Focal Shopify Theme Review: Features, Pros, Cons & Ratings

The Focal Shopify Theme emerges as a beacon of design and functionality in the vast sea of choosing the right theme for your Shopify store.

In this comprehensive review, we'll take a deep dive into the Focal Shopify Theme, exploring its features, layout options, pricing, user feedback, and more. Whether you're a seasoned online entrepreneur or just dipping your toes into the e-commerce world, join us on this exploration of Focal and discover if it's the perfect fit for your Shopify store.

What is the Focal Shopify Theme?

The Focal Shopify Theme is a dynamic and bold grid-style theme that transcends traditional product displays. It is meticulously crafted to transform your online store into an immersive journey, making it ideal for showcasing lifestyle and product imagery.

(Image source: Shopify Theme Store)

Focal offers a visually appealing storefront and provides a canvas for brand expression. With customizable color sections, high-quality images, adaptable elements, and elegant animations, it breathes life into your brand and seizes the power of visual storytelling, leaving a lasting impression on your audience.

As we explore the layers of the Focal Shopify Theme, it becomes evident that it goes beyond mere aesthetics. It aims to enrich the entire shopping experience, addressing the diverse needs of online businesses.

Focal theme Layout options

Each layout of the Focal Shopify Theme is meticulously crafted to cater to different aesthetics, ensuring your store's presentation aligns seamlessly with your brand identity. Here's a glimpse into the distinctive Focal theme layouts:

1. Carbon

Modern and sleek, Carbon offers a polished aesthetic ideal for contemporary brands. With clean lines and a minimalist approach, it puts your products at the forefront, making it an excellent choice for those focused on a sophisticated image.

(Image source: Shopify Theme Store)

2. Ivory

Ivory takes a softer approach, incorporating subtle elements that exude elegance. Perfect for brands with a touch of refinement, this layout option combines simplicity with a gentle visual appeal, creating a welcoming online environment.

(Image source: Shopify Theme Store)

3. Quartz

For those seeking a blend of boldness and versatility, Quartz strikes the right balance. Its dynamic design elements make it suitable for many products and brands, allowing for creativity without compromising on coherence.

(Image source: Shopify Theme Store)

4. Sapphire

Sapphire goes beyond convention with its vibrant and expressive layout. Tailored for brands that want to make a combination of elegant and bold statements, this option seamlessly integrates powerful visuals and dynamic components to captivate your audience.

(Image source: Shopify Theme Store)

Features & Pricing of Focal Shopify Theme 

Focal Theme Features

Quick View: Focal introduces a Quick View feature, allowing your customers to quickly glimpse product details without navigating away from the current page. This seamless interaction ensures a smoother and more efficient shopping experience.

Read more: How to Create a Distinctive Product Quickview on Shopify

In-menu Promos and Promo Popups: Elevate your promotional game with Focal's in-menu promos and promo popups. Strategically placed within the navigation, these features catch the user's attention, maximizing the impact of your promotions and special offers.

Mega Menu: Focal goes beyond traditional menus with its Mega Menu. This expansive menu option allows for comprehensive categorization, simplifying navigation and making it effortless for customers to discover products.

(Image source: Shopify Theme Store)

Beautiful and User-Friendly Design: Aesthetics meet functionality with Focal's beautiful, user-friendly design. Your online store becomes not just a marketplace but an engaging platform that effortlessly guides visitors through a visually pleasing and intuitive journey.

Animation and Lookbooks: Focal injects life into your product showcase with animations and lookbooks. Dynamic visuals and curated looks enhance the storytelling aspect of your brand, creating an immersive shopping experience.

Enhanced Search: Focal's enhanced search functionality ensures that customers quickly find what they're looking for. A powerful search engine optimizes results, improving user satisfaction and encouraging exploration.

Sticky Header: The sticky header feature keeps essential navigation elements fixed at the top of the page as users scroll. This ensures easy access to crucial links, providing a seamless browsing experience.

Cross-selling Capabilities: Focal is not just about selling individual products; it's designed to boost overall sales. With cross-selling capabilities, it strategically places product recommendations on product and cart pages, including a sticky "Add to Cart" button for a frictionless purchasing process.

Read more: How to create Cross-selling Products for Shopify store

Color Swatches: Focal introduces color swatches for stores where color choices matter. This feature enables customers to visualize and select product variations with ease, streamlining the decision-making process.

