Dawn Shopify Theme Review: The Top Free Shopify Theme?

The Dawn Shopify theme is arguably the most popular free theme ever created by Shopify – and certainly one of the most well-known themes I’ve ever used.

That might seem difficult to believe, given it’s somewhat unimpressive rating on Shopify’s theme store.

However, I’ve used this theme several times myself, when creating stores for other Shopify merchants, and I can say it has a lot of unique benefits.

As Shopify’s first “source available reference theme” for Online Store 2.0, Dawn is flexible, reliable, and fast.

So, is it the right theme for your online store?

Here’s everything you need to know based on my hands-on experience as a website developer.

Quick Verdict, Pros and Cons

Dawn is an impressive reference theme that takes full advantage of all of the revolutionary updates offered by the Shopify “Online Store 2.0” update.

It prioritizes quick product discovery, speedy checkout experiences, and a clean, minimalistic design.

Of course, it still isn’t as feature rich as some of the more advanced premium themes available for Shopify.

Pros:

Flexible design and customization options
Excellent speed and performance
High-quality product discovery features
Completely free for beginners
Strong conversion features

Cons:

Misses the advanced features of premium themes
Lacks some basic customization options

The Dawn Shopify Theme: Overview and Pricing

The Dawn Shopify theme is the first “source-available” theme created by Shopify, introduced alongside the Online Store 2.0 update.

It replaced Debut as the “default theme” for all Shopify stores when the new store framework was launched, making it one of the most used themes among all Shopify beginners.

According to Shopify’s Developer theme, this theme was designed specifically to improve store performance, introduce more flexibility, and enhance ease-of-use for merchants.

It’s also significantly faster than the previous Debut theme (with 35% higher loading times).

If you’re looking for a user-friendly theme, I think Dawn is definitely a good choice, particularly since it’s created with CSS and HTML, reducing the need for JavaScript.

Plus, this theme is completely free – making it a good starting point for a lot of stores.

However, like any free Shopify theme, Dawn does have limitations. It’s missing some advanced features like countdown timers and age verification pages.

Plus, there are restrictions on how much you can customize various segments and layouts.

The Dawn Shopify Theme: Aesthetics and Customization

Unlike premium themes, which generally come with various “styles” to choose from, you only get one style with the Dawn theme.

The good news is that the style is sleek and minimalistic – ideal for a relatively modern store.

As a source-accessible theme, Dawn is also somewhat more flexible than the other themes you might be able to access on Shopify.

You can create various templates to control what’s rendered on each individual page. For instance, you could create product templates for different collections and product pages.

Plus, you can design hero banners with CTA buttons, dynamic product grids, and more.

Dawn is also a highly responsive theme, designed to work on virtually any browser (even less popular options like Microsoft Edge), and any device.

It also prioritizes accessibility, which is important if you want to ensure you can reach the widest range of customers.

Obviously, there are still some limitations here, such as an inability to fully structure the look and placement of certain segments.

Related Shopify Theme Reviews:

The Dawn Shopify Theme: The Core Features

Over the years, as a Shopify store developer, I’ve used countless free and premium themes to create stores.

The Dawn theme definitely isn’t as robust as some of the more expensive theme options I’ve used, but it does have some great features that will make it a valuable option for beginners.

Here are the key things that stood out to me with the Shopify Dawn theme.

Cart and Checkout Features

Ultimately, the cart and checkout features on the Dawn theme are pretty limited.

You get all the basics, like a convenient “Quick Buy” option, which is great for boosting conversions and enhancing user experiences.

Plus, there’s the option to allow for in-store pickups, and your standard “cart notes” feature, which comes with most Shopify themes.

Advanced options, however, like pre-order buttons, slide-out carts, and the sticky cart function available on some premium themes aren’t available here.

Marketing and Conversion

Again, the marketing and conversion features are pretty simplistic.

You can create blogs and FAQ pages to connect with customers and boost your site’s ranking on the search engines.

However, there aren’t any options for promo popups, stock counters, and countdown timers.

Still, you do get the handy “recommended products” section, to help increase average order values, and cross-selling capabilities.

Plus, you can design custom promo banners for your store, and showcase press coverage to give your site more credibility.

Merchandising

Merchandising is where the Dawn theme starts to show off a little more functionality.

It’s designed to draw attention to your products, so you get plenty of great options for image zoom, galleries, rollover animations and more.

You can create slideshows, and use product videos to engage audiences. Plus, there are handy lookbooks and size charts for fashion brands.

You can also include color swatches and usage information on your product pages, alongside shipping and delivery information.

I also really like the fact that Shopify makes it easy to showcase a range of product options on one page.

Compared to other free themes, the Dawn’s themes merchandising options makes it a lot more appealing to new fashion, accessories, and jewelry brands.

Product Discovery

Product discovery is another area where the Dawn theme excels compared to the other free themes I’ve used, for a few reasons.

First, it offers “enhanced search”, which automatically suggests products to customers when they start typing – this is a feature you typically don’t get on most free themes.

There’s plenty of filtering and sorting options for merchants with larger product catalogs, and you get the highly coveted “mega menu” with tons of options for categories and sections.

The sticky header is great too, making it much easier for visitors to navigate your store in seconds.

Performance and Merchant Reviews

Measuring the performance of Shopify themes can be a little hit or miss, because the overall loading speeds and functionality of your store will depend on various factors (like how many apps and add-ons you’re using, or your number of images).

The good news is that Dawn is a lot faster than the previous Debut theme (35% faster), and has more advanced features that make editing feel quick and easy.

The bad news is that even with it’s quick loading times, Dawn doesn’t have the best reputation.

It’s rating on the Shopify theme store is only 33% positive – although a decent portion of the reviews are also “neutral”.

One thing to keep in mind is low ratings are pretty common among free themes, because they do lack the advanced functionality of other, premium themes.

Plus, since Dawn was the first default theme introduced for Shopify 2.0, a lot of negative reviews come from people who preferred the earlier editing tools.

Dawn Shopify Theme Review: The Verdict

So, should you use the Dawn Shopify theme?

Based on my experience building high-converting stores for Shopify merchants, the Dawn theme is a great starting point.

It’s not the most advanced theme out there, but it offers plenty of functionality, and some great merchandising and product discovery features – ideal for beginners.

Plus, it’s completely free, and the overall experience of working with the theme is relatively straightforward – even if you don’t have developer knowledge.

However, you might want to consider upgrading to a premium theme with more features as your store begins to grow.