‘Page’ pages in Shopify themes
First, a point of clarification: This blog post is referring to the pages you create under Sales Channels > Online Store > Pages.
It can be a bit confusing to reference these types of pages since, technically, Shopify stores can have hundreds or even thousands of pages — many of which are generated by Shopify using the information you input. These include product pages, collection pages, blog pages, and blog post pages.
Sometimes, to avoid confusion with these other pages, the duplicative label “page pages” is used. From this point on, however, unless I refer to a specific type of page, I’ll be referring to a “page page.”
Using pages in Shopify themes
The main purpose of Shopify’s pages feature is to build internal pages on your site. These pages are typically more informational or “static” compared to product and collection pages and may not change as frequently.
However, every Shopify store should typically have at least these three pages:
- About Us: Sometimes referred to as “our story” or other similar names, this page explains more about your company and brand and the products and services you sell.
- Contact: This page provides contact information, whether it be a phone number, email, physical address, social media links or a contact form. In general, the more contact info you can include the better.
- Policies: Most stores should have at least a terms and conditions page as well as a privacy policy. These pages are essential to operating your business and may be required in some jurisdictions.
In addition to protecting yourself legally, these pages play a huge role in making your Shopify store look legitimate and not a “fly by night” operation.
Although most users won’t read this “boring legal stuff,” it’s still good to have it in place to protect yourself and, in some cases, just seeing these links and a detailed policy spelled out can build confidence in a shopper on the fence from buying from a brand they aren’t familiar with.
Of these three types of pages, the “about us” page is probably the most flexible.
Even if you are a small operation, you can still build an eye-catching and professional “about us” page:
- The use of high-quality photography makes your page look professional and shows you’re serious about running an online store.
- If you’re a solo entrepreneur, there’s nothing wrong with showcasing that — and using it to your advantage. In these cases, your “about” page can be a great way to introduce your personality and why you sell the products you do.
- Leverage this opportunity to share your company's "image" with customers — this may make them more likely to purchase from you if your brand is in line with their own tastes and values.
- About us pages can also focus more on your products — such as what problems they solve, how they are made, and what materials you use.
Other pages your Shopify store should have
In addition to the three “must have” pages — there are numerous other pages that, depending on what you sell and your industry, are very important to include:
- Shipping page: Assuming you’re selling physical products online, many people will want to know how and how fast your items are delivered, so having a page that outlines this can be helpful.
- Returns page: This page probably should be on the “must have” list, but since not all Shopify stores sell items that can be returned, I’m putting it here. Use this page to clearly outline your return policy — even if your policy is no returns (though it’s often a good idea to explain why you don’t accept returns, whether it’s because your products are made on demand or are perishable). You’ll also want to clearly outline your returns process — do customers need to pay for return shipping or get an RMA number?
- Team page: If you have more than one person behind your store, building a page that showcases a photo of each person along with their title and role in your business is another great way to not only give your hard-working employees a nod but also to build confidence in your business. Keep in mind that not everyone on this page needs to be a “full time” employee — which is a great way of giving your store that “big business” feel. While I don’t recommend “making up” staff members, there’s nothing wrong with showcasing everyone who plays a role in making your store run.
- FAQ page: If you’re a new business, start with issues such as your return policy (here’s a great opportunity to link to that page) and other policies. As your business grows, keep track of what questions people are asking — especially before buying or points of confusion that trigger returns or frustration upon delivery and add them here.
- How it works: If your business model has any unique parts, such as a subscription, this is a good place to explain your process. Other stores can use this page to dive deeper into how one or more products work — especially ones that are unique or more complex. While this information should also be on product pages, having a separate page can also be a big help in building confidence.
- Discounts page: Many times a final barrier to checkout is a customer jumping onto a search engine and searching for your store name with the word “discounts” or “coupons”. Some stores create pages targeting these searches as outlined here.
Shopify themes with advanced page features
All Out of the Sandbox themes come with a “page.details” template, which lets you use Shopify sections on a page to create unique and complex layouts.
Out of the Sandbox Shopify themes also include a “contact page” template that includes an optional contact form and place to post any other contact methods.
Why these pages help
As mentioned, these pages go a long way in creating a positive image of your online store in the minds of potential or existing customers.
When using high-quality imagery combined with well thought out and error-free written content, your store can give off a professional vibe that, combined with other elements of your site, can make or break a conversion.
Having well thought out pages could also help in another, unexpected way — the quality and reputation of your site that major search engines generate for many sites.
As with many things in SEO, the exact effect of quality and reputation rankings, which are often determined by humans reviewing sites and determining if they have well thought out content, is up for debate.
However, since the ability to create meaningful content takes time and resources, it’s not hard to imagine that having quality pages on your site could become increasingly important.
Of course, even if major search engines aren’t using the quality of these pages at all, it’s still worth noting the other benefits such as building shopper confidence — in other words, having these pages likely won’t hurt you in any way as long as they provide worthwhile, well-written content and information.
Having these sorts of engaging pages of any kind encourages users to spend more time on them, which is a great way to send signals to search engines that your site offers quality and relevant products and content.
Linking
After building all of these pages, don’t forget to add links to them in your Shopify theme’s navigation.
Content such as “about us” and “how it works” might be important enough to add to your main navigation. Other pages such as policies, FAQs and more can be safely moved to the footer.
You should also look for opportunities to link to these pages from within your other pages — product, collection and blog articles. For example, linking to a “how it works” page from a product description or blog post is a great way to cross-link within your site and keep users engaged.
