What You Need to Know About Shopify App Development

This is no doubt that Shopify is one of the most popular choices when it comes to building and growing an online business.

Shopify merchants, in order to empower their business and solve unique challenges, Shopify merchants are turning to Shopify App Development.

Do you know 87% of merchants use Shopify apps to run their store? If you are one such business owner looking to get crucial details about Shopify App Development, this is the right place.

This post will discuss everything about maximizing your eCommerce success with Shopify Development Services.

We will begin from point one of knowing the advantages, learning different types, and how you can begin with the process of app development.

Few Words About Shopify

Founded in 2004, Shopify is an eCommerce solution that enables anyone to set up their online store.

The website builder provides various features like a storefront, professional themes, features related to shipping, store management, marketing and SEO, product, analytics, and so on.

Many businesses choose Shopify for reasons like ease of use, app integrations, security, reliability, easy payment, great loading speed, and such.

In 2009, Shopify launched an API platform that enables developers to create and sell applications in Shopify Store App.

Shopify Apps are web apps that use Shopify APIs to communicate with a Shopify store. Using Shopify apps, you can improve the shopping experience of your store. Continue reading to know about types of apps, benefits, and such.

Why Use Shopify for App Development

Some of the most common advantages of using Shopify include the following points.

→ With Shopify apps, you can easily access information about your eCommerce website. This further helps you get better insights and make decisions accordingly.

→ With the help of Shopify apps, you can store purchase data. You can also have complete analytics of the entire sales process. This is highly beneficial in sending personalized messages like emails and thus improving your sales.

→ You can use Shopify apps to provide an exceptional shopping experience by enabling your customers to browse and buy from any device.

→ Scalability is another benefit of Shopify apps. That helps you add more features and functionalities per your unique business requirements.

→ By integrating the app with social media, you can improve your branding and enable customers to share their buying experiences with others.

→ Another crucial advantage of Shopify apps is that you can easily customize them to match your unique needs. You get the flexibility to build a highly personalized solution.

Types of Shopify Apps

Before beginning the development process, one has to choose what type of app they want to build, depending on their requirements. Below are the most common types of Shopify apps:

1. Public Apps

These apps are for those who want to distribute their apps to merchants. Every public app needs to pass through an approval process.

Further, public apps fall into two categories – listed and unlisted apps.

Listed apps are the apps that appear on Shopify App Store’s categories and result pages. All these apps are approved, and merchants can easily install them.

On the other hand, unlisted apps are the ones that need to be installed from a developer’s website or the application’s respective store.

2. Private Apps

Unlike public apps that work with many stores, private apps are exclusively for Shopify Store. These apps are created for a small group of clients and do not have to go through approval.

Merchants can use private apps to add features to their Shopify admin. Note that private apps are deprecated, and one can not create them as of January 2022.

3. Custom Apps

As the name suggests, Custom apps are custom built for a specific audience. As compared to off-the-shelf apps, tailored apps help achieve desired goals and overcome challenges you face in your day-to-day business operations.

Benefits of Custom App Development

Custom apps are gaining popularity. You can partially or fully customize the app as per your requirement. Here are some of the most common benefits of building a custom app:

→ Custom apps are developed keeping in mind specific users. Thus, by focusing on tailored features and functions, they help deliver a personalized experience and thus improve the return on investment.

→ General apps may not provide you with special security features. However, custom apps ensure high security. You can decline levels of authentication and provide role-based access.

→ Custom apps provide a scope of high scalability. You can enhance the app with different features as per your needs.

→ Custom apps play a huge role in improving productivity, enhancing efficiency, improving customer relationships, and enabling you to capitalize on various revenue streams.

Things to Consider Before Hiring Shopify Developers

In order to yield maximum results, it is important to hire Shopify Developers who have the skills and experience to work on your project. Here are some points to consider when hiring a developer for your business.

The most fundamental thing to check is the experience. See what kind of apps they have built, what kind of business or industries they have worked with.

You also need to check whether support and maintenance are included in the development services. Take some time to check their portfolio, go through testimonials, and such.

Look for developers who can think out of the box and bring more creativity and innovation. There are thousands of developers and development companies out there. It is always a good thing to research before making the final decision.

The Typical Process of App Development

Once you hire Shopify Developers, here’s a procedure that you can expect them to follow. The phase of the app development process begins with ideation, market analysis, and planning.

Then comes the pre-design process of creating wireframes. After getting the final visual design, the next prototype comes. After the design process, the next step is development.

Development companies follow different methodologies like agile, waterfall, etc., out of which agile is more popular. Later after reviewing and testing, your app is ready to launch and promote.