Product Filtering and Sorting: Focal acknowledges the importance of streamlined product discovery. The product filtering and sorting features empower customers to quickly find what they need, ensuring a satisfying and efficient shopping expedition.

Focal Theme Pricing Options 

Free Trial with Customizations

Dive into the Focal experience risk-free by trying the theme with your products, brand colors, and customizations. This allows you to explore how Focal integrates with your brand identity and product catalog, ensuring a tailored fit for your online store.

One-Time Payment of $320

Following the trial period, if you decide that Focal is the perfect match for your store, a one-time payment of $320 unlocks the theme's full potential. This payment will come into effect when you are ready to publish the Focal theme to your Shopify store.

Pros & Cons of Focal Shopify Theme 

Pros of Focal Shopify Theme

Optimized for Conversion: Focal takes center stage with its focus on conversion optimization. The theme is meticulously crafted to guide visitors seamlessly through the shopping journey, translating clicks into conversions. From intuitive navigation to strategically placed call-to-action elements, Focal is engineered to enhance your store's conversion rates.

Read more: High Converting Mobile Landing Page: 8 Tips & 10 Examples

Integration with Latest Shopify Features: Focal ensures compatibility and seamless integration with the latest features offered by Shopify. This future-proofs your store and unlocks access to cutting-edge tools to enhance your online presence.

Diverse Customization Options: With a diverse range of customization options, Focal empowers you to customize your online store's look and feel to align with your brand identity. The theme offers flexibility from color schemes to layout variations without compromising coherence.

Faster Shopping Experience: Focal is designed with speed in mind, ensuring a faster and more responsive shopping experience for buyers. From quick loading times to streamlined navigation, every aspect is fine-tuned to minimize friction and enhance user satisfaction.

Free High-Resolution Photos: Focal sweetens the deal by providing free high-resolution photos, allowing you to enhance your product displays without the burden of additional costs.

Fast and Helpful Customer Support: A reliable support system is the backbone of any successful theme. Focal takes pride in its fast and helpful customer support, ensuring you have assistance whenever needed. Focal's support team is committed to your success, from troubleshooting technical issues to guiding customization.

Free Theme Updates: Focal stays relevant by offering free theme updates. As the e-commerce landscape evolves, so does Focal, ensuring that your store remains equipped with the latest features, security patches, and improvements without additional cost.

Single Store License: Your payment for the Focal Shopify Theme entitles you to use it on a single store indefinitely. This provides peace of mind, allowing you to invest in a theme that grows with your business without the complexities of multiple licensing arrangements.

Cons of Focal Shopify Theme 

Occasional Difficulties in the Setup Process

Users may face occasional difficulties during the initial setup process of the Focal Shopify Theme. While the theme aims to provide a user-friendly experience, some users might find certain aspects of the setup process less intuitive, requiring a bit more time and effort to navigate.

Possible Problems with Some Features

Focal, like any theme, isn't immune to potential issues with specific features. Users might encounter challenges related to the functionality of elements such as background videos, comment sections, checkout processes, and text size. These issues could vary in severity and might necessitate additional attention during setup and customization.

Read more: How to Add Shopify Rich Text Section

Focal theme user reviews, Support, and Resources

User review

(Image source: Shopify Theme Store)

Positive Feedback: The theme is appreciated by the swift response times from the support team, with helpful solutions provided to address issues. Moreover, it is praised for being user-friendly and advanced. Positive comments include praise for the diverse features of the theme.

Mixed Feedback: Some users have experienced challenges with specific functionalities, such as the comment function. While some appreciate the support team's responsiveness, others express frustration, mentioning difficulties in resolving technical issues.

Constructive Criticism: There are challenges in customizing the theme, noting a complex setup involving liquid/HTML, CSS, custom JS, and JSON configuration objects. The sentiment is that customization can be involved and time-consuming, even for experienced developers.

Here is some of the most recent and detailed feedback about the Focal Shopify Theme:

Pickleball WitWear Oct 06, 2023

I want to express my deep appreciation for the wonderful help and support I have received from you and your team. From the beginning, I've been consistently impressed by the fast responses, demonstrating your team's dedication to customer satisfaction. Every interaction was a pleasure, and each member was wholeheartedly committed to resolving any issue.

petrotech 2022 May 24, 2023

This is my third time building a site using this template. It is amazing, incredibly user-friendly, and the most advanced option. The support staff is fantastic and readily available to answer any questions. I am extremely satisfied.

