Table of Contents
- Why Most App Recommendation Lists Don't Help
- How to Choose the Right Shopify Apps for Your Store
- What Actually Drives Your Ecommerce Profit
- How to Identify Your Biggest Bottleneck Right Now
- What You Need to Know About Shopify's App Ecosystem in 2025
- What "Built for Shopify" Really Means (And Why You Should Care)
- How to Organize Your Shopify Apps by Function
- Must-Have Apps for Every Shopify Store
- Best Shopify Review Apps to Build Customer Trust
- Judge.me Product Reviews
- Loox - Visual Product Reviews
- Okendo - Reviews & Loyalty
- Best Email and SMS Apps for Shopify
- Shopify Email
- Klaviyo Email & SMS
- Postscript SMS Marketing
- Best Shopify Apps for A/B Testing and Conversion Optimization
- Shoplift - A/B & Split Testing
- How to Speed Up Your Shopify Store Without Slowing Down Sales
- Best Shopify Apps for Specific Business Needs
- Best Dropshipping and Print-on-Demand Apps for Shopify
- DSers - AliExpress Dropshipping
- AutoDS - AI Dropshipping & POD
- Printify - Print on Demand
- Best Shopify Apps for Bundles and Upsells
- Koala Bundles - Volume Discounts
- Best Shopify Channel Apps for Social Media Marketing
- TikTok, Facebook & Instagram, Google & YouTube
- EcommSend Pop Ups & Email Popups
- How to Turn Instagram and TikTok Followers Into Shopify Customers
- The Problem Social Commerce Solves
- LinkShop - Link in Bio Shop
- Best Shopify Subscription Apps
- Recharge Subscriptions
- Loyalty and Referral Programs
- Best Shopify Apps for Inventory Management
- Ablestar Bulk Product Editor
- Best Shopify Apps for Customer Service
- Best Shopify Mobile App Builder
- Tapcart - Mobile App Builder
- Real Shopify App Stacks You Can Copy
- Stack 1: "I Just Launched and Want My First Consistent Sales"
- Stack 2: "Content-First Brand with Heavy Social Traffic"
- Stack 3: "Scaling DTC Brand in Mid-Six to Seven Figures"
- How to Install Shopify Apps Without Breaking Your Store
- How to Test New Shopify Apps
- How to Monitor App Performance Impact
- Why App Data Access Matters
- What to Know Before Installing Any Shopify App
- What Conversion Rates Should You Expect?
- Common Questions About Shopify Apps
- What are the most essential Shopify apps every store should have?
- How many Shopify apps should I install?
- Do Shopify apps slow down my store?
- What's the difference between free and paid Shopify apps?
- Can I use multiple apps for the same purpose?
- Are Built for Shopify apps actually better?
- How do I know if an app is worth the cost?
- What apps do I need for a social-first Shopify store?
- Should I use Shopify's built-in features or third-party apps?
- What's the best way to organize my Shopify app stack?
- Final Thoughts: Build Your Stack Like an Operator
Do not index
Do not index
When you're searching for the best Shopify apps, you're probably not asking "what are all the tools I could possibly install?"
You're actually asking something way more specific: "Which apps will genuinely move my revenue without destroying my site speed or turning my tech stack into an unmanageable mess?"
That's exactly what we're covering in this guide.
We won't dump a random list of 100 apps on you. Instead, we'll show you how to think strategically about your Shopify stack, map specific business problems to the right solutions, and build a lean, high-impact setup that actually works.
You'll walk away with concrete app recommendations (all current for 2025), example stacks you can copy, and a clear framework for choosing tools that make sense for your specific stage and needs.
All prices and stats are based on publicly available data as of December 2025. Always verify current pricing on the Shopify App Store before installing.
Why Most App Recommendation Lists Don't Help
Here's the truth about most app recommendation content out there.
They typically fail in three predictable ways:
→ They mix beginner and enterprise tools with zero context.
You'll see a 500/month, with no guidance on which makes sense for your stage.
→ They're basically affiliate link farms.
The "best" apps mysteriously align with whoever has the best commission structure, not what actually works.
→ They completely ignore tradeoffs.
No discussion of performance impact, data access concerns, or the hidden complexity cost of adding yet another integration to your stack.
This guide takes a different approach. We'll talk about tradeoffs, acknowledge where tools compete, and give you the context you need to make smart decisions for your business.
How to Choose the Right Shopify Apps for Your Store
Before we get into specific tools, you need a mental model that works.
What Actually Drives Your Ecommerce Profit
Every ecommerce business fundamentally lives or dies on five numbers:
1. Traffic (how many qualified visitors you get)
2. Conversion rate (what percentage actually buy)
3. Average order value (how much a typical order is worth)
4. Lifetime value (total customer spend over time)
5. Operating margin (what's left after costs)
Your profit formula basically looks like this:
Profit ≈ Traffic × Conversion Rate × AOV × LTV − (Apps + Ads + Operations)
Apps are only "best" when they meaningfully improve one or more of those multipliers and the improvement exceeds three costs:
- The subscription fee (obvious)
- The performance cost (page speed impact)
- The complexity cost (time, bugs, maintenance)
So the real question isn't "is this app good?" It's "which lever is currently my weakest link, and does this specific app move that number enough to justify the added weight?"
If you're focused on social traffic as a key growth lever, LinkShop can directly impact your conversion rate by turning social visitors into buyers more efficiently.
How to Identify Your Biggest Bottleneck Right Now
This is critical and most merchants get it backwards.
If your conversion rate is 0.3%, you don't need fancy A/B testing software yet. You need to fix fundamental trust and UX issues.
If you're getting 500 sessions per month, you don't need a complex SMS automation platform. You need more traffic.
If people are adding to cart but not completing checkout, you probably need better social proof and trust signals, not more acquisition channels.
Use your analytics to identify your current weakest link. Then install apps specifically for that bottleneck. Everything else is noise.
What You Need to Know About Shopify's App Ecosystem in 2025
A few facts help explain why "best apps" lists feel so overwhelming.
The Shopify App Store now has roughly twelve thousand apps, more than triple the count from 2021. (Shopify added over 3,200 new apps in 2024 alone, with marketing and conversion being the single largest category at over three thousand apps.)
Most merchants already run multiple apps beyond their theme and Shopify's built-in features. (The average store uses apps in the mid-single digits, which means you need to be selective about what makes the cut.)
That's a lot of noise. The opportunity is to use a framework, not FOMO, to filter it.
What "Built for Shopify" Really Means (And Why You Should Care)
Before we get into specific recommendations, you need to understand Shopify's quality badge.
The Built for Shopify (BFS) certification isn't just marketing fluff. Apps need to hit specific benchmarks to earn it:
- Performance requirements (admin load speed, app proxy response times, script weight limits)
- UX standards (typically Polaris design system or comparable quality)
- Modern integration patterns (proper OAuth flows, current API versions)
Why does this matter to you?
Shopify's own data shows apps that earn the BFS badge see roughly 49% more installs in the following two weeks compared to before certification. (This signals that merchants trust it as a quality filter, which creates a virtuous cycle of better apps getting more traction.)
When choosing between two similar tools, if one is BFS and the other isn't, the BFS option is usually the safer bet unless there's a very specific feature gap you need to fill.
How to Organize Your Shopify Apps by Function
Instead of thinking in terms of "apps", organize your stack around jobs:
Foundation
→ Reviews and social proof
→ Email and SMS list building
→ Basic analytics
Conversion & AOV
→ On-site offers, bundles, upsells
→ Speed and UX optimization
Acquisition
→ Paid ads and social channels
→ SEO and content
→ Influencer and affiliate programs
Retention
→ Subscriptions
→ Loyalty and referral programs
Operations
→ Product and inventory management
→ Shipping and customer support
Social Commerce Entry Point
→ Turning social bios into actual sales channels
When you're clear on which job you're hiring software for, it becomes way easier to ignore everything else.
Must-Have Apps for Every Shopify Store
Let's tackle the essentials. For each category, we'll cover:
- Why this job matters
- Primary picks worth considering
- Strong alternatives for different needs
You absolutely don't need all of these at once. Think in terms of a minimum viable stack for your current stage.
Best Shopify Review Apps to Build Customer Trust
Why this matters:
About 91% of consumers read at least one review before making a purchase decision. (Some research shows over 70% won't buy at all until they've seen reviews.)
Shopify officially retired its free Product Reviews app in 2024, which means you need a third-party solution now. This isn't optional anymore.
Judge.me Product Reviews
Best for: Most stores that want powerful reviews without breaking the budget
Judge.me emerged as the default choice for good reasons:
- Massive adoption with near-perfect ratings (one of the most-reviewed apps in the ecosystem)
- Strong free tier, affordable paid plans for advanced features
- BFS certified, meaning it cleared Shopify's performance bar
- Covers all the basics: photo/video reviews, post-purchase requests, product page widgets, integrations with Klaviyo and Omnisend
If you're building your first serious review strategy and need something reliable that won't eat your budget, Judge.me is typically the smart starting point. It also integrates seamlessly with LinkShop to display social proof directly on your link-in-bio storefront.
Feature | Judge.me | Typical Generic Solution |
Price | Free tier available | Often paid-only |
Photo Reviews | Yes | Limited |
Video Reviews | Yes (paid) | Rare |
Email Integration | Native | Manual |
BFS Certified | Yes | Often no |
Loox - Visual Product Reviews
Best for: Design-conscious brands that rely heavily on UGC
Loox takes a different angle by focusing intensely on visual reviews.
It wraps photo and video reviews in beautiful on-site widgets, adds referral features, and includes social proof upsells. (Used by over 100,000 brands and frequently recommended in 2025 conversion optimization guides.)
Pricing starts around $13/month for smaller stores, scaling up for video reviews, referrals, and AI features.
