8 basic apps you need to have in order to build, manage and grow your Shopify store

8 basic apps you need to have in order to build, manage and grow your Shopify store

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When choosing an e-commerce platform, the most important factor is the ecosystem. Of course price, appearance, how easy it is to use, are also important factors, but to be able to choose from a variety of apps, is just as important. Apps help you build, manage and grow your online business with little to no extra investment on your part. 

And let’s face it, if the platform can’t keep up with you as you grow, your business is in trouble. Luckily to you, Shopify’s app store is the best of the business. It gives you access to over 6000 apps and counting, and you can easily manage every single aspect of your business with just a few of them. 

One thing to keep in mind is you don’t want to overboard when it comes to adding apps. While these tools are helpful, if you add too many you’re going to slow down your page load speed, which is a problem. 

According to one study by Portent, a Digital Marketing Agency in Seattle, a 0 to 4 second loading time is the best option for conversion rates and the highest conversion rates happen on sites with load times of less than two seconds. 

So, in order to help you manage your online store successfully, we will recommend a few basic apps that will solve most of the basic needs any online store has. The best part? Most of them are free or have a free plan available to you. 

• Product Reviews: Highlight what customers love about your products by adding ratings and reviews to your online store. 

Social proof is so important for customers to make a purchase, that having a review app on your website is essential. “Product reviews” is an app created by Shopify, so it’s not only free, but it’s also kept up-to-date and works pretty seamlessly with your admin panel. 

• Smile, Loyalty & Rewards: Create your own loyalty and rewards program to turn first-time customers into forever customers

Loyalty programs are great to help you drive sales and increase your brand loyalty. Your customers will earn rewards for their purchases or other actions and they’ll get special perks in exchange for being a loyal fan. 

• PageFly: Craft your perfect Shopify website without using codes. Find unlimited options to create the look and feel you want.

If you want to create more interesting page layouts without code, a page builder is a solution, and these kinds of apps are really in-demand. Adding page builders can help you create the exact layouts and styles that you want for sections such as sales pages or contact pages. 

• Easy digital products: Sell digital downloads, files, digital products, and license keys in a few clicks.

This particular app will integrate with your Shopify checkout so you can accept payment and it will send a digital product to your client by email and through a downloads page. This will let you sell things like ebooks, audio files, online classes or courses, etc. 

• Tidio chat: Boost your conversions with automation and AI. Answer questions in real-time, 24/7. And so much more.

You don’t want your customers to get confused when shopping in your store, so having a way for customers to ask questions and quickly get answers can be crucial to make a sale. You also want to capture your messages from across your other social media platforms. This is why it’s important to include a chatbot on your site. AI can automate at least some of your responses, saving lots of time for you, and assisting your customer immediately. 

• Bold Subscriptions: Make subscriptions your superpower! The easiest way to build, launch & scale recurring subscriptions

Did you know that acquiring a new customer can actually cost up to five times more than retaining an existing one? That’s one of the reasons why you want to have some recurring payments or subscriptions running in your business model. 

• Printful: Turn your ideas into premium products and boost your ecommerce brand

If you’re just starting out, you probably don’t have the cash flow to purchase inventory or have any place to store it. Print n Demand businesses can be a really great way to start testing the market for your products without a bunch of overhead costs. 

• Klaviyo: Get the right tools for retaining customers and increasing ROI.

It’s crucial to have your email marketing integrated into your online store. This will allow you to capture new customers by sending discounts and coupons, track your customer's journey, and send them emails for things like cart abandonments, back-in-stock notifications, and much more. 

You’ll be able to install all these apps in order to try them. But if you’re having trouble figuring out how to configure them correctly…

We’ll be happy to help you

Hiring a Shopify Expert can help you streamline your store's development. Having the experience of working with hundreds of stores online, we have developed a systemized process to set up any new Shopify store by following e-commerce best practices that will work for your business and actually give you a competitive advantage.

Here are a few things we can do for you:

• Want to check out if Shopify is for you? Get a 14 days trial! 

• New at Shopify and not sure where to start? We can configure a solid, beautifully designed store for you and you won’t pay the monthly plan during the whole development even if it takes longer than the 14-day trial available directly through Shopify. Learn more about our Full store setup service. 
• Ready to beautify your store and attract your customer's attention? Learn more about our Expert Theme Makeover service.
• Looking to migrate your online business to Shopify? Learn more about our Migration service. 
• Need some coding, custom development, or bug fixes? Our dev team is ready to help you! Just contact us and let us know your current issues. 

Ready to work with us? Contact us today by clicking here and tell us more about your business!