Roadie in Action

Our latest free theme, Roadie, has been available to Big Cartel shops for the past few weeks, so we thought it was time to check in on how it's working.

This hard-working theme is packed with opportunities to customize: options for image spacing, navigation, and lots more on top of your usual color tweaks. To give you an idea of how a few changes can really alter the look of your shop, we tinkered a bit with our own test store:

Dark and Stormy

What happens when you turn the test store on its head? We changed up just about every aspect of the test store to show how different a shop can look while its products stay the same. The shop logo and navigation are moved from a header to a sidebar, and product images are cropped to uniform squares. The background is now a dark image for a rock and roll vibe.

Color Punch

We love the saturated images by Justin Gallego used in the test store, so we've punched up the color even more. A purple background is unexpected and eye catching, and doesn't sacrifice legibility when paired with a bold font in a contrasting color.

Of course we love to see some real live stores using our themes. It's our way of checking that a theme is useful, approachable, and looks good with a variety of product types and branding styles. Here are a few shops putting Roadie to the test:

Stoked Pineapple Co.

We love seeing how different shops add a color to the Roadie theme. Stoked Pineapple Co. opted for a warm tan color, which not only makes them stand out from many online shops, but helps shoppers see the exact shape and outline of some products. A sticker with a white edge could get lost on some backgrounds, but here looks crisp and clear.

Sudsy McBones

Using a background image can sometimes make a shop hard to read, but Sudsy McBones gets it just right. Their background looks a little like unprinted newspaper or static, and it lends depth and texture without distracting from their products. The promo image is designed on a transparent background, so the highlighted product pops off the page without interrupting the pattern.

The Apothecary

While Roadie is recognizable by its bold, assertive design, a few tweaks can really soften things up. The Apothecary chose a serif font and a sage green accent color, which change the look of this theme. They're also using the Quick View feature, which is a smart way to enable speedy shopping in an online store with many products.

Shop these stores or check out Roadie's test store to see how the theme might work for you. When you're ready to update the look of your shop, Roadie and our other free themes will be waiting in the wings of your store admin.