Comparing PWA Storefronts Of Top 5 Magento PWA Themes

Searching for Magento PWA themes on Google and merchants can get lots of results.  However, those themes vary in PWA storefronts, quality, prices and time to complete the development process.

Thus, merchants need to research carefully and evaluate each theme to find the most optimal solution.

But among hundreds of Google search results, it might be too time-consuming and tough to scroll through every Magento theme provider.

This post will simplify the task of selecting a PWA theme for Magento 2 by bringing firms a shortlist of the top five PWA storefronts for Magento stores.

Let’s get started!

TigrenPWA

Overview:

TigrenPWA theme is based on Magento PWA Studio and React.JS framework.

Pros:

Once purchased, merchants can get a theme package (with different PWA storefronts) instead of one theme only.

This comes with many different options for the layout of the homepage, category page, and product page,… The flexibility in adjusting each element of the website helps save merchants’ budgets on customizing.

Another amazing feature of the TigrenPWA theme is the appealing design on both desktop and mobile. An important thing to note here is that this is not a responsive theme but the developers create a separate storefront for mobile users and laptop users so that visitors can enjoy viewing the store from any device.

The theme also enables merchants to adjust the themes with some basic configuration in the backend (e.g.: color, logo, favicon, banners…). For further actions, firms can hire customization services from Tigren.

Also, the PWA storefronts provided by Tigren include Magento core and advanced features together with PWA functions.

Cons:

The limitation of Tigren’s Progressive Web App theme is that only 1 storefront is available at the moment. However, this should not be of the merchants’ concern as the upcoming layouts are promised to be released soon.

Plus, for those who hope to cooperate with Tigren but have their website remaining on Magento 1, then the theme will not be compatible. The template only supports the Magento version from 2.3. If merchants want to use the solutions from Tigren, they need to complete the Magento migration process first.

Another limitation of this solution is that Tigren only offers a premium theme which costs $1,500 (already includes installation fee).

Vue Storefront

Overview:

Vue Storefront works on the Vue.JS framework.

Pros:

Vue Storefront provides merchants with two options for PWA storefronts: Default Theme and Capybara Theme. The second option will include some new elements that the default theme does not have.

The storefront design is simple but remains attractive to customers.

Another strength of the theme is that it is compatible with both Magento 1 and Magento 2.

Vue Storefront template is an open-source theme which means any third party can download and customize it according to their interests. Merchants do not need to pay to get the theme while being able to adjust elements on the site to best fit the business.

Cons:

The weakness of this PWA template is the desktop design. It is quite simple and customers might feel like an enlarged version of the mobile design. This does not truly meet PWA requirements which emphasize the convenience to surf on any device.

Thus, there are not so many differences between desktop and mobile design. Another drawback is that not all Magento core functions are available in the theme.

ScandiPWA

Overview:

ScandiPWA theme was developed using React.

Pros:

ScandiPWA is also an open-source theme.

The great thing that many firms love about this PWA storefront is the appealing design and the ability to display a wide range of products. This feature makes it the best fit for technical gadget retailers.

Scandi also offers most of the Magento core features with a few advanced features (e.g.: improved layered navigation) in the theme to bring the best experience to store visitors.

Cons:

Merchants can easily download this PWA storefront for their Magento website but they still need to hire developers to apply the theme to the current website.

Also, developers should have some certain experience with integrating this theme or it might take time. The best option is probably to hire Scandi developers for the theme integration.

However, the business will also have to pay a very high cost to get this service done by this company. The price starts from $25,000 for installation and basic configuration (logo, color, font, button…).

If merchants want further adjustment like redesigning the homepage, product page,…, the minimum price will be $35,000.

GoMage

Overview:

GoMage uses PWA Studio to build its PWA theme for Magento websites.

Pros:

GoMage theme provides merchants with page builder and style custom which creates great flexibility in theme customization in the backend.

Also, the PWA storefront supports most of the Magento features and adds some advanced functions to upgrade site quality and performance such as Google Analytics, Trustpilot, and Blog.

Cons:

With the benefits mentioned above, the premium theme requires merchants to pay €1,499 for Magento Open Source and the price will increase to €1,999 for Magento Commerce.

While the Progressive Web App theme from GoMage has some good features, its poor design might be a big limitation. It does not optimize for all screen sizes as the large screen displays too many white spaces.

The mobile design also receives poor feedback and needs further improvements. The problem in the theme design means more requirements for customization and a larger investment.

CedCommerce

Overview:

CedCommerce’s PWA storefront (Cenia) is also built on Magento PWA Studio.

Pros:

The theme price is quite affordable compared to other Magento PWA themes on the market. Cenia storefront is available in 2 versions: free and premium. The second option charges merchants up to $299.

Cons:

While the themes are available in two versions, the free one is not worth considering due to its lack of features and very slow speed. In fact, this Magento PWA template is just a slightly upgraded version of the Venia storefront.

The premium theme is a little better but the outdated style might not be interesting for most users.

Thus, customization from the beginning is the foremost requirement if merchants want the best result using this Magento PWA theme. Otherwise, the new PWA store might not be able to make any improvements on traffic or sales revenues.

Final Notes

Before ending this post, we want to summarize the criteria that merchants should put into consideration to make the best decision on choosing the PWA storefronts for their Magento websites:

Technology:

It is best to use a theme that is based on Magento PWA Studio. This is the official tool developed by Magento so merchants can avoid unwanted code conflicts. For other themes using other technologies, they aim to let the solutions work across different e-commerce platforms.

Thus, this can potentially result in technical issues. Merchants may have to hire developers to fix the problems which end up causing interruption to the store operation and costing extra money.

Design:

This would depend on merchants’ interest and their business. A perfect store layout must fit the characteristics of the products while being unique to generate high brand recognition.

However, it would be hard to find the theme that can fit the store right from the start so firms should look for a customizable theme or a provider with reasonable customization service.

Features:

To select a good Magento PWA template, business owners should look into the integrated features of the theme. It should include Magento core features and PWA functions.

Plus, the features all perform well and stably. Having advanced features is good as it saves money for firms on buying extensions or custom functions.

Cost:

When calculating the cost for the Progressive Web App theme integration plan, merchants need to consider:

Do they need developers to integrate the theme?

Does the theme need extra adjustments? If yes, then to what extent?

How much does the Magento solution provider charge the post-service support?

Remember not to miss any questions from here or firms might fall into the trap of free or cheap themes. The initial investment in these solutions sounds money-saving but merchants end up having to pay for other services like customizing, developing or fixing technical issues.

The final fee might then be equal to purchasing a premium theme while taking way more time compared to using a ready-made one.

Make the right choice for the Magento PWA storefronts

PWA storefronts are known for their amazing benefits including improving shoppers’ experience, assisting merchants in-store operation,… All Magento businesses hope to integrate this new technology with their store to serve customers better and raise profits.

However, whether these benefits can turn true or not depends a lot on the choice of Magento Progressive Web App theme.

We hope that our post has guided merchants in finding the potential partners for Magento PWA theme development and understand the criteria to select the most appropriate solution for the business.

If you still have further questions, don’t hesitate to leave them in the comment section!