How to Choose the Best Shopify Apps?

As an e-commerce business, you may need to optimize your store for various features, capabilities, and functionalities.
While you could customize the e-commerce platform for all these capabilities, it is often expensive and time-consuming.
Shopify resolves all these challenges with a single strategy— the Shopify app marketplace.
With thousands of ready-to-install applications developed specifically for the platform, Shopify allows you to integrate every functionality you need for the store.
However, one question remains—how do you choose the best Shopify apps for your store, as there are countless similar apps?
In this blog post, we discuss the answer to this question.
Let’s begin.

What Are Essential Shopify Apps?

Here are some of the must-have Shopify apps available in the Shopify app store that you need to use in your e-commerce store for better performance, speed, and user experience.

• Marketing and SEO apps, such as Plug in SEO, SEO King, etc
• Speed and performance apps, such as Tiny SEO Speed Image Optimizer
• Sales growth apps, such as Vitals: Reviews, Bundles, AI, Hextom, etc
• Personalized recommendations for visitors
• Analytics apps, like BR ‑ Better Reports, Polar Analytics, etc

These tools can help you improve your store’s performance right from the beginning. But you need to work with a website optimization agency, like OptiWeb Marketing, to install and optimize these tools to drive the best results.

How to Choose the Best Must-Have Shopify Apps

There are several strategies to use to find the essential Shopify apps that can help your store perform better. These apps will also improve your user experience.
Here are a few actionable strategies that we use as a Shopify agency in Montreal for our clients.

Understand what your business needs

This is the first thing you need to do before even looking for essential Shopify apps.
Define your business goals, such as increasing the speed, providing payment security, increasing organic traffic, etc. Once you understand this, you can then list the apps that your store needs.
This will allow you to pick the apps that you absolutely need.

Prioritize the features you need

After deciding the types of apps you need for your store, it’s time to finalize the features you need.
For example, if you are looking for an email marketing app, you may want features like AI email-subject generation, drag-and-drop, custom templates, etc. Hence, you need to look for email marketing apps that offer these features.
This will allow you to get apps that have the features your business needs.

Check the app’s security features

Protecting your business and customer data from hackers is vital. According to Statista, online fraud accounted for a loss of US$44 billion in 2024. Hence, you need to choose apps that provide highly advanced security features.
This will also help you improve your customers’ trust and encourage them to buy from you as they know their details are safe with you.
Apart from this, online security compliances have also become statutory requirements for businesses.

Check if the app is scalable as you grow

Everything you do in your Shopify business is to ensure it grows. Hence, the apps you use on the store must also support it.
Therefore, look for scalable apps to meet your business’s growing demands. Scalable apps are vital for your business since it would be difficult to migrate business and customer data from one app to another.
While the migration process is possible, you may need to hire a Shopify web development company to implement it.

Read reviews and user feedback

The best way to understand whether a Shopify app lives up to expectations is to check its reviews.
The Shopify apps store publishes user reviews on the app’s page, which provides extensive information about the user’s experience. Other review platforms, such as G2, Capterra, Trustpilot, etc., also offer more detailed and comprehensive reviews.
These reviews will give you real-life examples of the app’s benefits and challenges, making it easier for you to decide whether to buy it. They can also help you find expert-recommended Shopify apps based on overall ratings.

Check the pricing strategy for the app

While the store offers free apps, paid apps are also available with many more features, advanced capabilities, and better data security.
Hence, always check the app’s pricing. You can also filter the apps on the Shopify app marketplace based on app pricing. Many apps offer subscription-based pricing, while others are available for a one-time price or charge as you use. Decide which option is best for your business and pick one.
If you have doubts about it, you can consult a Shopify expert in Montreal, like OptiWeb Marketing.

Why Use Shopify Apps?

There are several benefits to using Shopify apps, and here are a few:

1. You can add features not included in Shopify by default, such as countdown timers, product bundles, or wishlists.
2. Shopify apps allow you to customize your store with better content, images, videos, etc., for better user engagement.
3. You can streamline operations, such as inventory tracking, order fulfillment, shipping, and more, to save time and reduce manual tasks.
4. Analytical apps allow you to understand how your store performs based on data and data-driven insights.
5. Improve customer experience on your site with features such as live chat, personalized recommendations, and easy returns.

Hire a Shopify Web Development Company to Help

As an online store that wants to grow, you can use the strategies we have discussed above and pick Shopify apps to improve your store’s performance. Even then, you may need the help of a web marketing services agency to install and set it up for you. That’s why it is vital to work with a Shopify optimization agency to help you.
OptiWeb Marketing has been at the forefront of helping our clients with Shopify website development and optimization for years. Our team understands the platform well and how to integrate robust apps to make it even better for you and your users. Over the years, we have worked with clients from diverse industries looking to leverage the platform for increased conversions and revenue. And we can help you do that, as well.
If you wish to know more about our service offerings, book a free consulting call with a Shopify expert in Montreal.