Shopify Theme Kit: What is Theme Kit? How it Works?

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If you don’t have a good theme on your website, you won’t attract customers. If your website has one theme on one page and another one on another page, it won’t look good right! Also, it will confuse your customers. To make a good user-friendly interface, you can check out the Shopify theme kit. Shopify enables you to customize your site which speaks about what your site is trying to sell and how it would help the customer. It has a very easy-to-use GUI which is very inter dependable. It helps you have access to your theme code, whilst altering it through the Shopify theme kit for building themes.

Shopify Theme Kit: What is it? What Do We Know About It? 

Shopify Theme Kit is a platform-independent mandate-lined tool that is notable for the development of Shopify themes. 

The theme kits of Shopify have helped in the simplification of the developmental process to a great magnitude. It allows you to download the whole theme on the system and then use it on the editor you prefer.

When you use these kits, you have the access to upload themes to many domains. You can also upload and download faster. Shopify works on software like Windows, Linux, and macOS. It also keeps an eye on local changes and then uploads them to Shopify.

Why do You Need a Theme Kit?

The purpose of the Shopify Theme Kit is to make your eCommerce store or website come alive. It also helps to create a personal connection with the visitors, users, and buyers. 

Starting With the Theme Kit

To start with Shopify Theme Kit, you would need to have access to Shopify and have knowledge about how to use the command line. Here are the steps that you have to follow.

1. Installing the Shopify Theme Kit-

You can easily download the theme kit from the command line on macOS by using this installation command.

$ curl -s https://shopify.dev/themekit.py

For Windows, you can use this command to download from Chocolatey.

$ choco install theme kit

For Linux, use these commands to download-

$ brew tap Shopify/Shopify

$ brew install theme kit

2. Having a Password for the Theme Kit

After installation of the theme kit on any of the above-mentioned operating systems, a password is needed for the connection of the theme kit to the store for the management of template files. The password can be created by a store or shop member by asking consent for a theme kit, using the access app for the same. 

The steps for getting the password are-

  1. Ask the owner or a staff member with admissible rights for the generation of a theme kit password for using the theme kit access app.
  2. Open the invitation containing the password on the mailbox
  3. Click on the get theme kit password
  4. Note the password for use in the next step.

It is to be noted that a password can be viewed once and the expiration of the link is within a week.

3. Connecting To An Existing Theme

When you want the connection to a theme that already exists, you’ll need your theme ID. The simplest way to get your theme ID is through “Theme Get-Command” providing a list of IDs and themes. 

You have to note that if you do not have an existing theme to work on, you can create a new theme.

If you are using Power Shell, it is compulsory to have quotation marks around the URL, especially when it’s followed by a single dash. This is very important when you are using a short command.

4. Setting Up A Config. File   

The function of a config.yml file is to create links to your themes in the Shopify store. Previously made Theme Kit Password and Theme ID are required for creating a config file in the theme and downloading the theme directly by creating a directory for the theme, navigating to a new directory, and downloading the specific theme, using this command-  $ theme get –password=[your-password] –store=”[your-store.myshopify.com]” –themeid=[your-theme-id]

5. Creating A New Theme 

This command helps in creating a new theme : 

$ theme new –password=[your-password] –store=”[your-store.myshopify.com]” –name=[theme name]

It is to be noted that when you are inserting new theme command, some changes can happen like –

  1. Direct creation of a simple theme template 
  2. Inserting new files in the Shopify store
  3.  A new theme is created for the store
  4. Adjustment or creation of config.yml file with new theme configuration

6. Pushing Updates To Theme Store

    By inserting the $ theme watch command in the theme directory, it instructs ThemeKit to look after any changes made to local files and pushes changes in the theme in the connected store. To close the watch connection, you simply have to press CTRL+C.

    Placing the Search Bar:

    After ensuring that your website has a smooth interface, you should look at where to position the search bar. A search bar in a prominent place on the homepage attracts the eyes of visitors. The visitors come to the website to search and stay if the search is helpful to them. The search bar connects the numerous pages a website has so make sure to place it well, it will do wonders.

    For Help:

    To report any issue regarding the theme kits, you can open an issue in the Theme Kit GitHub repository. 

    You can also visit Shopify  Community Forums to learn more about the development of Theme Kit. Active participation will help you catch up with new trends as well!

    Summing Up

    Every web designer has a vision that seldom comes to life. Shopify theme kit not only offers you basic theme kits but gives you the opportunity to create your own custom theme on Shopify as it has commands which are developer friendly. Using Theme Kit can set you apart from other sites that have not yet understood the impact of using ThemeKit for creating an impact online.

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