Tired of generic themes that don’t quite capture the essence of athleticism and competition?

The Ride Theme Shopify, designed with a sports-centric aesthetic, promises to be the perfect fit for businesses selling sporting goods, apparel, or equipment.

In this comprehensive review, we’ll dive into this theme’s details, its features, customization options, and overall suitability for sports stores. Let’s find out how this free theme can elevate your online presence!

View Demo Store Buy Theme

What Is Shopify RideTheme?

Developed by Shopify, Ride is a FREE, dynamic, and stylish Shopify theme designed especially for sports-related Shopify stores, such as selling sportswear, sports equipment, and health-related products. 

The theme offers advanced features such as video thumbnails, product filters, a stunning lookbook, and product reviews, making the Shopify stores appealing and grabbing the first customer’s attention.

5 Features That Make Shopify Theme Ride Perfect For Sports Stores

High-resolution Images & Video

One of the coolest things about the Ride theme is its ability to showcase high-resolution images and videos. This is perfect for telling your brand’s story and making a strong visual impact

For example, if you’re selling new running shoes, you can use high-quality images and videos to show them in action. This helps customers see all the details and get excited about your products, making them more likely to buy.

How this feature can be helpful for Shopify merchants:

• Build Trust and Credibility: Crisp, clear visuals convey professionalism and attention to detail, building trust in your brand and products.
• Product Videos: Videos can demonstrate product features, usage, and benefits more effectively than images alone. They create a more dynamic and engaging shopping experience, increasing conversions.

Cross-selling and Recommended Products

The Shopify Ride Theme includes features that suggest related products right on each product page. For example, if someone is buying a skateboard, it might recommend a helmet or suggest a yoga ball to go with a yoga mat.

How this feature can be helpful for Shopify merchants:

• Improved Product Discovery: Customers may not be aware of all the products you offer. By strategically suggesting related items, you help them discover new products they might like, increasing their engagement with your store and potentially leading to more purchases.
• Better Inventory Management: Cross-selling and recommendations can help you move slow-moving or overstocked items by pairing them with popular products. This can improve your inventory turnover and free up space for new stock.

Rich Product Information

The Ride theme also shines in its ability to provide lots of information about products, shipping, and usage. This is a big deal in the sports industry because customers often want to know all the details about the gear they’re buying, like what it’s made of, how much it weighs, and how to use it.

The Ride Theme lets you put all this important info in a clear and easy way to find, helping customers make informed decisions.

How this feature can be helpful for Shopify merchants:

• Enhanced Trust: Transparency about the product builds trust and credibility with customers. When customers feel confident about what they’re buying, they are more likely to complete the purchase.
• Enhanced SEO: Including relevant keywords in product descriptions and meta tags can improve your store’s visibility in search engine results, driving organic traffic to your site.

Enhanced search

The Shopify Ride theme’s enhanced search feature is a real game-changer. As soon as customers start typing in the search bar, it starts suggesting products with clear images. This makes it super easy for them to find what they’re looking for quickly and easily.

How this feature can be helpful for Shopify merchants:

• Increased Sales: When customers can easily find the products they want, they are more likely to make a purchase, leading to higher conversion rates.
• Reduced Bounce Rate: A good search experience reduces the bounce rate, as customers are more likely to stay on your site and explore further if they can find relevant products.

Products Badges

The Shopify Ride theme also lets you create eye-catching promo badges to highlight sales, discounts, or new products. This is a great way for small sports businesses to promote an end-of-season sale or a new line of gear. These banners grab customers’ attention and encourage them to make a purchase.

How this feature can be helpful for Shopify merchants:

• Highlighting Key Selling Points: Badges effectively communicate important information about a product, such as “Sale,” “New Arrival,” “Best Seller,” “Limited Edition,” or “Eco-Friendly.” This helps customers quickly identify products that match their interests or preferences.
• Attention-grabbing: Product badges instantly draw customers’ attention to specific products, making them stand out on a crowded page. This can lead to increased clicks, views, and ultimately, sales.

Shopify Theme Ride’s Pricing

The Shopify Ride theme is completely free to use. It is available on the Shopify Theme Store for all merchants to download and install.

