What is a Shopify app?
An app adds something Shopify does not do out of the box: product reviews, email marketing, subscriptions, SEO tools, recipe pages, a table of contents for your blog. Apps install from the Shopify App Store, ask for permission to access parts of your store, and are billed through your Shopify invoice.
Most apps work in one or both of two places:
- In your Shopify admin, where you set things up and see data.
- On your storefront, usually as a theme app block (a section you add in the theme editor) or an app embed (a switch in theme settings).
Which apps does a new Shopify store need?
Fewer than the App Store suggests. Shopify already covers products, checkout, payments, discounts, basic SEO fields and a blog. Add apps for real gaps:
- Product reviews. Social proof on product pages, and the source of star ratings in search results.
- Email marketing. Shopify Email covers the basics; a dedicated app helps once you run automations and segments.
- Shipping and fulfilment. Labels, tracking pages, or connections to a warehouse or dropshipping supplier.
- SEO and structured data. Rich snippets, sitemaps, and making your store readable for AI assistants. See our guide to rich snippets for Shopify.
- Legal and compliance. Cookie consent if you use tracking, and EU requirements if you sell into the EU.
Which apps help if your store runs on content?
If your blog, recipes or guides bring in customers, the default Shopify blog runs out quickly. Useful additions:
- Recipe pages with recipe schema and ingredients linked to products.
- Navigation for long posts: a table of contents and an estimated read time.
- Filters and search for the blog, once you have more than a few dozen posts.
- An llms.txt file so AI assistants can read what your store sells.
We build apps for exactly these jobs; you can see them all on our apps page. Here is the one most content stores start with:
Which email automation tools work with Shopify?
Shopify Email, Shopify’s own app, covers newsletters and basic automations such as welcome and abandoned-checkout emails. A dedicated email automation tool from the App Store makes sense once you need more:
- Flows beyond the basics: browse abandonment, post-purchase series and win-back emails for customers who stopped buying.
- Segments built from order history, products viewed or location.
- SMS alongside email, if your customers want it.
- Reports per flow, so you can see which emails actually bring in orders.
Before you choose, check that the tool syncs customers and orders with Shopify automatically, respects your customers’ email marketing consent, and prices by contacts or sent emails in a way that fits your list.
Which apps add a secure client portal or document sharing?
Shopify customer accounts show orders and addresses, but not files. If you sell to businesses, wholesale buyers or clients who need documents such as invoices, certificates, spec sheets or contracts, a client portal or document-sharing app adds a protected area to your store. Look for:
- Login through Shopify customer accounts, so customers don’t need a second password.
- Access per customer or customer tag, so each client sees only their own files.
- Where the files are stored, and whether the provider offers a data processing agreement, especially if you sell in the EU.
- Protected download links that need a login or expire, instead of public file URLs.
- An activity log that shows who downloaded what and when.
How do you choose a Shopify app?
Before you click install, check these on the App Store listing:
| Check | What to look for |
|---|---|
| Reviews | Recent reviews, how the developer replies, and complaints that repeat |
| Last updated and launch date | Signs that the app is maintained |
| Built for Shopify badge | Shopify’s quality badge for performance, design and integration |
| Theme integration | Theme app blocks or app embeds rather than direct theme code edits |
| Permissions | Only the data the app plausibly needs |
| Pricing | The price after the trial, usage-based charges, and whether there is a yearly or one-time option |
| Support | How to reach the developer and in which languages |
Then try it on your store during the trial. An app that fits your theme and workflow beats one with more features on paper.
How much do Shopify apps cost?
Prices range from free to several hundred dollars a month. Common models:
- Free, sometimes with a paid upgrade.
- Monthly or yearly plans, usually with a free trial.
- One-time (lifetime) prices, offered by some smaller developers.
- Usage-based charges, for example per order, per email or per AI-generated text.
App charges appear on your Shopify invoice. When you uninstall a subscription app, the charges stop.
How do you install, manage and remove apps?
Install from the app’s listing on the Shopify App Store. Review the permissions, approve, and follow the app’s setup. If it adds something to your storefront, add its block or switch on its embed in the theme editor.
Manage your apps under Settings → Apps and sales channels in the Shopify admin. Theme app blocks and embeds are managed in the theme editor.
Remove an app from the same settings page. Afterwards, preview your storefront and check that nothing is left behind, especially if the app edited theme code directly.