About halfway through 2021, Shopify announced their release of Online Store 2.0 which was said to be an absolute game changer for brands, designers, and developers.

And guess what?

It was.

Shopify’s Online Store 2.0 brought about numerous changes to the platform that answered many of the issues that most people complained about, especially designers and developers.

In this article, we will primarily focus on what this means for brands and how your brand can benefit from the massive 2.0 change.

Improved Metafields

From a conversion standpoint, this is perhaps the most important update that the 2.0 themes offer. One of the biggest complaints about Shopify that most brands have is the ability to easily create unique product pages that can act as landing pages.

Without diving into the theme code or using additional apps, historically, product pages for each product were basically the same and were usually pretty boring with not much more than the basic description and if you’re lucky, a suggested products section.

Now with the updated metafield sections, you can create a unique experience for each product that actually matches the product.

Think of it like this. Let’s say you have three products, each of which solve a specific problem for your customers. Before, you wouldn't be able to easily explain the solutions on a longer form landing page. However, when you use a 2.0 theme, you’ll be able to add unique sections to your product pages to build more value with a better explanation of each product.

Plus, when building longer form landing pages, you’ll be able to improve your conversion rates as well. In fact, we see our clients convert on average 22.5% better with long form, branded landing pages.

Better Secondary Pages

When it comes to your Shopify store, having secondary pages can help with improved trust, education, and brand loyalty. However, before Online Store 2.0, creating high-quality pages that actually match the rest of your site was near impossible without page building apps (such as GemPages, Shogun, or PageFly) or custom code.

For many brands, these secondary pages can be major landing pages to build value with unique products. 

For example, if your products require a little more of a learning curve or explaining, having secondary pages can act as pre-sales pages to sell customers on buying from you instead of a competitor.

With the new 2.0 themes, you have the ability to add “sections” (just like how you build your home page) to every page on your store.

Now you can build out the rest of your store to match your main pages without having to get too crazy with apps or code! This is huge because you finally have the ability to add more landing pages faster than ever before, without sacrificing on the design.

App Blocks And Customization

Have you ever found the perfect app, downloaded it, then set it up only to find out that it doesn’t match the rest of your brand and it feels very out of place?

That’s the worst, right?!

Up to this point, Shopify never had a standardized process for apps to integrate with each theme, however, with the 2.0 themes and the introduction of app blocks, you have a convenient new way to integrate apps with your storefront. 

Not only does this reduce your chances of breaking the code upon installation, but this also means that developers can start offering UI/UX elements that you can customize directly in the theme customizer, just like with the rest of your store.

As more 2.0 themes hit the market and as more apps are built/converted to the new theme structure, you’ll have more opportunity to create a high-end, seamless experience for your customers than ever before.

At the end of the day, Shopify 2.0 will most likely not be a make or break for your brand (nothing in marketing is!). But what 2.0 will do is give your brand the opportunity to increase conversions, customer trust and customer experience, and in short, take your brand to the next level. In today's digital landscape, any improvement that you can give your store to improve conversions is a necessary investment.

If you are ready to level up your Shopify store, our team of Shopify experts is ready and waiting to help you reach your 2022 profit goals. To get your project started, please feel free to fill out the form below or click here to schedule your free strategy call.