The Best Shopify Apps For Beginners

Just created a Shopify store? You’re probably wondering what apps to install on it. Well read on, because in this post we highlight some of the very best Shopify apps for beginners — ones that will help you grow an online business quickly.

CedCommerce Amazon Channel

There are lots of advantages to running your own Shopify store, not least the control it gives you over how you manage your business. There is a significant downside to consider however: unlike big online marketplaces like Amazon, your brand new Shopify store is not going to have an existing audience of billions of shoppers looking at it.

That’s where the CedCommerce Amazon Channel app comes in, letting you:

By using this app you effectively get the opportunity to showcase your products in front of Amazon shoppers, and make them discoverable in Amazon’s search engine. All while running your own Shopify store — so a total win-win.

Digital Downloads

The Digital Downloads app is a free tool provided by Shopify that lets you sell digital products on your store. These can include eBooks, photographs, music, video content, software and any other type of content that can be downloaded electronically.

After a customer completes their purchase, the app sends them a download link for their product. This is done automatically upon payment completion, ensuring your customers have instant access to their purchases.

(The option to send download links manually is also available.)

A unique feature of the Digital Downloads app is the option it gives you to mix and match physical and digital goods in a single product listing, making it a great app for anyone hoping to sell both types of product on their store.

DSers

DSers is a popular dropshipping solution that integrates directly with Shopify. The app serves as a bridge between your Shopify store and multiple AliExpress dropshipping suppliers.

DSers lets you import products from AliExpress into your Shopify store with just a few clicks; and once these products are imported, you can adjust their details, including images, descriptions and prices, before listing them on your store.

When a customer places an order on your store, this is then passed on to the relevant AliExpress supplier, who will handle the packaging of the goods and their shipping.

DSers also provides real-time tracking updates, which means you can keep your customers informed about the status of their orders.

Google and YouTube app

The Google and YouTube app for Shopify connects your Shopify store to the vast ecosystem of Google’s online platforms, and lets you get your products in front of the millions of shoppers who use Google every day.

By integrating with the Google Merchant Center, the app automatically syncs your products and relevant information about your Shopify store with Google, helping to maximize your store’s visibility across different Google services. These include Google Search and Google Shopping.

As for YouTube, the integration allows your video ads to appear on YouTube along with other Google platforms. This can significantly increase your brand’s visibility — YouTube is the second most popular social media platform in the world, and can help you reach a wide array of potential customers.

Printful app

The Printful app lets you connect your Shopify store to one of the web’s most popular print-on-demand services.

After installing the Printful app on your Shopify store, you can create your own range of products based on your own custom designs, brand or artwork.

When a customer places an order on your store, Printful automatically receives the order details. The company then prints the design onto the product, packages it up and ships it directly to your customer.

This process enables you to sell a variety of custom products without worrying about inventory management, printing or shipping, and it gives you a great way to expand your product line and operate a business with less overheads.

The app also offers additional features such as branding services (for example, the option to add custom labels and packing slips to your products) and a mockup generator for creating product images for your store. With an intuitive interface and plenty of customization options, the Printful app for Shopify is a versatile tool for new and seasoned eCommerce entrepreneurs alike.

You can learn more about the pros and cons of Printful here, or find out how to use it with Shopify here.

Privy

The Privy app for Shopify is a multifunctional tool designed to help Shopify store owners capture more email addresses, reduce cart abandonment and boost sales via targeted marketing campaigns. It gives you access to:

Shopify Email

The Shopify Email app lets you create, run and track email marketing campaigns directly within Shopify.

It offers a range of customizable email templates that are designed to match your store theme, and you can customize these to suit your needs by adding your logo, text and images.

Shopify Email integrates seamlessly with your Shopify store, making it easy to showcase and link directly to products. It lets you import existing customer lists and use segmentation to target specific groups of customers.

Additionally, it lets you trigger emails based on user behaviour on your store (cart abandonment, specific purchases etc.).

Shopify Inbox

Shopify Inbox is a free messaging app that lets you add a live chat service to your store.

Key features include the ability to provide automated responses to common questions with Shopify chatbots; order lookups; and payment options for customers (all these tasks can be be performed without your customer leaving the app).

You can also share product information and recommendations directly within conversations — which helps to boost sales.

TikTok

The TikTok App for Shopify makes it easy to get your business in front of billions of consumers.

With the app, you can sync your product catalog between Shopify and TikTok; install the TikTok advertising pixel on your store; create videos for TikTok; and run adverts on the platform.

Yotpo Product Reviews and UGC

The Yotpo app for Shopify helps store owners harness the power of user-generated content (UGC) to boost sales and improve brand trust, by enabling them to collect, manage and showcase customer reviews and photos easily.

The app lets your customers submit reviews for products they’ve purchased easily, and they are also given the option to accompany these reviews with photos and star ratings.

This feedback can then be showcased on your product pages, helping to boost credibility and trust among potential customers. Additionally, Yotpo facilitates the automatic sending of review request emails, making the process of collecting reviews easier.

UpPromote Affiliate Marketing

The UpPromote Affiliate Marketing app lets you create and manage an affiliate and referral marketing program for your Shopify store.

The app lets you offer gifts, bonuses and commissions to both existing customers and social media influencers to encourage them to promote your Shopify products to their connections.

Store owners can customize all aspects of their affiliate program to match their brand, including their affiliate registration form and affiliate portal. Additionally, UpPromote works with PayPal ‘auto-pay,’ which lets you create your own payout rules for the affiliate partners you connect with through the app.

We hope you’ve enjoyed this guide to the best Shopify apps for new merchants! Good luck building your store and business, and if you have any queries about Shopify apps — or recommendations of your own — do leave them in the comments section below.