[intro] When you have completed this Guide, you will be able to ascertain whether or not your own EKM online shop Theme requires updating and why this should be done on a regular basis. [/intro]

We’re thankful that we have lots of EKM customers who have used us as their online shop provider for many years and they’ve watched our platform evolve over the years and grow from strength to strength. By the same token, your own EKM online shop needs to do the same; constantly evolving to ensure that it offers the best customer experience and platform for marketing your brand and your Products.

Your Theme - which is essentially the design of your EKM online shop - should be considered as an online shop window of sorts. If you had a real physical shop, you wouldn’t keep the window display static for several years at a stretch - that would bore customers and not encourage sales or repeat custom. Therefore, it’s essential that around every two years, you update the Theme of your EKM online shop, and in between Theme changes, regularly update your Design Images to reflect any promotions, new products or special offers that you need to raise awareness of.

Why should I update my Theme?

There are various reasons that you need to update your Theme. Older Themes:

  1. Do not provide a good user experience for customers visiting your shop using smartphones and tablet devices;
  2. Don’t subscribe to the very latest guidelines and principles garnered from independent research into how customers interact with and what they expect from their online shopping experiences;
  3. Can be limited in terms of menus, especially if your Product range has grown exponentially since you originally applied your Theme;
  4. Are, more often than not, not responsive and rely on a separate Mobile Template;
  5. Depending on the age of your EKM online shop, your older Theme may also include a single-page Checkout Flow;
  6. May not respond well in different browsers on different devices;
  7. May not be correctly optimised for search engines.

How do I update my Theme?

If you are planning to update your Theme yourself, this Guide will explain the steps you need to take. However, if our Evolution Team have recommended that you update your Theme and you're on the 'Standard' tier or higher, you simply need to approve their recommendation and they will select and apply a more modern Theme for you.

[tips]

  1. Your Theme is the equivalent of a physical ‘shop window’ - with this in mind, aim to update your Theme around every two years or so;
  2. When selecting a new Theme, look at the menu that the Theme has to offer first; select the most fitting menu for your Categories and Subcategories, as the rest of the Theme content can be populated with your Products and Branding. Our Tweaks Team can edit different parts of your Theme if need be, but menus are native to Themes and cannot be edited;
  3. To guarantee maximum longevity, pick one of the ‘Featured’ Themes - these are the most recent ones created by our Design Team and will, therefore, adhere to the very latest guidelines formulated from independent online customer research as well as being responsive;
  4. More modern Themes are image-heavy to create an excellent user experience for customers using tablets and mobile devices. As a result, be prepared to create Design Images featuring some of your best-selling products and most popular Categories.[/tips]

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[contact] If you need our help with your EKM online shop, contact your Ecommerce Expert or the Customer Support Team, who will be able to point you in the right direction. We're open from 8am-6pm weekdays and 9am-5.30pm weekends. If you'd like to suggest a feature or an upgrade on any of the EKM platforms, please let us know on the EKM Suggestions Board. If you have a non-account specific question to ask the EKM Team, join us in EKM Community. If you need some inspiration for your EKM online shop, listen to our podcast on iTunes and Spotify.[/contact]