Shopify aims to empower independent selling and values the support of its partner ecosystem in its quest. App developers play an essential role to help merchants sell on the Canadian e-commerce platform. They create useful apps that make life easier for merchants as well as customers making online purchases.
Recently, Shopify announced new updates to assist app developers in making e-commerce a better place for everyone. Shopify President Harley Finkelstein took to Twitter to discuss the four updates that every app developer must know.
Tldr; here are just a FEW of the updates:
— Harley Finkelstein (@harleyf) June 13, 2023
1. App submissions are getting easier; we’ve significantly streamlined the app review process by removing 45 requirements [that’s nearly 20% of the review requirements].
“Shopify is the best place to build your app – period. Thousands of devs have built businesses on the Shopify App Store, and more are joining daily. Being the best place to build means constantly evolving. We deeply value our community’s feedback. That’s why we recently shipped a ton of new updates to make it faster and smoother for you to build and sell apps on Shopify,” Finkelstein said in a Twitter thread.
We are constantly improving our experience to make it better for you to start and scale your app businesses. We will always build for you with the goal of giving you an unfair advantage in building your business. We are here & we are listening; more updates to come.
Harley Finkelstein, President, Shopify
4 Most Important Updates
Finkelstein’s thread mentioned only four updates, though there are many more. These four updates are the most crucial and present a fair idea of the transformation ahead.
1. Easy Submissions
The Shopify President first spoke of how Shopify has made it easier than ever for the developers to submit their app. “App submissions are getting easier; we’ve significantly streamlined the app review process by removing 45 requirements [that’s nearly 20% of the review requirements],” he explained.
The new process aims to reduce the time spent on reviewing the app. It not only helps Shopify offer new apps quickly to its merchant partners but also motivates the app developers to complete an app in less time and work on another.
2. New App Store
It was in December last year when Shopify revamped its app store to make it more personalized for merchants. Finkelstein explained how this move aims to help developers as well: “We redesigned the App Store; we’ve made discovery + decision-making easier for merchants & added new highly visible placements to showcase apps from both big & small devs. Install rates continue to climb, and in just a few months, we’ve featured 100+ 3rd party apps in editorial”.
For the new look, Shopify switched from its native green to the elegant black, a noticeable change besides tweaking the content flow and format of the app pages. Moving on from its three-point description, the new Shopify App Store describes apps with the help of a title, a description and a few bullet points mentioning its features.
Apart from the changes that are quite noticeable, Shopify also made some changes that can be missed if you fail to observe carefully. Earlier, Shopify used to provide a free trial of 14 days to merchants. The new design came with Shopify’s new three-day trial policy. After the free trial of three days, merchants have to pay $1 per month for the basic plan for the first three months.
3. Built For Shopify
Shopify is also offering a free program for learning to app developers. Under the Built For Shopify initiative, the e-commerce giant has developed a set of quality standards to help app developers design “high-quality apps for merchants”. Shopify wants these apps to be easy for merchants without compromising on safety and performance.
Each of the set standards is crucial for merchant success and aims to improve customer experience. “We launched Built For Shopify; a free program that levels the playing field to help newer app devs stand out, and we’re rolling it out to merchants with prominent badging in the Shopify App Store soon,” Finkelstein said.
Shopify evaluates each of the submitted apps using “specific, actionable criteria”. “Apps that meet all of these criteria are eligible for Built for Shopify status. Along the way, you can qualify for smaller achievements that grant you more limited benefits, such as indicators of high quality on your app listing, special merchandising, or opportunities for promotion on various Shopify surfaces,” it explains further on the company website.
4. Advertising Algorithm
Advertising is what brings customers to your business, right? So why not help app developers in getting Shopify merchants to use the right advertising? “We’ve optimized our ads algorithm. The results? Improved click-through rates and lower avg CPCs even with more devs joining the ecosystem. We also shipped geotargeting, so you can create effective and relevant regional campaigns, minimizing wasted ad spend,” Finkelstein explained.
Shopify App Store is full of useful apps. However, the choices leave merchants confused at times. Paid promotion helps the apps to rank higher in search results for a merchant in need. It is all fair business on Shopify’s part as it promises to introduce regular updates based on feedback from merchants and app developers.
Shopify is Listening!
“We are constantly improving our experience to make it better for you to start and scale your app businesses. We will always build for you with the goal of giving you an unfair advantage in building your business. We are here & we are listening; more updates to come,” Finkelstein concluded his Twitter thread.
Before redesigning the app store, Shopify had asked its Partners to share suggestions over an email in September. Seeking help from the app developers, Shopify wrote: “We’re redesigning the Shopify App Store this year, and we need your help bringing it to life.”
“We’ve spent the last year researching and experimenting with the best ways to help merchants discover the right, high quality apps for their unique needs, and we’re excited to tell you more about what’s coming,” Shopify added in the email.
Shopify attached the new app listing form in the email, asking every recipient to fill it out by the deadline (November 1). “You must update your submission form in order to remain eligible for promotion. Check out our new documentation for best practices and an example of what the new listing page will look like,” Shopify said.
Talking About the Complexities
Shopify added that it believes that categorisation of apps in the new format would confuse many. To explain the complexities involved, Shopify said: “We updated our app categories and are giving you more control over how you’re classified so you can reach the right audiences. In November, you’ll be able to select up to 2 categories for your app”.
“We’ll follow up with more content about these changes as we get closer to the app store relaunch. You can check out our FAQs for more information in the meantime. As always, please reach out to Partner Support if you need help or have any questions. Thanks for all you do to help merchants on Shopify succeed!” Shopify concluded.
