Hyvä and Luma: Best Themes for Magento Stores

To better understand what both Hyvä and Luma are, it is important to know what Magento themes are in more detail. Although a theme is largely responsible for the visual appearance of a website, it also affects the functionality of the site. A well-designed and responsive theme can improve the user experience and even increase engagement on the site, while a poorly made one will have negative effects on both the aesthetics and performance of the website, in turn ruining the overall impression of the store.

‍

What are Magento Themes?

Essentially, Magento themes are pre-designed sets of assets that contain various content like style elements, scripts, and templates that determine how the store's website looks and works. It can consist of image, CSS, HTML, and JavaScript files, which together form the cohesive final product that users interact with.

Some themes offer customizable options, allowing for more interesting sites, while others are more basic and limited in personalization. There are hundreds of different options available on the market, so virtually every store owner can have a unique site. The overall look and feel of the website reflects the brand's identity and can greatly impact the user experience, increasing or decreasing profits.

Hyvä and Luma: Top Choices for Great Store Websites

Experts often recommend Hyvä vs Luma, and not without a reason. Both are great and offer a wide range of customizable options to create a unique, functional website for your Magento store. However, they differ in several aspects, and different people may find one better than the other. To find out, which one would be better for you, familiarize yourself with the core differences.

Hyvä Theme: Fast and Flexible

First, let us discuss Hyvä. This frontend theme solution is known for its great performance and smooth theme development process. That is not all, though! Look at all the other benefits it has:

• Hyvä is lightweight. Based on Alpine.js and Tailwind CSS, it prioritizes performance and flexibility, allowing for fast loading times while still letting developers customize the design to a large degree.
• Pre-built components offered with Hyvä make it easy to create an aesthetically pleasing and well functioning site, even for those with limited experience designing themes.
• It is scalable, meaning its capabilities are virtually endless, and your theme will accommodate future growth and expansion without issue. Maintenance is also simple, so you do not need a team of Hyvä Themes developers to just update your store.
• Hyvä was built with SEO in mind. Its structure and design choices are optimized to improve search engine rankings. For example, Hyvä Themes guarantees that your site will perform better in mobile search results, providing a competitive edge. Remember: just 1% of people visit Google's second page of results.

However, there are some downsides to Hyvä that have to be considered. Examine them to be better informed about whether Hyvä is the appropriate fit for your website.

• Unfortunately, Hyvä has a limited compatibility with third-party extensions, so it might not be the best choice for sellers using many add-ons.
• The 1000 euro price of the Hyvä Themes license can deter business owners with limited budgets. There is no payment plan other than a one-time upfront purchase.

Luma: Inexpensive and Reliable

When you research various options, you will likely run into Luma at the very beginning. That is because Luma is a ready-made theme that comes with Magento, when building your store. For those unfamiliar with it, we have prepared a list of several of its key features:

• The main benefit of using Luma is that it is free and doesn't require a license, which could otherwise be expensive. It makes it a great option for budget-conscious businesses and beginners.
• Luma is compatible with most, if not all, Magento extensions and plugins. It is very easy to combine with add-on solutions for payments, shipping, and other functionalities that you may need.
• As Luma's user base is huge and constantly growing, the community support and resources available are many, making it convenient for anyone looking for advice or help with using the platform.
• Setting up this theme solution is also relatively straightforward, and even a first-time store owner should have no difficulty navigating through the process of customizing their online store.

Like Hyvä, Luma has some drawbacks, which we will address, so that you are well-informed and don't go into possible problems without knowing what to expect.

• Luma uses some outdated technologies like RequireJS, that can slow down your website's performance, and it can negatively affect SEO rankings and customer experience.
• It is not recommended for those looking for a highly customizable website, as Luma's capabilities for customization are limited compared to other themes.

As you can see, both Hyvä and Luma have their strengths and weaknesses, and it is important to carefully consider what is more important to you and your business before making any decision. Nonetheless, there are more factors than just the basic pros and cons that will affect the choice, and these are yours to weigh and prioritize.

‍

Is Hyvä Better Than Luma?

Who wins the Hyvä vs Luma competition? Both theme options offer great features and benefits, but ultimately, it all depends on the store and its owner's preferences. Those more keen on extensive customization and would like to dabble in coding a bit might find Hyvä a better option, while business owners who value their time more and prefer to get a ready-made product will likely lean more to Luma's side.

If you look for speed and want to offer your customers a seamless experience that won't deter them from your shop, we advise using Hyvä. Luma, while free and reliable, is not good for these specifically. On the other hand, if you're on a tight budget and cannot justify spending extra money on a flexible, customizable option, Luma may fit your needs better.

Ultimately, the choice is yours to make, and what you find most important for your business will determine which is the better fit for your store. If you are still unsure, consider reaching out to Magento developers who can give you expert advice based on your particular case.

‍