Shopify merchants have thousands of free apps at their disposal to help extend the functionality of their Shopify stores. There’s an app for everything: adding customer reviews, improving email marketing, publishing products on social media, and advanced analytics. Shopify is a popular platform for budding entrepreneurs interested in building an eCommerce store.
Shopify apps are designed to take your online store from default setup to next level optimization. Improving your conversion rate, reducing cart abandonment, and increasing your average order value is some of the best ways to increase sales. Take a look at what it takes to develop a viable Shopify app that will leave store owners wanting more.
Determine the purpose of your app.
The first step in developing an SEO app is to determine the purpose behind crafting it. Make sure you know exactly how your app will help merchants. Perform market research to uncover the needs and wants of store owners, and don’t be afraid to reach out directly to Shopify merchants.
Always research your competitors and stay current with the latest products. The best Shopify apps improve everything about the customer experience. From attracting new customers to your homepage, navigating them through the product page, and guiding them through the checkout process, great apps increase sales. So, what are the best Shopify apps? If you want to know more, you can read up on EnderTech for an overview of the best apps for Shopify merchants.
For example, Recart helps stop shopping cart abandonment by sending notifications to customers via email, popups, or Facebook Messenger to complete their purchases. Upselling and cross-selling is a great way to increase your store’s average order value. Sales Pop, Tidio, and TrustedSite all provide conversion rate optimization, while apps like Klaviyo and Omnisend are perfect for email marketing. Easy Ship and Ship Station are shipping and logistics apps perfect for eCommerce stores that handle shipments. Apps like TaxJar and Quickbooks are designed to help eCommerce business owners save time completing necessary tasks. Small business owners need the right tools to help their businesses succeed, and these Shopify apps take those tools to the next level.
Create a feature list.
Think about all the key features that will make your Shopify app different from competitor apps. Write down all ideas, then evaluate each one individually. Narrow down your list to those key features that best suit the purpose of the app. Don’t feel that you have to include every key feature at once. Start small and minimal, then build up the additional features in subsequent versions.
Build a minimum viable product.
One of the best practices in creating a product ready for market is to build a minimum viable product (MVP). Don’t focus on making a perfect first submission to the Shopify app store. Focus on building an MVP that will be beneficial to merchants, have it accepted, then work to make improvements. Once your app is accepted, you won’t have to re-submit it. Changes can be made to your Shopify app at any time using valuable early user feedback.
A useful tool for eCommerce entrepreneurs and app developers is Adobe’s PDF suite. The software allows you to fill out PDFs, sign and edit your own documents, and convert anything into a PDF file. Adobe Acrobat is the best way to turn a website into a PDF presentation, collect and track e-signatures, and sync invoices and receipts across devices. You can get a free seven-day Adobe Acrobat trial to get a feel for the best app for PDFs. You can customize the trial version to your software skill level to make the most of your free trial.
Test your app well before launching.
Building a quality Shopify app means having your code approved by a professional app tester. Before releasing an app on the market, you need to ensure it will result in a positive user experience. Test your app’s functionality throughout the development process rather than waiting until you have a final product. Keep a checklist of all the relevant requirements for public apps, and check Shopify forums for any guidance.
The best Shopify apps have a positive impact on the performance of online stores. Merchants use a combination of apps that help with customer service, checkout, email campaigns, and search results. Together, the best apps help store owners boost sales.