In this article, we’ll also walk through how to:

• Choose a template
• Customize your theme using the Design Settings panel
• Apply style presets
• Add custom pages or integrations
• Preview and publish your changes

Let’s dive in.

1. Choose a Template

Every Big Cartel theme offers a unique layout and style. To preview available themes and see them in action explore Templates & Demos shop’s here!

From the Design panel, you’ll see tabs for: Settings, Pages, Code, and Templates. Let’s start by selecting the look you want from the Themes section in your Design area, then get ready to make it your own!

Use Style Presets

Want a quick, polished look? Try one of our curated Style Presets:

• Choose from Classic, Bold, Playful, Earthy, and Dreamy
• Each theme has 15 presets, offering different fonts and color palettes

This is a great option if you’re not sure which colors or fonts work best for your brand.

2. Adjust the Settings Panel features to your liking

Click Settings to start customizing the overall look and feel of your shop. Every built-in theme has its own design options, so this is where your storefront really starts to take shape.

Visit the Settings panel and start making tweaks to your shop.

Try adjusting the number of featured products, changing your font style, or uploading a hero image for a strong first impression.

The Options section has different customization elements in different tabs to help make editing simple

• Navigation and layout: Header, footer, and general layout control
• Homepage: Manage the first page your customers see
• Product page: Control your product page options
• Shop messaging: Add custom text or shop banners to different pages in your store
• Social media links: Add your social media links so customer can find you on all platforms.
• Text and Translation: Translate your shop into your preferred language, choose between automatic or manual translation for full control of your shop’s text.
• Miscellaneous: Find the additional bonus template features here.

All updates will appear in the preview window, so you can instantly see how your changes affect your shop’s look.

Add Custom Pages

Want to add more than just products? Use custom pages to share things like:

• Store policies
• Size charts
• Lookbooks or image galleries
• Event announcements

When you create a custom page a link for your page is added directly to your navigation.

Learn more about adding custom pages in our help article here.

Explore the Code Section

Wanna go further with your customizations? The Code section is where all of your store’s theme code lives! If you need to add integration scripts like Mailchimp, Pinterest, or Fera, for example, use the Integration Code section to paste in scripts without modifying your main theme files. Learn about integrations →

3. Preview and Publish

As you work, you’ll see this bar at the bottom of your screen:

Changes saved but not published

• Discard will undo any unsaved changes
• Publish will apply your changes to your live store

You can also preview how your shop looks on mobile and desktop using the dropdown at the top right of the Design screen.