This is a yet-to-be-published article written for Mantle about developing app ideas, and the keys to a successful app.
So you want to build a Shopify app!
That’s a great choice! The Shopify ecosystem is booming—we’re talking $6.5 billion flowing through annually between developers and merchants. There are more than 4.5 million merchants on the platform, and most of them are spending more than ever to improve on their store with complementary apps, presenting a thriving opportunity for developers. The demand for high-quality, innovative apps is growing fast, and with the right concepts and strategies, your app can stand out and grab a solid piece of this ever-growing market.
Ideas Are Important—But That’s Not The Whole Picture
You may have heard that the Shopify app store is oversaturated. It might even feel like everything that could possibly be needed for a store has already been built. But that’s not necessarily true. Yes, if you launch an app that can’t differentiate itself through better features, you will get lost in the noise and ultimately fail to grow.
This may sound intimidating, but it’s not impossible to make your app stand out and grow. There are ways to distinguish your app among other choices and show that it’s worth a merchant’s time and money. First off, marketing matters. Having a clean and professional brand image helps with recognition. Optimizing your product description, title, and keywords in the app store is essential for getting noticed by the right people.
Creating content like blog posts, user guides, and videos is important. These not only help merchants navigate your app, but also drive traffic to your app’s page, which can help boost conversions.
Speaking of merchants, social proof and testimonials from users will be your best friend. Encourage your customers to leave positive reviews, and create case studies to showcase how your app has helped other Shopify stores to grow. Credibility goes a long way!
Beyond marketing, however, it’s important to make your app useful in a unique way. Take upsell and bundle apps, for example—they’re a super saturated category. But that doesn’t mean all of them are doomed. If you can solve a specific pain point better than everyone else, there’s room to break through.
You also want to make it easy for people to discover your app. You can always lower the entry barrier by offering a free trial, or a freemium version so merchants can experience your app without a hard commitment. When they see the benefits, they’ll be more likely to convert to paying customers. Beyond that, ensure your pricing is both transparent and competitive. Don’t leave merchants guessing. If your app has advanced features, explain their value clearly to justify the cost.
The Real Key To A Successful App
More than anything, your app needs to solve a specific problem for your target user. You need to find a gap in the market—or a niche that’s underserved—and fill it. Luckily, you can find that information if you know where to look.
You can talk with people who run e-commerce stores, to learn about their wants and identify their pain points. Shopify community forums are a goldmine for this. Social media platforms like LinkedIn, Reddit, and X are great places to find what merchants are saying. You can even monitor reviews on similar apps to find what they might be lacking.
What you’re looking for is potential customers who are saying “these features are great, but I wish it did this.” On the spectrum of uniqueness, your app doesn’t have to break the mold. It just needs unique features that fill the gaps that trouble merchants. Freelance Shopify developers in particular have a great insight into this. Look at common customer requests that you’ve worked to solve, and turn that into an app.
What Makes A Good App Idea?
We’ve already touched on the basis of a good app, but let’s reinforce it: a good app solves a real problem. The idea has to have a big enough market to support your growth. The best apps are constantly updated based on customer feedback, trends, and changes in the Shopify ecosystem. Make the onboarding process for new users clear and concise, and include resources like FAQs and tutorials.
This also includes optimizing your app’s performance, making sure it’s fast, bug-free, and won’t slow down a merchant’s website. It should be mobile-friendly, since so many merchants manage their store from their phones. And what would customer experience be without customer support! Having highly responsive and knowledgeable support agents can help you stand out amongst the competition.
There are some key questions you can ask yourself when determining whether or not you’ve got a winning idea on your hands, including:
- Am I solving a real problem? What pain points am I solving for Shopify merchants?
- Do I have unique features? What sets my app apart from others that solve the same problem?
- Is it technically feasible? Do I need to hire outside help? Does my app fall within the limitations of Shopify’s API and platform?
- Is there market demand? Have I performed market research, or examined the success of competitor apps?
- What is my monetization strategy? Is my pricing competitive, and can I offer value at every level?
- How will I market my app? Do I have an SEO strategy, social proof to leverage, or partnerships in mind to help promote the app?
- Is my app UX friendly? Can I make it intuitive to use and seamless to integrate with Shopify?
- How will I measure success? What KPIs will I track to monitor the app’s success?
(And hey, Mantle can help with that last one! You’re welcome!)
Should You Be A Single or Multi-App Company?
In the beginning, it’s worth considering whether you want to put all your effort into a single idea, or whether you want to build a suite of apps. If you go with one, the pressure is on to make it really good. But if you go the multi-app route, you’ll want to think about how your apps can complement each other. Cross-selling and creating a seamless ecosystem of apps could give you an edge in the long run.
How To Validate Your Ideas?
Market research is the best way to make sure the idea you’re working with is a good one. Look at your competitors, study their features, and read their user reviews. You can find potential gaps in the market, and learn what merchants value most in an app.
Talk to your target audience. Use surveys, online polls, or one-on-one conversation. Find out if they face the issues you want to solve, and how they would want you to do that. Analyze search trends to see what people are looking for in relation to eCommerce tools.
As a next step, you can put your idea out there through a simple landing page. Explain your app’s core value proposition, and let people to sign up to learn more, or even gain early access. Speaking of which, you can also offer pre-sign ups or beta access for a select number of merchants in exchange for feedback.
Common Pitfalls of Shopify App Ideas
Let’s be real: Not every app is going to hit it big. But you can give yourself a fighting chance by avoiding some common mistakes:
- Not solving a problem: If your app doesn’t fill a real gap, it’s dead in the water before it even starts.
- Skipping market research: If you don’t know your competition and your audience, you’re flying blind.
- Bad UX: If your app is confusing or hard to use, merchants will bail. Keep it simple and intuitive.
- Neglecting customer support: You can’t leave merchants hanging when they need help. Make sure they can reach you fast.
- Overlooking scalability: Make sure your app can handle growing demand—nobody likes an app that crashes when it gets popular.
- Not iterating: You’ve got to keep improving your app. Listen to feedback, fix bugs, and stay on top of trends.
The Shopify ecosystem can be a lucrative platform with the right idea and implementation. There are so many opportunities for growth in such a constantly-expanding market. As the demand for innovative and useful apps grows among Shopify merchants, the key to success is identifying unique problems, creating valuable solutions, and verifying your idea before plunging into app development. With the right approach and execution, your app can have a lasting impact, and reap the benefits from the vast potential of the eCommerce world.