner. Github tracks and manages template changes, allowing developers to introduce workflows to their alterations to a client’s website. The changes which developers make must be checked and trialled within Github before affecting the live website itself.
Theme check
Theme check is the most simple update to understand whilst also being one of the most beneficial to your website. Theme check can be integrated with text editors and identify errors within your website, such as syntax errors, performance issues, and more.
Theme check is a massive win for web developers and clients. Due to its ability to scan the entirety of your site, it means that your website will be free of errors and flaws from the get-go!
Shopify 2 – A New Dawn
No, Shopify hasn’t gone all Twilight on us, although we’re team Edward if you must know. Within Shopify 2.0, they’ve built a new default theme that incorporates all of the above changes. If you haven’t guessed yet, the theme goes by the name of Dawn, and it’s the easiest way to get your head around the changes.
With Dawn, it’s all about speed; the theme loads 35% quicker than Debut without any changes whatsoever…It’s time to get ready for an enhanced style of eCommerce developments.
It’s no secret that at Create8, we live and breathe every project we take on. Regardless of the size of your job, it will cross paths with each member of our team, just to make sure it’s perfect.
Shopify web design is one of our strengths at Create8, we can’t get enough of building eCommerce websites that make a splash online. So, if you are interested in how we could help you, or if you want to learn more about Shopify 2.0, follow the link below and reach out. We can’t wait to hear from you.
Take a look at some more of our blogs for helpful tips, tricks and advice:
