7 questions to ask a Shopify app developer

An App Store listing tells you what an app does. It rarely tells you what the app does to your theme, your page speed, your data or your invoice, or who picks up when something breaks. The developer knows all of that, and most will tell you if you ask before you install. Here are seven questions to send any Shopify app developer, each with what Shopify's own documentation says, what a useful answer sounds like, and how we answer it for our apps.

1. Will it work with my theme?

Shopify's configuration guide for theme app extensions separates two kinds of storefront pieces. App blocks need a theme with JSON templates, and sections that render blocks of type @app. App embed blocks "are supported in vintage and in Online Store 2.0 themes," because they do not depend on sections or JSON templates. An app built on blocks therefore behaves differently in an older theme than in Dawn or another Online Store 2.0 theme.

Ask: Does the app use app blocks, app embeds or both? Which themes and cart drawers have you tested? Does anything need to be pasted into theme code?

A useful answer names the extension types, says what happens on a vintage theme, and offers to look at a page from your store before you commit.

Our answer: our apps are built for Online Store 2.0 themes, cart drawers and page builders, and the cart drawers and page builders guide lists what we support and the known limits. Send us your theme and a link, and we will check the page.

2. What does it cost my page speed?

Shopify's Built for Shopify requirement 2.2.1 reads: "Your app must not reduce the storefront Lighthouse performance score by more than ten points." The theme app extension guide adds suggested limits for files referenced by an extension's schema: 10 KB of compressed JavaScript and 100 KB of compressed CSS, plus an enforced limit of 100 KB of Liquid across all files. The JavaScript and CSS figures are suggestions, not rules, so an app can exceed them and still be listed.

Ask: How large is each script, compressed, and on which pages does it load? Does anything load on pages where the app shows nothing? Do you measure this on every release?

A useful answer gives numbers per file and per page type, not "it's lightweight." Then test it yourself: how to test a promotion app's site speed walks through a before-and-after run.

Our answer: every storefront script has a size budget that our build checks on each change, and we can tell you which files load on which pages of your store.

3. What is left behind when I uninstall?

Shopify's UX guidance for theme app extensions says that on uninstall, "blocks associated with the apps are automatically and entirely removed from online store themes." Built for Shopify requirement 3.2.1 is titled "Provide a clean uninstallation process" and points developers to theme app extensions for that reason. Neither page covers what else an app may have created in your store, such as discounts, products, tags or metafields.

Ask: Besides theme blocks, what does the app create in my store, and what happens to each of those when I uninstall? Is anything left in my theme files?

A useful answer is a written list. If the developer cannot produce one, test the uninstall on a development store first.

Our answer: our storefront pieces are theme app extensions, so their blocks go with the app. Uninstalling cancels the subscription and billing stops; your settings are kept in case you reinstall, and a reinstall does not restart the trial.

4. What data do you keep, and for how long?

Shopify requires every app to handle three mandatory compliance webhooks: customers/data_request (a request to view stored customer data), customers/redact (a request to delete it) and shop/redact (a request to delete a store's data). Shopify sends shop/redact 48 hours after a store owner uninstalls the app, and the developer must complete each request within 30 days of receiving it, unless the law requires keeping the data.

Ask: Which customer data does the app store, and why? How long is it kept? What happens to my store's data after I uninstall?

A useful answer names the data, the retention period and the deletion path, and links to a privacy policy that says the same thing.

Our answer: Shopify's data deletion requests are handled for you, and our privacy policy describes what we store and how long we keep it.

5. Is billing through Shopify?

Shopify's App Store requirements say apps must "Bill through the Shopify Billing API or Shopify App Pricing," that apps using off-platform billing "cannot be distributed through the Shopify App store," and that merchants must be able to upgrade and downgrade "without having to contact your support team."

Ask: Is the price flat, or does it grow with orders or revenue? What counts toward any usage charge? What happens at the end of the trial, and can I see the full charge before I approve it?

A useful answer puts the same numbers on the developer's site, the App Store listing and the approval screen in your admin.

Our answer: charges appear on your Shopify invoice every 30 days, in USD, at a flat monthly price with no per-order fees. The pricing page lists every plan.

6. What happens on a development store?

A development store is where you can try an app without touching your live store, including its billing flow. Shopify's appSubscriptionCreate mutation, which apps use to create a subscription, has a test argument described as "Whether the app subscription is a test transaction."

Ask: Can I install on a development store, and will I be charged there? Are any features turned off on development stores?

A useful answer is a plain yes or no for each, so you can rehearse setup, theme checks and the uninstall before going live.

Our answer: test charges are free on Shopify development stores, so you can run the whole setup there first.

7. How do I reach a human?

Shopify's Help Center says "Shopify only provides support for apps made by Shopify." For a third-party app, the developer handles errors, feature questions, theme code additions and charge disputes. A request sent from the admin goes to the developer, and Shopify follows up with the merchant after 3 days. Shopify app support models, compared describes how different vendors staff that support.

Ask: Who answers when I write, a person or an assistant? Can that person fix the problem, or will they pass it on? What happens when I write outside your hours?

A useful answer describes the path from your first message to the person who can change the code.

Our answer: the developer who builds the apps answers the chat. No bot, no transfers, no hold. We ask for your email first so that when we are away, the reply reaches you by email. The details are in why a real developer answers our chat.

FAQ

Can I test an app before installing it on my live store? Yes, on a development store. Ask the developer whether charges apply there; ours are free test charges.

Does uninstalling an app remove everything it added? Theme app extension blocks are removed automatically, according to Shopify. Other things an app created can remain, so ask the developer for a list.

How long can an app keep my store's data after I uninstall? Shopify sends the shop/redact request 48 hours after you uninstall, and the developer must complete it within 30 days unless the law requires keeping the data.

Ask us right now

You have the list. Try it on us: open the chat, leave your email, and ask any of the seven. The person who answers wrote the code, so you get the specific answer, not a link to an article. Plans are on the pricing page, the mini apps hub shows each app, and the Help Center has the setup guides.