How to Create An Eye-Catching Shopify Homepage in 7 Steps: Your Design Checklist

Your Shopify homepage is the first page customers visit when they arrive at your online store. However, many business owners don’t know how to design and optimize their homepages to communicate their brand purpose, products, and unique selling points (i.e., what they do, how they do it, and why).

If you want to know how to blow your customers away from the get-go, we’ve put together this step-by-step guide for creating an impressive homepage for your Shopify store to improve user experience, messaging, and conversion rate. 

With over 1.75 million Shopify users worldwide, Shopify is a complete eCommerce platform you can use to build an online store. It also offers a Point of Sale (POS) app for online retailers enabling in-store purchases. As a Shopify retailer, you can design a multi-channel experience that promotes your brand by utilizing Shopify’s shopping cart to sell, deliver, and control your goods.

Shopify is best known for its usability and cutting-edge web design features, such as:

If you’re an aspiring online retailer yet to set up a Shopify store, create a Shopify account today to begin reaping the benefits of the popular platform. Remember that you can leverage a free trial to try Shopify, and you’ll want to take full advantage of it.

For any website, a homepage is a critical landing page. But, as a retailer, your homepage is crucial and should be the first page to consider when designing your Shopify store. 

The first impression that your online store makes on your customers will directly influence their purchasing decisions. According to the Nielsen Norman Group, most website visitors leave within the first 10 to 20 seconds – you only get one shot at a first impression. 

Homepages are the gateway to a company’s product, service, or offer and do most of the work to attract and retain customers. 

Due to the volume of traffic it receives, your homepage is a tremendously effective landing page. If you get it right, you can use your homepage to qualify leads, place them in the appropriate product funnel, or instantly win over referrals and potential customers. 

Your homepage should establish who you are, what makes your business unique, and what sets you apart from your competitors. You’ll want to ensure that your logo and tagline are prominently displayed, and your company’s purpose and values should also be clear on your site. 

Now that we’ve discussed what Shopify is and how it works, we’re ready to learn how to create and customize an eye-catching Shopify Homepage. Let’s dive in!

What do you want visitors to do when they first land on your homepage? If it’s the first time they’re visiting your site, they’ll unlikely make a purchasing decision immediately. 

Your first goal should be encouraging them to learn more about your business rather than pushing them to buy. Motivate them to continue browsing, sign up for your newsletter, or learn more about your brand and products.

When developing the design for your Shopify homepage, it’s essential to keep your branding in mind. Integrating your brand’s color palette into your homepage design can help you catch customers’ attention and stand out from competitors. 

For example, the men’s skincare brand Lumin uses dark colors, such as black and gray, in its homepage design to reflect its product packaging and appeal to its target audience.

If you need help designing and building your online store, Shopify’s website building app, EComposer Landing Page Builder, makes designing and building a Shopify Homepage super easy. It provides a range of stunning homepage templates which can be customized to your brand using its powerful drag-drop editor.

The announcement bar is the first thing customers see when landing on your homepage, so it’s vital to ensure it’s attention-grabbing. 

Use language that highlights your special deals and discounts and encourages people to purchase. Using action-inducing catchphrases like “VIP only,” “guaranteed,” “limited time only,” and “buy one, get one free” can be an effective way of appealing to potential customers.

Goldys immediately grabs customers’ attention with an eye-catching yellow announcement bar highlighting its free shipping policy and guarantee – points that attract customers, boost trust, and encourage purchasing decisions.

Many customers begin their online shopping journey by browsing the navigation menu. This feature is handy for consumers visiting your store with a specific product in mind, as the menu bar allows them to seek the info they need efficiently.

Your navigation should be simple and convenient to use. When creating your menu, include a link to your products, blog, and About Us page. These will make it easier for visitors to explore your site and find the category they’re looking for. 

Transparent Labs has a well-designed navigation bar featuring top-visited categories, such as products, best sellers, subscriptions, blogs, support, and a search bar. Their menu makes navigating its website super straightforward – especially for new visitors. 

Your Shopify store header must be attractive and well-designed to engage and retain customers. Here are a few ways to make your header stand out.

80 % of buyers claim that watching product videos increases their confidence before purchasing. Build brand credibility and retain customers for longer by including a video in your header. For example, Bottle Cutting immediately makes a strong impression on its customers by pinning a product video in its header.

Your banner should engage visitors and let them know what to expect from your website. It should include keywords, a hook, and a strong CTA. 

Remember the three C’s when designing your eye-catching banner: Catchy, Convincing, and Concise.

Mini Melanie has designed an effective, eye-catching banner featuring three critical elements: attractive product images, compelling and concise descriptions, and an enthusiastic CTA to increase conversions.

Customers are curious about what makes your business unique, and a featured products section is a great way to highlight your best items or collections.

Many popular online stores use this featured section to emphasize the advantages of their more distinctive products, such as best sellers, special occasions and seasonal collections, or new arrivals. For instance, it can be highly beneficial to highlight your Christmas collection throughout the holiday season. 

Watch brand MVMT has included a ‘Trending Now’ section on its homepage, showcasing its currently trending products.

When selling products online, how do customers to find your store? Well, you can use search engine optimization (SEO) to improve your search engine ranking and help customers find your products. Including popular keywords and a meta description for your Shopify Homepage can directly contribute to how frequently your store appears in search results, increasing your Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and allowing your customers to find and navigate your online store more efficiently. 

The homepage is the most crucial and effective page on your Shopify store. It’s critical for welcoming your customers, creating strong engagement, and increasing the credibility of your brand. We hope you learned valuable tips and tactics and are now ready to create an impressive, well-designed Shopify homepage. Happy selling!