Best Online Stores for Christmas Shopping

The smell of mulled of wine is in the air; children are singing carols and Coca-Cola’s Santa Claus is on TV. It can only mean one thing—holidays are coming!

There are some amazing Jimdo shops that are hitting it out of the park this holiday season. So we took a closer look at how they built their successful online stores, and they generously shared their expert tips. And who knows, you may just find the perfect gift for someone on your list, too!

Psst, as an added bonus we are offering the chance to win some prizes and get some great tips from users and experts on our Jimdo Facebook page.

1. The Old Norse

Template: Stockholm

The beard is back—yep the rugged lumberjack look is one of the hottest trends this year! But what is a beard without beard oil? We present to you The Old Norse!

This shop is all about spreading the “bearded word” in regard to the benefits of beard care and giving people the chance to indulge in some Scandinavian-inspired beard oils and balms. All products are completely natural, furthermore, they are designed and produced by Chris himself.

When you open the website, the first thing that strikes you is the powerful imagery and memorable logo of a Viking ship. There is a consistent Nordic theme throughout the shop that ties together the imagery, name, and logo—making the branding unmistakable.

The online store also does a good job of connecting with their visitors and promoting their products via their own hashtag #Raidwithus. You can count us in!

Screenshot from The Old Norse

What we love about this shop:

Product imagery: The beautifully shot product photos make us want to get out there and buy beard oil ourselves! High-quality images are important to show your business or product in the best light, so take a leaf out of The Old Norse and create no-fuss, close-up images of your products. We love the placement of the products and the way fruits and ingredients have been used to evoke the scent of natural oils.

Professional logo: The Norse-inspired logo ties in perfectly to the theme of the shop. It is a simple but timeless design which is the characteristic of any great logo. This one was created with 99designs.

Tip to users: “Downloading the Jimdo app has allowed me to keep up to date with all my admin whilst on the go. Being able to check and process orders whilst away from my computer is a stroke of genius.” Chris Clarke, The Old Norse

2. OUVER Coffee

Template: Stockholm

Coffee lovers rejoice! OUVER Coffee combines sustainable design with functionality for the perfect coffee. We love the detail and craftsmanship that goes into their items. Each product is handmade and unique; using as much recycled or upcycled material as possible.

OUVER Coffee’s products are elegantly and simply displayed on their shop using Columns. The product images all have the same background which gives consistency throughout the shop. A particularly nice touch is using gifs to make their products come to life (just scroll down).

Screenshot from OUVER Coffee

What we love about this shop:

Perfect template: OUVER Coffee uses the Stockholm template for a high-impact Header image that really shows off the product with no distractions. The Header is still partially visible on the other pages but doesn’t distract from displaying your products clearly.

Gifs to enhance the product presentation: The use of the gifs to create movement shows off the product beautifully. To see how the product is constructed gives the visitor a real idea of what they are buying.

Tip to users: It is important that you’re satisfied with the appearance of your website. This will never be 100% the case, so let yourself be inspired by other websites and try out new things.” Birger Schneider, OUVER Coffee

3. Lucy Gell

Template: Cairo

Lucy Gell designs and hand-makes all the animal prints herself using a variety of techniques such as acid plate etching, collagraph, and screen printing. She produces cards, prints and you can even get vouchers for her workshop to learn the technique yourself!

We love the artsy cat gif in the Header whose eyes follow you around the website. It really shows off Lucy’s fun-loving personality.

Check out the Christmas gifts section for seasonal cards and gift ideas!

Screenshot from the Lucy Gell Shop

What we love about this shop:

Clear navigation and sub-pages: A long list of products can mean visitors get lost in all the product information. Lucy has created sub-pages for different categories sorted by animals (such as “dog prints” and “bear prints”) to help people find what they want. If you have a lot of products categorizing these into subpages is a great way to make your site more accessible and also to improve the SEO for those pages.

Consistent color branding: Lucy uses a consistent white, gray and orange color combination throughout the whole website. The bold orange is used for headlines or to highlight any items or calls to action.

Tip to users: “Watch postage carefully. Recently I had an order from the U.S. for two framed pieces at a combined cost of £400. I knew the cost to send unframed prints to the U.S. would be around £10-£15 and I foolishly didn’t isolate different costs for framed work, from unframed work. In the UK I thought it would only be a few pounds difference and I would absorb that for the sake of simplicity. But I underestimated a large order like this from as far away as the US. I charged £14 on the order but the courier cost me £96! Great to get the order but lesson quickly learned about checking ALL my postage costs carefully!”

4. Bobsmade

Template: Miami

Bobsmade is known for its monster doodles and happy, bubbly style! They will custom design anything you can think of, including boots, headphones or shoes! You can even send in your own pictures or sketches as inspiration.

If you want to give it a try yourself, there is a DIY section where you can try designing and painting your own items but be warned—it’s harder than it looks!

Screenshot from Bobsmade

What we love about this shop:

Clear shipping costs: If you have read last weeks shipping costs post you are well aware of the importance of a clear shipping policy. Bobsmade have made the maximum costs of shipping very clear in their Shipping Section.

Slideshow displaying items in the Gallery: Who says your whole gallery just has to be rows of images? Try adding a slideshow of your top products to save your visitors the time scrolling down.

Tip to users: “Jimdo gives you the option to change your website whenever you want, and it’s a good idea to do it. With every new feature, I suddenly feel like I have to update my website with new images and text.” Anne Schröder, Bobsmade

5. SUNTREE Studio

Template: Stockholm

If you love pottery or know someone who does, then SUNTREE Studio is for you. Nata designs and creates beautiful Asian-inspired tableware.

SUNTREE Studio is a great example of why less is more. All the text is a paragraph at most, making it easy to skim read for visitors. The product images then speak for themselves.

Screenshot of Suntree Studio

What we love about this shop:

Newsletter subscription: If you want people to stay updated on what you are doing, then a subscribe option or Newsletter page can really help. You can use this to notify visitors of upcoming events or just stay engaged with your product.

White space: Nata has left enough “white space” so that her items are the main focus. There is no clutter or blocks of text that can be difficult to read.

Tip to users: “Don’t forget about social media and a newsletter tool! For me, Instagram and the Mailchimp Newsletter work best to spread the word or invite people to my pottery classes. It was actually through Instagram that I had my first order. After more and more people joined my Instagram, I then realized I needed to create an online shop.” Nata Pestune, SUNTREE Studio

Which shop is your favorite? Let us know in the comments section!