A Few Of Our Favorite Shopify Apps
Quick Summary
A list of Shopify Apps we’ve tried and how they can benefit your online store.
Shopify is our #1 pick when it comes to building an online shop. It’s a secure and easy-to-use platform for online shop owners and it provides several built-in tools needed to run an online store. However, if you want to add a special feature, you will need to find, install and configure a Shopify app that works with your online store.
What are Shopify Apps?
Shopify Apps are plug-ins / add-ons to your website that can add important features and services. There are over 9,000 apps available in the Shopify App Store. Some are free to use and almost all are free to try. Most are also simple to install and maintain (which is one of the reasons why we prefer Shopify over WordPress). These apps will save you time and money (versus custom development) and they are typically well-tested, well-reviewed, and made to work with the themes available on the Shopify platform.
Most apps in the Shopify App Store will provide you with a description of the app (with screenshots), a link to an online demo, support information and a star rating from shops who have used the app. You will also be able to see how many shops / developers have rated the app. We tend to feel most comfortable with apps that have more than 50 reviews and a star rating higher than 3.8 (out of 5).
Since there are so many apps, many of which have similar functionality, it can definitely be time consuming and difficult to decide which apps to use or even know where to start when you want to enhance your online store.
To help you, we’re going to go over a few of our favorite Shopify apps for you. We promise to keep this list evergreen, so we will update this page if we like a new app or encounter something negative about one of our favorites.
Below is a list of add-on features we are making app recommendations for:
Shopify App For Displaying Your Instagram Feed
Recommendation: Instafeed
This app lets you add your Instagram feed to any page of your website. We typically add it above the footer on a homepage (but we sometimes have it as a ‘superfooter’ so that it’s visible on all pages).
Pros:
It’s free (there is an option to upgrade for more features).
It’s simple to set up, connect your account and configure.
It’s simple to add the feed to sections of your site (either manually with a simple code addition or via the sections option).
It adapts well on desktop and mobile.
Cons:
As with any feed-driven app, there is the possibility that you will need to re-authenticate periodically. Unfortunately, there isn’t a way to get notified that the feed stopped syncing, you just need to check your site on a regular basis to confirm that the feed is getting updated. The good news about this, however, is that they cache your feed (so it will never be fully blank).
The free version is basic in its offering (for example, no hashtag filter), but it does the basics very well.
Pricing: Free option works very well for most needs
Compare with: Covet Pics or Instagram Feed & Slider Pro
Shopify App For Facebook / Instagram Shops
Recommendation: Facebook Channel
Lets you add your Shopify catalog to Facebook and Instagram. Also, if you agree to all the conditions, it can add a shop button to your profile and lets you tag your products in posts.
Pros:
It’s free!
All changes to your Shopify products are automatically synced to your Facebook and Instagram catalogues
It allows you to tag your products from Facebook and Instagram...removing a step in the purchase process (especially with Instagram)
Cons:
Has been known to produce a number of red flags, especially if you aren’t setting up the app as both the owner of the Shopify store and the owner (not just the admin!) of the Facebook account. Related issue: If you haven’t connected your shop to your domain when you set this up, then your feed URL will be incorrect.
Facebook’s bots can misinterpret images and text, temporarily blocking products until you request a review
Your website has to be live / not password protected in order to get verified
Can take time for the Instagram part to verify you
For all of the features, you need to follow Meta’s ever changing rules (checkout on the Meta site, fulfill orders within a certain period of time, etc).
Pricing: Free
Related: Apps to add other sales channels, including the Google Channel and the Pinterest Channel.
Shopify App For Product Reviews
Recommendation: Judge.me Product Reviews
A great way to add reviews to your shop and, even better, the free version is amazing! If you are migrating from another platform and you can easily import your current reviews too.
Pros:
The free version provides several features, including automated review requests, reviews that allow for photos/videos, and different views of your reviews.
It’s SEO friendly.
The developers quickly respond to issues mentioned in the app’s reviews.
Cons:
The free version includes Judge.me branding and doesn’t allow you to edit email templates, create custom forms, or share data with Meta/Google…but the paid version is just $15/month (which is a very low cost given the benefits).
Pricing: Free
Compare with: Loox and Stamped Product Reviews & UGC
Shopify App For Back In Stock Notifications
Recommendation: Back in Stock
You know when you want to buy a product and it’s not in stock. Ugh, how frustrating! When is it going to be back? I love when you can click a button and you get emailed when the item is back in stock! Then you don’t have to always go back and check if it’s ready to be purchased. This app can be installed in your store and it will automatically add an ‘email me’ button on your product page when the stock of that item is equal to zero. Then, once you have added inventory above your set threshold, it will automatically email everyone who signed up to be notified that the item is back in stock (with a direct link to the product so that your customers have one-click access to the product and can easily buy).
Pros:
Buttons are customizable to say what you want (ie ‘Email Me When Available’ or ‘Let me know!’)
It’s automatic, so you don’t have to do anything to make it work except for updating inventory when items are available again. Once you set it up, you don’t have to think about it anymore.
Helps with stocking items. You can see how many people want the item so you can stock it accordingly. Upgraded version allows customer to select the quantity they are seeking (so they only get notified once that quantity is available in your store).
Customer service is great. If you have a problem, they are quick to respond.
