In short: We recommend Shopify’s free Horizon theme. It does the basics extremely well, uses Shopify’s new block-based architecture, gets new Shopify features first, and is the best-documented theme for AI-assisted development.
We always recommend the free Shopify theme Horizon to our clients
Is it the most feature complete? No. Is it the most shiny? Also no.
It is free, but the $350 charge for a paid theme shouldn’t be an obstacle for any real business.
So why do we recommend it?
- It does the basics extremely well
- It uses Shopify’s new block based architecture (which seems to be the future anyways, more on that in one of my next posts)
- You reduce third-party reliance
Your Horizon theme will always get the latest updates first.
Shopify is building with this theme in mind, and you don’t need to wait for a third party developer to integrate new features.
Horizon is also incredibly easy to customize.
Any features you think you’re buying with the premium theme from the theme store, you can most definitely build those in Horizon.
Without any downsides you get from the third party theme.
It is also the best documented Shopify theme out there.
If you use AI to help you code within the theme (which you absolutely should), it will have the most documentation to draw from.
This prevents costly bugs and development time when adding new features.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Horizon theme free?
Can Horizon do what premium themes do?
Why does Horizon get new features first?
Is Horizon a good theme for coding with AI?
Sources
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