The Roman Catholic Store Nov 26, 2022

Customer service is excellent and responsive. They respond within a few hours and provide excellent solutions. My checkout button stopped working on Black Friday. I immediately contacted them, thinking it was an issue with their theme, and I expected a delayed response. Within a few hours, they responded and let me know the issue was with an app we had installed in June. The theme also has excellent features.

BRANWYN | Performance Innerwear Jun 08, 2022

The guys that did this theme are unique. I've installed the theme and reached out to them to see if they could do a couple of little tweaks on it. ( Swap the position of the slideshow header & description. ) They did it for free. ( Where Shopify professionals asked for $200+. ) On top of that, they're polite, fast to respond to emails, and really helpful.

A-Joy Nov 04, 2022

When I use Shopify's free theme, there is no problem with the comment function. When I buy Focal's theme, the comment function can't be used, but the after-sales personnel don't understand the technology. They blame Shopify for all the problems. 

GossamerPetals Aug 28, 2022

The basic setup of this theme is a real hodge-podge of liquid/HTML, CSS, custom JS, and JSON configuration objects, which makes ANY customization you may want to do very involved. This may get easier as I adjust this theme more and more, but I'm pretty experienced as a developer, and this is NOT easy or quick. I don't get paid to tweak themes; I get paid when stuff sells; this is onerous.

Read more: The Best Ways to Add Shopify Product Reviews

Support and Resources

Support

To get support, you need to access the Maestrooo Support Center, a hub designed to address queries and provide solutions.

• Support Eligibility: To avail of support, users must have purchased the Focal theme directly from the Shopify Theme Store.
• Support Inclusions: The support encompasses bug fixes and addresses questions related to theme settings and existing features.
• Support Exclusions: It's crucial to note that the support does not include integrating third-party apps, developing new features, adding new theme settings, or resolving issues caused by external apps or third-party developers.
• Common Questions: To facilitate a smoother user experience, a list of common questions is available. Users can explore this resource before reaching out to the support team. These questions cover a number of topics, such as trouble setting up a mega-menu, addressing performance issues, setting up multi-currency and/or multi-language options, adding videos to product pages, etc.
• Support Request Process: To articulate issues and seek assistance, users are required to fill out a form located at the bottom of the Maestrooo Support Center web page. This form includes basic information about the user and the nature of the problem, streamlining the support request process.

Resources

To search for the solution to your problems, you can access the Knowledge base for Maestrooo themes, or you can go to the Support Center for Focal Theme, which presents documentation covering essential aspects, including:

• Focal Theme Changelog: The latest updates and improvements.
• Product Page - Adding a Size Chart: A step-by-step guide for enhancing your product pages.
• Collection - Removing Collection Filters: Learn how to customize collection pages to suit your preferences.
• Accessibility Compliance (a11y): Information on the themes' accessibility compliance.
• Focal Image Size Recommendations
• Navigation - Best Practices for Language and Country Selectors: Guidance on effective navigation practices.
• Product - Adding an Associated Product ("Buy It With"): Insights into maximizing product associations for increased sales.

How to Purchase the Focal Shopify Theme

The Focal Shopify Theme is exclusively available on the Shopify Theme Store. Press the button below to go to Focal Theme on the store:

Get Focal Theme!

Once on the Focal Theme page, click on "Try theme" to kickstart the purchase process. This step ensures you can explore the theme before making a commitment.

Follow the on-screen guidance to seamlessly complete the transaction. To make sure that all necessary details are provided accurately to facilitate a smooth acquisition of the Focal Theme for your Shopify store.

Add custom sections to Focal theme using EComposer

Enhance the customization capabilities of your Focal theme by incorporating custom sections with the user-friendly EComposer Page Builder. Follow these straightforward steps to personalize your Shopify store:

1. Log in to Shopify: Access your Shopify account, providing the initial step to kickstart the customization process for your Focal theme.
2. Install EComposer Page Builder: If you haven't installed the EComposer Page Builder app, visit the Shopify App Store and install the EComposer Landing Page Builder app, ensuring seamless integration with your Shopify store.

3. Access Theme Customization: Within your Shopify account, navigate to the "Online Store" category. From the available options, select "Theme" to enter the theme customization interface.

