The Shopify apps that are actually useful for a new brand

When you launch a Shopify store, the App Store can be dizzying. Thousands of apps promise more sales, more reviews, more subscribers. The trap is well known: you install fifteen of them, the monthly bill climbs, the website slows down, and nobody really knows which ones are useful. Here is how we sort them, after more than 50 projects delivered on Shopify and WordPress.

Our rule: every app has to earn its place

Before installing anything, we ask three questions. They prevent most mistakes.

• Does it solve a real problem, today? Not a problem you might have in a year. A brand making its first sales doesn’t need a tiered loyalty programme.
• Does Shopify already do it natively? The platform covers more and more needs without an app: automatic discounts, gift cards, search and filters, forms, simple email marketing, automations. Always check first.
• What does it really cost? The subscription, but also the weight it adds to the website, the setup time and how hard it is to uninstall cleanly.

Each app often adds JavaScript to every page. One or two is negligible. Ten, and speed suffers, especially on mobile. And speed weighs on conversion and SEO. Our advice: start light, measure, then add case by case.

The foundation to keep in mind

For a brand that is starting out, the foundation is small: a fast, well-configured theme, a way to collect reviews, an email tool and possibly a split-payment solution. The rest can wait until sales justify it.

Customer reviews

Reviews reassure. For a young brand that nobody knows yet, they are often the first trust lever on a product page. It is also one of the few categories where an app is almost always justified from day one.

What to expect from a good review app:

• automatic review requests sent a few days after delivery;
• the ability to add photos, very useful in fashion, beauty or home decor;
• star ratings shown on product and collection pages;
• structured data markup, so Google can display the rating in its results;
• a lightweight widget that doesn’t slow down the product page.

Solutions such as Judge.me, Loox or Okendo are very common on Shopify. They all offer an entry plan; check their current pricing before choosing. To get started, a simple plan is more than enough. Advanced features (Q&A, ambassador programmes) can come later.

One point of attention: if you import reviews from an old store, keep them genuine and dated. Never buy reviews. It is forbidden, and customers spot it quickly.

Email marketing and automations

Email remains a channel you own. No algorithm between you and your customers. For a brand that is starting out, three automations do most of the work:

• Abandoned cart recovery, sent a few hours after abandonment;
• The welcome sequence for new newsletter subscribers: introduce the brand, its story, its best-selling products;
• The post-purchase email: say thank you, give usage tips, ask for a review.

Shopify Email, the native tool, already lets you send campaigns and set up these basic automations directly from the admin. For a small contact list, it is often enough.

When the list grows and you want to segment finely (repeat customers, average order value, products viewed), a tool such as Klaviyo becomes relevant. It integrates very well with Shopify. But it takes time to use properly. There is no point paying for it while nobody has time to build the flows.

For internal automations, Shopify Flow lets you trigger actions without code: tag a customer, get alerted when stock runs low, flag a risky order. Think of it before installing an app dedicated to a single task.

Upsells and average order value

Increasing average order value is tempting. Upsell apps multiply pop-ups, cascading offers and suggested products. Used well, they help. Used badly, they annoy and drive customers away at the most fragile moment: checkout.

Before any app, look at what Shopify offers natively:

• product recommendations on the product page and in the cart, managed by Shopify’s free Search & Discovery app;
• automatic discounts, for example “buy 2, get the 3rd at 50% off” or a free-shipping threshold;
• complementary products, which you can pick by hand for each product page.

A free-shipping threshold, clearly shown in the cart, remains one of the simplest levers. A small progress bar is enough. It can be coded into the theme, with no subscription.

If you want to go further, test one app at a time and measure its effect over a few weeks. To structure these tests, our conversion rate optimisation work always starts from the store’s real data.

What about split payments?

Offering pay-in-instalments can remove a barrier on high-value baskets. Solutions such as Alma or Klarna integrate with Shopify. They have a per-transaction cost: check that it fits your margins and average order value.

What is better built into the theme

Many features sold as apps can be built directly into the theme. The result is lighter, subscription-free and perfectly integrated with your design.

The most common examples:

• product badges (new, best-seller, limited edition);
• tabs or accordions on the product page (composition, shipping, care);
• the free-shipping bar in the cart;
• colour swatch variant selectors;
• announcement bars and simple countdowns;
• size charts and usage guides.

These developments are done once. They cost nothing each month and don’t disappear if an app vendor shuts down or changes its prices. It is the approach we favour when building a Shopify store: fewer dependencies, a faster website that is easier to maintain.

Conversely, some features deserve a real app: reviews, advanced email marketing, subscriptions, complex loyalty programmes or connections with management software. Recoding them would take a long time and rarely pays off.

Clean up regularly

Every three to six months, review your apps. For each one: is it still used? Does it bring in more than it costs? After uninstalling, check that the code added to the theme has really been removed. Some apps leave files behind and keep slowing the website down. If you are unsure about your overall budget, our page on Shopify website pricing explains what makes a project vary.

Frequently asked questions

How many apps should you install to launch a Shopify store?

As few as possible. To start, a review app and the native email tool are often enough. Then add an app only when a specific need appears that Shopify doesn’t cover natively.

Do Shopify apps slow down the website?

Many add scripts to every page. One or two lightweight apps have little impact. An accumulation can clearly degrade speed, especially on mobile. Test speed before and after each installation.

Should you choose Shopify Email or Klaviyo?

Shopify Email works well at the start: simple campaigns, abandoned cart recovery, welcome emails. Klaviyo becomes worthwhile when the contact list grows and you have time to build finer segments and flows.

Can you replace an app with code in the theme?

Yes, for many display features: badges, tabs, free-shipping bar, size guides. It is lighter and subscription-free. For reviews, email marketing or subscriptions, an app remains more suitable.

How do you remove an app cleanly?

Uninstall it from the Shopify admin, then check the theme code: some snippets sometimes remain. Also check that the subscription has really stopped in the store’s billing.