12 Must Have Free Apps for your Shopify eCommerce Store
The essential list of apps for your Shopify store
Shopify is one of the most versatile platforms when it comes to setting up an eCommerce store. Out of the box, you have your store set up in a matter of hours with the wide array of free themes that you can choose from the Shopify theme store.
Shopify themes have sections and blocks that you can customize and mix and match to build a page as per your design. Adding to the modular components is the ability to add apps that can extend the capability of your store. I took it upon myself to curate an essential list of 12 free apps that I greatly recommend for when you get started with your store:
The Essentials
Below is a list of apps that help you extend the capability of your store in many of the essential aspects.
First and foremost, Search and Discovery can help you extend your store's ability with filters and predictive search. You can select and add filters like Availability, Price, Product Type, etc.
You can also enable customers to quickly find products based on keywords, and set up predictive search, typo correction, and personalized product recommendations.
This app allows customers to leave reviews on products in your store, which can help increase sales and build trust with potential customers. Strangely, product reviews are not supported out of the box by Shopify, which makes this a very important app esp. if you are looking to receive feedback from your customers.
The app also provides tools to help you manage and respond to reviews, giving you options to reply (which is a great idea to build engagement) and unpublish (very useful in case of spam or abuse)
Rather than rely on third party live chat apps, you can make use of Shopify Inbox to chat with your customers while they shop, offer discounts, and automate replies and FAQs to save time.
While chatting, you can use customer information such as their browsing history, cart contents, and past orders to personalize your messages and even offer discounts or product recommendations.
Advanced Cash on Delivery (India only)
This is an app designed for Indian Shopify store owners who want to offer cash on delivery (COD) as a payment option to their customers. This is currently available for INDIAN MERCHANTS only and provides advanced features such as customizing COD fees based on the order value, pincode, and product weight.
Remember if you do use advanced COD, the default COD payment method gets overridden. So, make sure to install the app only if you plan to charge a fee for cash on delivery.
The Sales Channel Apps
Apart from the core apps on the store, expanding your sales channels will help you reach more of your audience. Here are some apps that you can use to increase your presence on popular social channels:
Google
This is a sales channel app that allows you to list your products on Google Shopping, making it easier for potential customers to find and purchase your products on Google.
You can list products for free on Google Search and YouTube, and use Performance Max campaigns to further expand your reach. You can also use Buy on Google for eligible merchants to drive conversions.
Facebook and Instagram
Grow your business on Facebook and Instagram while managing orders, returns and more in Shopify.
Automatically sync your eligible Shopify products to your Facebook and Instagram shop, so you can sell from one inventory while easily creating ads and shoppable posts right where your customers are.
Pinterest may not be the first sales channel to come to your mind, but it is indeed a great place to get your product out there. The Pinterest app allows you to reach 445 million potential customers, who use Pinterest for ideas and shopping.
By connecting your Pinterest account and installing the app, you can publish Product Pins quickly, update your product catalogue daily, and track performance with the Pinterest Tag.
The Hidden Gems
Apart from the regular apps for functionality and sales channels, Shopify features some amazing hidden gems that allow you to expand your functions, including creating your own newsletter to operating a standalone custom-developed website (built on Remix JS). So, without further adieu, let's dig in deeper.
For Email Marketing
Build your very own newsletter in Shopify, featuring your products using Shopify Email app. This app provides an easy-to-use email marketing solution allowing you to customize email templates and automate campaigns.
For Digital Products
Yes, you read that right. Shopify allows you to offer digital products for download on your store, such as ebooks, music, and software. You can transform your store into a digital marketplace like Gumroad and sell your digital goods right from Shopify.
You can manage and track digital orders, tie them with physical goods and also automate the delivery of content upon receiving orders.
For your Social Bio
Linkpop allows you to turn your social bio into a social storefront. With Linkpop, you can curate content, analyze traffic, and sell products through one shareable link. You no longer need to rely on linktree or other third party apps.
Build your social bio using Linkpop and feature products along with videos, podcasts, or playlists right on your page.
For the developer in you
Did you know you could operate Shopify as a headless commerce application? With the Headless app you can. Headless gives you access to the Storefront API, that you can use to connect to your preferred tools, frameworks, and languages. This can provide greater flexibility and customization options for your online store.
Not only does Shopify offer you access to Storefront APIs using Headless, but they also go a step further by offering Hydrogen, a React-based headless commerce stack that is optimized for performance and built on the open-source Remix framework.
With starter templates, pre-built components, and utilities mapped to Shopify APIs, Hydrogen can fast-track storefront development. You can build efficiently using in-IDE linting, TypeScript, and IntelliSense support, and deploy at no cost on Oxygen, Shopify's global hosting solution. Alternatively, you do have the choice to host anywhere you want.
In Closing
Shopify provides a vast array of free apps that can enhance the functionality and reach of your eCommerce store. From essential apps that help you manage your store and improve customer experience to hidden gems that enable you to sell digital products and operate a standalone custom-developed website, Shopify has something for every type of online business.
By taking advantage of these apps, you can make the most of your Shopify store and build a successful online business. I would love to hear your thoughts on the which one of the 12 apps shared in this article that you found most useful.
Share your thoughts in the comments below.