4. Choose Focal Theme: Locate the Focal Shopify Theme from your list of available themes. Choose "Customize" to enter the dedicated customization interface for the Focal theme.
5. Add Custom Sections: Explore the "Add section" option inside the customization interface. EComposer Page Builder offers extensive section types for personalizing the Focal theme in the “Library.” Select the specific section type you desire to create or customize within your storefront.

Read more: How to create Shopify Theme Sections

Alternatives to Focal Theme

Kalles

Kalles is an exceptional and versatile alternative to the Symmetry theme, meticulously crafted to elevate the online shopping experience. Kalles seamlessly combines rich features with contemporary aesthetics, providing a dynamic solution for your e-commerce venture.

(Image source: The4)

Key Features

• Highly Customizable: Kalles empowers users with a high degree of customization, allowing for a tailored and unique representation of your brand.
• Modern Design: The theme boasts a modern design that aligns with the latest trends, ensuring your online store exudes a fresh and contemporary appeal.
• Elegant Animations: Elevate your website with elegant animations that add a touch of sophistication, capturing the attention of your visitors.
• Showstopping Lookbook: Kalles goes beyond the conventional with a showstopping Lookbook feature, enabling you to showcase products in curated and visually captivating collections.
• Product Variations Swatches: Enhance the shopping experience with product variation swatches, allowing customers to visualize and choose product options effortlessly.
• Mega Menu and Sticky Menu: Kalles offers a Mega Menu for comprehensive navigation and a Sticky Menu to ensure essential links remain easily accessible as users scroll through your site.
• Quick View: Improve user convenience with the Quick View feature, allowing customers to preview product details without leaving the current page.
• Smart Filter: Kalles incorporates a Smart Filter system, streamlining the product discovery process for your customers.
• Fast Load Speed: Prioritizing efficiency, Kalles ensures a fast load speed, contributing to a seamless and responsive browsing experience.
• Optimized Search Layout: The theme's search layout is optimized for efficiency, helping customers find what they need quickly and effortlessly.

Purchase Kalles HERE!

Read more: Kalles Shopify Theme Review: Features, Pros, Cons & Ratings

Gecko

Gecko, a powerhouse of features and unparalleled versatility, revolutionizes the online retail landscape. With a myriad of options and a seamless interface, this theme empowers you to effortlessly craft a store that aligns with your brand and surpasses your expectations with just a few clicks.

(Image source: The4)

Key Features

• Fast Loading and Optimized: Gecko prioritizes speed, ensuring fast loading times for an optimal and responsive user experience.
• Powerful Theme Options: Unlock a world of possibilities with Gecko's powerful theme options, allowing you to customize your store to align with your specific needs.
• Product Variations Swatches: Enhance the visual appeal of your product offerings with product variation swatches, providing a seamless and interactive shopping experience.
• Advanced Mega Menu and Sticky Menu: Gecko features an advanced Mega Menu for comprehensive navigation and a Sticky Menu to keep essential links accessible as users scroll through your store.
• Modern & Clean Design: Embrace a modern and clean design that caters to contemporary aesthetics, ensuring your store stands out with sophistication.
• Elegant Animations: Elevate the visual appeal of your store with elegant animations that add a touch of refinement to the browsing experience.
• Lookbook: Showcase your products in style with Gecko's Lookbook feature, allowing you to curate visually appealing collections for your customers.
• Innovative Ajax Filters: Revolutionizing the search experience, Gecko introduces creative Ajax filters. With real-time updates, customers can effortlessly apply multiple filter types, ensuring a fluid and uninterrupted exploration of your product offerings.
• Wishlist Support: Foster customer engagement with Wishlist support, enabling users to save and track their favorite products for future reference.
• Quick View: Simplify the shopping process with the Quick View feature, allowing customers to preview product details without leaving their browsing page.

Purchase Gecko HERE!

Conclusion

In the grand tapestry of Shopify themes, Focal stands as a compelling choice for those seeking a harmonious blend of aesthetics and functionality. Its dynamic layout options, from the sleek Carbon to the vibrant Sapphire, provide a canvas for diverse brand expressions.

You can also try the alternatives of the Focal Shopify Theme - Kalles and Gecko. Kalles offers versatility with fifteen purpose-built demos, while Gecko stands out with unmatched features. Focal enhances its appeal with EComposer compatibility, ensuring a diverse range of choices, and elevating the e-commerce experience.

Try EComposer NOW!