eCommerce software offers not only the benefit of acting as an online shopping cart for customers on a company's website, but also allows companies to display their goods and services in whatever manner they find most appealing. Great eCommerce software themes not only add a much-needed level of depth to a website but help it stand out from others in the market. But how exactly do these themes work?

The easiest way to think of eCommerce themes are as "templates" placed on a web page in order to increase customer usability and streamline the way in which products are found. While it is possible to have a text listing of all products offered with no pictures, no videos, and no special promotions or detailed notes about each product, such a listing will likely drive potential customers away in droves. In order to be effective, eCommerce software needs not only the back-end power and security to process credit card transactions, create receipts and analyze data, but also have enough of a front-end presence that potential customers can find what they want quickly, know how much it costs, and be taken to an ordering page on demand.

Typically, there are several options when it comes to using eCommerce software themes. Many vendors will offer a number of stock templates with their software that can be used as a basis for a site's theme. Product data and descriptions as well as prices will have to be manually entered, but many of these themes are both user-friendly for customers and easy to install for companies. It is also possible to find free templates online for use with popular eCommerce programs, but these can be hard to track down and may not have all the functionality required to maximize user experience.

Many high-quality eCommerce vendors will also offer extra templates for a small fee after a package has been purchased, and may come with the built-in ability to swap between an everyday theme and a sales or holiday theme as required. In essence, themes are used to increase the user-friendliness of a site, and can help encourage traffic if information is well laid out, easy to access and continually updated. No matter what vendor a company chooses for their eCommerce solution, there are a large number of eCommerce software themes available both for purchase and for free online, themes that can make or break the success of a website. No matter how efficient the back-end of an eCommerce site or how streamlined the shopping cart, any company that does not take the time to invest in themes and make sure their product data is easily accessible will limit their success.