Shopify Ride Theme’s User Review

From what I’ve seen, people using the Shopify Ride theme have had mixed experiences. Many like its modern design, how fast it loads, and all the features it comes with. They also appreciate the quick and helpful support from the Shopify team.

• Blazetray – May 16, 2024: “Shopify is not WordPress guys..Shopify is built on WordPress..this is a very nice theme that works fine. I’ve done 99% of the things the people below said was impossible and I’m on a basic plan…lord knows I won’t pay 2k for a plus account tho..now that’s dumb. But this theme is fine, this is probably the only cool theme on Shopify and doesn’t deserve 1 star ratings. It’s the people using it.”
• Plain Clothing Store – Sep 17, 2024: “I do not understand the low reviews here. I did a migration from a legacy theme over to ride and it worked flawlessly. Ride offers anything any other free theme would with crisp architecture.”

However, some users have mentioned having trouble customizing the theme or with certain features not working as expected.

• AYN – Apr 22, 2024: “It says product reviews but won’t let me add them to my product pages. How do we fix this? The page is great other than that, but with no reviews, customers won’t buy.”
• Frogos Design – Feb 6, 2024: “Ride is best theme for me, nice, speedy. Great. But has its flaws. One of them appeared after last update – currency symbols in header switcher are not visible until hovered. I reached support and according them its not bug, its a feature I need to use to. Well… Btw if somebody has that problem, I found that. You are welcome. 🙂 .localization-form__currency { opacity: 1; }”

How To Try And Publish Shopify Ride Theme?

To try and publish a Shopify Ride theme, you must follow several steps to ensure a smooth process. Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you:

• Step 1: Create a Shopify store and log in to the admin panel.
• Step 2: Go to “Online Store” and select “Themes.”

• Step 3: Browse the “Shopify Ride” theme in the Theme Store.
• Step 4: Click “Preview” to see the theme’s design and features.

• Step 5: Install the theme by clicking “Add” and confirming the installation.
• Step 6: Customize the theme using the built-in editor by choosing “Customize..”

• Step 7: Customize Preview and test the theme’s responsiveness and functionality.

• Step 8: Click the “Publish” button to make the Shopify Ride theme live on your store.

How To Customize the Ride Shopify Theme: A Detailed Guide 

Once you’ve installed the Ride Shopify theme, you can customize it to suit your needs and preferences.

Step 1: Customizing the Header in the Ride Shopify Theme

• Go to the “Header” section in your Ride theme settings to manage elements like the logo, menu, and announcement bar.
• Adjust the layout, colors, fonts, and other settings to match your brand’s style.
• Add, remove, or rearrange header elements (e.g., search bars, social icons) to optimize navigation and functionality on your store’s homepage.

Step 2: Editing Product Display Options

• Locate the “Products” or “Product Pages” section in the theme editor sidebar.

• Customize product display options like size, aspect ratio, price display, and vendor information directly from the left sidebar menu.

• Click the “Save” button once adjustments are made to apply changes and update product display settings.

Step 3: Customize the Related Products 

• Click on the “Related products” section for products and related product information.

• Click the Product name to update important information, such as pricing, size, color, quantity, and product overview.

Step 4: Editing the Featured Collection

• Access the “Featured Collection” section to customize detailed collection information.

• Adjust product settings using the right sidebar to modify the number of products displayed, grid layout, and overall design.

• Click the “Save” button to update all the changes. 

Who Should Use the Shopify Ride Theme?

The Shopify Ride theme is perfect for:

• Startups and small businesses who are looking for a quick setup theme with visually appealing designs that effectively showcase services and products.
• Sports and Fitness Stores: Ideal for stores selling sportswear, equipment, or fitness products.
• Health and Wellness Brands: Perfect for showcasing health-related products with a sleek and energetic design.
• Outdoor Adventure Businesses: Great for brands focused on outdoor activities like cycling, hiking, or camping.

Active Lifestyle Brands: Suitable for any business promoting an active and energetic lifestyle.

Shopify Ride Theme: FAQs

Ending Words

The Shopify Ride theme is a fantastic free choice for any Shopify store that wants to make a strong impact online. It has a dynamic and sport-centric design, and you can customize different sections on the homepage and mobile devices. Using the Ride theme, you can create a unique and engaging website that effectively highlights your products and brand.