You can brand the email with colors and fonts to make it match your website and branding
Upgrade allows you to remove the Back in Stock branding
You can upgrade / downgrade your plan at any time
Cons:
If you are frequently out of stock, then the monthly cost of this service will increase. However, it really is a great service for you and your customers. Plus, the amount of money you get back from people being notified and coming back to your site to purchase should make it worth it.
If you have a lot of custom coding for your theme, you may need to add a bit more for this. We only had to do this once and it was a minor edit…most of the time this app works perfectly right after installation/configuration.
Pricing: Free for 5 emails / month then $19/month for up to 100 emails / month.
Compare with: Back In Stock - Restock Alerts
Shopify App For Product Options / Variants
Recommendation: Bold Product Options
If your store needs several variants or wants a solid user experience when it comes to product customizations, then you should try out Bold Product Options. With Shopify limiting the number of options to 3 (think size, color, pattern) and variants to 100 (think s-m-l-xl or white, beige, yellow, etc) allowed and with most themes not allowing for an optimal user experience for customized products (you need to be comfortable with editing code to make the simplest of additions, like adding a memo or customization form entry), a solid solution like this is like striking gold. With it, you can add any, and as many, product options / custom fields to your product page and, in all the cases we’ve seen, the shopping experience is greatly improved.
Pros:
Allows you to create features otherwise not possible, like file uploads
Great customer service
Cons:
It’s not cheap
May take time to setup your products…but it’s worth it!
Pricing: Free trial, then pricing starts at $19.99 per month. The $49.99 per month option includes image and color swatches as well as adjustable prices, conditional logic, and editing of options while in the cart.
Compare with: Infinite Options
Shopify App For Forms
Recommendation: Hulk Form Builder
Perfect for when you want to add custom forms to your website to ask your customers more information. This is great for a wholesale sign up form, custom order form, or anytime you want more information than just their name and message! If your theme doesn’t allow for custom forms and if you don’t want to use a free service like Google Forms, then this is an excellent option.
Pros:
Free version includes unlimited forms and several features (like conditional logic and user uploads)
Integrates easily with modern themes (those with sections)
If you need the extra features (like custom sending domains and scheduling), the paid versions are reasonably priced
Cons:
The free version includes a prominent badge (Shopify Forms Powered by HulkApps)
Pricing: Free version includes several features
Compare with: Formful – Contact Form Builder
Shopify App For Accessibility
Recommendation: USERWAY.ORG
If you want to strengthen the accessibility of your website, install this widget
Pros:
Free version adds a number of accessibility features
Improving accessibility helps a large number of people…and Google likes it too
Cons:
It’s not available on the Shopify App Store, so you need to set up your account and add code directly to your theme
It can be visually distracting
It hovers and covers a small part of your page at all times
Pricing: Free version does quite a bit; full compliance versions are based on monthly page views and is pricey.
Compare with: Accessibly
Shopify App For Subscriptions
Recommendation: Bold Subscriptions
If you want to offer subscriptions or recurring payments on your Shopify store, we love the Bold Subscriptions app. Their technology is used in other e-commerce platforms (including Big Commerce) and, since version 2, integrates very well with Shopify (they used to require a separate checkout cart which caused a number of user experience issues...but that’s not the case since version 2).
What it does: It lets you charge a customer at a set interval and charges their card on a recurring basis. This is great if you want to offer a subscription product to your shop.
Pros:
You are able to customize the look and feel of the subscription widget to fit the style of your shop (this does require some knowledge of CSS and Liquid code)
It is easy to install (Bold will even do it for you)
Customer service is amazing (they get back to you quickly and things are fixed correctly)
The app interface on the back end is easy to use
Cons:
The product has been around for a while, but they recently upgraded it. The new version no longer allows you to offer gift subscriptions.
At $50 per month + 1% of subscription fees, this app is a bit pricey. But considering it is helping you to have clients “locked in” with a subscription, it is worth it!
Pricing: $50 per month + 1% of subscription fees
Compare with: Seal Subscriptions
Shopify App For Order Tagging
Recommendation: Order Tagger
If you have complicated tagging needs, like for multiple fulfillment centers or for faster organization of orders, then this app will save you a lot of time and frustration.
Pros:
7-day free trial
Works with a large number of conditions / workflows
Strong rating from 150+ stores
Customer service is amazing! We once had an issue with a tag not being applied and they quickly looked into it and provided a solution. If it helps, the issue was a bit complex as it involved a parameter that wasn’t in the order when we were running the tag but would be there a few seconds after the order was created (so they recommended adding a 1 minute delay to when their app applied their tags…and that worked perfectly).
Cons:
Creating an algorithm that works for all your needs can be complicated. For a more complex setup (subscriptions, multiple fulfillment centers, etc), you need to understand the full customer, app, and fulfillment flow in order to get it perfect.
It costs extra to add tags to past orders.
Pricing: Starts at $15/month
Compare with: Order Automator
Shopify App For Creating Bundles
Recommendation: Simple Bundles And Kits
Offer things like bundles, mix and match items, volume discounts and more with this app!
Pros:
Be able to offer bundles and increase your average order value!
Easy to install and set-up, with helpful videos and instructions
Helpful customer service if you need them
Cons:
It can take a little bit of thought to figure out which of your items you are going to bundle and how to do it, however, once you set one bundle up, it is easy to set up more!
Pricing: Free for up to 3 bundles, then $24-$49/month depending on your Shopify tier.
Compare with: Shopify Bundles and Fast Bundles
Please let us know if we missed something you are looking for or if you can you recommend an app we didn’t list!
