Getting started

This guide takes a store with a simple catalog and a logo from install to a finished first version. Most stores get through it in 10 to 15 minutes. That’s a target, not a promise: a large catalog takes longer.

Before you start

Have these ready:

• your logo, or the store name you want shown as a wordmark
• products with at least one image each
• two or three collections
• a Main menu in Online Store → Navigation

Many ÉLAN sections pick products or a collection, and they look their best with your real catalog. Add products and collections first if you can.

Open the theme editor

1. In your Shopify admin, go to Online Store → Themes.
2. Find ÉLAN in your theme library and choose Customize.
3. Use the menu at the top of the editor to switch between templates, for example Home page, Products → Default product or Collections → Default collection.

Everything below happens in the editor. New to it? Read Theme Editor customization first.

Step 1. Choose a preset that fits your photography

A preset is a starting point: fonts, colors and page layouts. All three presets share the same sections, so you never lose features by choosing one.

You pick a preset when you add the theme. See Working with presets to change your mind later.

Step 2. Set your brand basics

1. Select the Header section. Upload a Logo image, or type your store name in Wordmark text. Choose a Logo position: center or left.
2. Open Theme settings (the gear icon) → Colors and edit the first color scheme to your brand colors. Keep text dark on a light background, or light on a dark one.
3. In Theme settings → Typography, change the Display font if you want a different headline voice. Keep Interface a clear sans serif: it’s used for prices, buttons and navigation.

More detail: Color schemes and typography.

Step 3. Choose a product image style

In Theme settings → Product cards → Product image style:

• Fill the frame crops photos to the card shape. Best for lifestyle photos and photos taken in a room or studio.
• Fit on a plate shows each whole product on a soft background, so photos of different sizes still line up. Best for packshots on white or plain backgrounds.

Then set Image ratio to match most of your photos, for example Portrait (4:5) for clothing or Square (1:1) for jewelry and beauty.

Step 4. Build the home page

Keep only the sections you have content for. Hide the rest with the eye icon, or remove them.

1. Opening title: one strong image, a heading and a link to your main collection.
2. Collection list: add one Collection block per collection. Tiles use the block’s image, else the collection image, else the collection’s first product image.
3. Product showcase: choose the Row layout and pick your bestselling or newest collection.
4. Optional, if you have the content:
   • Campaign film or Contact sheet for campaign photography
   • Steps for a routine or a how-to
   • Jewelry feature for a hero piece
5. Optional: add a Top bar to the header area for one short, accurate message, such as delivery times.

Every section is described in Sections and blocks.

Step 5. Check the product page, then preview on a phone

Open Products → Default product in the template menu:

• Keep the Buy buttons block, with Show quantity on.
• Add a Collapsible tab block and set its Store policy to Shipping policy or Refund policy. It shows the policy you wrote in Settings → Policies.
• Optional: turn on Show payment icons, and choose a Size guide page in the Variant picker block.

Then use the phone icon at the top of the editor and check:

• the header, the menu (the Index) and the cart drawer
• a product page: choose an option, then scroll down and check the add bar at the bottom of the screen
• a collection page: Filter and sorting

Choose Save. Preview the theme, and choose Publish when you’re ready.

Your first hour after setup

• Footer: add Menu blocks and a signup heading. Add social media links in Theme settings → Social media.
• Favicon: upload one in Theme settings → Favicon.
• Policies: write your shipping, refund, privacy and terms policies in Settings → Policies. The theme links to them; it never writes policy text for you.
• Replace demo copy: the preset’s sample headings and text are placeholders. Replace them with your own before publishing.