Ecommerce | Popular Shopify Apps

One question I get asked often is about which apps are "needed" for Shopify stores. Personally, I try and use as few apps as possible, there are a couple of reasons;

1. If you are using paid apps they can soon add up on your monthly bill
2. Every time I've had a "site glitch" it has been due to an app

Different stores have different needs and it's hard to recommend an app that is "needed" by everyone or will work for all stores, but there are some popular ones (or ones that I personally have used).

Quick note: app prices in the Shopify store are always in USD - remember to convert these to your local currency so you can know the actual cost.

Shopify App

• Free

The Shopify app for your smartphone is available wherever you usually get your phone apps from. This is the very first thing you should be downloading (before you even launch your store) as these days you can do virtually anything from your Shopify app on your phone, I use the app to;

• Add and edit products
• Change my announcement bar
• Add discount codes on the move
• Draft blog posts
• Pick and pack orders in the stock room

Free Shipping Bar by Hextom

• Free plan available or USD$9.99 a month

Because there's a free option, this is a good one to test in your store if you are experiencing low conversion rates or high abandoned cart rates. You add your free shipping threshold into the app, when customers add items to their cart the bar at the top of the screen on your Shopify site calculates how much more they need to spend to qualify for free shipping.

Instafeed by Mintt Studio

• Free plan available or USD$3.99 or USD$19.99 a month

The Instafeed app is a great option if you are using a free Shopify theme or one that doesn't have a built in Instagram feed option. The free option pulls through your feed from Instagram to your website and links to your Instagram account when clicked. The USD$3.99/month option allows product tagging, so when customers click the image on the website.they can see the product that is tagged.

Coming Soon & Pre Order by Gravity Software

• 7 day free trial then USD$9.99 a month

This app is super useful if you have products in your Shopify store that aren't yet available for purchase or can be pre-ordered and paid for but will not be shipped straight away. Instead of saying "Add to cart" the button will say "Coming soon" with a date, or "Pre-order now" with an estimated shipping date.

Infinite Product Options by Hulk Apps

• Free plan available or USD$7.99 a month

Shopify has a maximum number of 100 variants, which sounds a lot but isn't really when you've got lots of options to choose from (eg: sizes and colours of socks as well as choosing between ankle and calf length). This handy app allows you to add all these options as well as add ons such as gift wrapping. These options can be free (so no change to the product price) or have an additional charge which increases the product price.

Smile Rewards & Loyalty by Smile.io

• Free plan available or from USD$49 to USD$599 a month

I have installed this app on a few Shopify stores now (as well as my own) and I am really happy with how it works. It's just the same as an card swiping reward system in a bricks and mortar store - you set the number of points that are earned based on an action (eg: spending money or referring a friend or following on Instagram) and what the points can be redeemed for (eg: dollar or percentage discount or free shipping). 

Digital Downloads by Shopify

• Free plan

I have used this Shopify app for one of my own stores where I sell crochet patterns. You upload the file to Shopify and when a customer purchases the file they are sent a link to the file to download and the order is automatically fulfilled - super easy! You can add a maximum number of times the file can be downloaded which is great to minimise the risk that someone will forward the link to all their friends.

Affiliatly Affiliate Marketing by overcode

• 30 day free trial then from USD$16/month

I often have people ask about tracking return on investment from influencer campaigns, this app allows you to easily track (and reward) those that are referring customers to your site. If you are considering an influencer campaign as part of your marketing strategy, this blog might be useful.

If you need some tips for getting your Shopify store to convert better an eCommerce Coaching Session could be a good place to start.