Choose Loox when:
- Your products are highly visual (fashion, home decor, beauty)
- You depend heavily on social traffic and UGC
- You want slick, on-brand widgets without custom development
Okendo - Reviews & Loyalty
Best for: Scaling DTC brands consolidating reviews, loyalty, and surveys
Okendo bundles reviews, loyalty programs, surveys, and referrals into one platform. (Plans start around $19/month for Essentials, scaling with order volume.)
Consider Okendo when you're at meaningful scale (thousands of orders), want loyalty tightly integrated with reviews, and prefer consolidating tools to simplify your stack.
Bottom line: Pick one serious review platform, wire it into your email flows, and stick with it. Churning through three different review apps tanks your social proof and confuses customers.
Best Email and SMS Apps for Shopify
The job: Convert one-time visitors into subscribers you can communicate with repeatedly.
You have three main paths in 2025:
- Shopify Email (cheapest, simplest)
- Dedicated email platform (Klaviyo, Omnisend)
- Specialized SMS platform (layered on top)
Shopify Email
Best for: Early-stage stores that need email without complexity
Shopify Email lives directly in your admin and keeps things intentionally basic:
- Native templates that pull your products
- Simple campaign builder
- Basic segmentation and reporting
(It includes 10,000 free emails per month, after which you pay a low per-send fee, but you get limited automation and segmentation compared to dedicated platforms.)
If you're under a few hundred orders per month and just need welcome series, occasional promos, and simple abandoned checkout flows, Shopify Email is often good enough and keeps your stack lean.
Klaviyo Email & SMS
Best for: Brands serious about lifecycle marketing and segmentation
Klaviyo is the default for many scaling Shopify brands because it delivers:
- Deep behavioral segmentation (predicted value, multi-channel data)
- Robust automation flows across email and SMS
- Hundreds of integrations with your other apps
(Klaviyo's Shopify integration is mature and consistently positioned as the "advanced but pricier" option in 2025 comparisons.)
Platform | Best For | Starting Price | Key Strength |
Shopify Email | Early-stage stores | 10,000 emails free | Native simplicity |
Klaviyo | Scaling brands | Varies by contacts | Deep segmentation |
Omnisend | Ecommerce-focused | Free tier available | Strong automations |
Typical migration pattern:
Start with Shopify Email while you're small. Migrate to Klaviyo once you have complex needs (multiple audiences, sophisticated flows, higher order volumes).
Equally strong alternatives:
Omnisend is built specifically for ecommerce with strong automations, SMS capabilities, and competitive pricing including a generous free tier.
Postscript SMS Marketing
Best for: Brands where SMS is a major revenue channel
Postscript is a Shopify-native SMS platform with strong revenue attribution and tailored SMS features.
Pricing starts at 30/month minimum message spend, scaling from there for Growth and Professional tiers.
(Postscript made news in 2025 with a $2.5M initiative to help merchants affected by tariffs, which shows how important long-term merchant relationships are in this category.)
Only use SMS when:
- You already have product-market fit and real repeat purchase behavior
- You're committed to respecting frequency and consent (SMS fatigue is real)
- You can track incremental revenue, not just vanity metrics
Best Shopify Apps for A/B Testing and Conversion Optimization
The job: Systematically improve conversion instead of guessing.
You can fix a ton of conversion issues with no extra apps by addressing obvious UX problems. But once you have steady traffic, A/B testing becomes one of the highest-leverage uses of your app budget.
Shoplift - A/B & Split Testing
Best for: Stores with meaningful traffic that want structured testing
Shoplift is a BFS A/B testing app that integrates directly with your theme and lets you test product pages, pricing, layouts, and more without touching code.
(Frequently cited as a top testing tool in 2025 with ratings around 4.9/5 from merchants who praise its simplicity.)
When is it worth it?
- You have thousands of sessions per month (minimum)
- You're already doing the basics (reviews, email, core UX)
- You have someone who will actually design and interpret experiments
If you're under 500 visits per week, you'll struggle to get statistically significant results. Focus on fundamentals first.
How to Speed Up Your Shopify Store Without Slowing Down Sales
The job: Don't lose sales because your store feels slow or clunky.
Every app adds some combination of extra JavaScript, network requests, and admin complexity. (Site speed specialists repeatedly point out that unnecessary apps are one of the biggest drags on Core Web Vitals and conversion rates.)
Fix speed issues with:
- A modern Online Store 2.0 theme
- Optimized images
- Removing unused scripts and apps you're not actively using
For high-traffic stores (50,000+ monthly sessions) that have already optimized the basics, specialist tools like Nostra can help by front-loading your site via their infrastructure. But for most merchants, the advice is simpler:
Best Shopify Apps for Specific Business Needs
Now let's walk through concrete categories with specific recommendations. You don't need one from every line. The goal is assembling a coherent stack, not collecting logos.
Best Dropshipping and Print-on-Demand Apps for Shopify
If you're not holding your own inventory, these apps become mission-critical.
DSers - AliExpress Dropshipping
Best for: AliExpress-based dropshippers who want automation at scale
- Free plan available
- Paid tiers from ~$19.90/month scaling with product limits
- Bulk order automation, supplier optimization, inventory syncing
If you're AliExpress-focused and want a mature tool with a massive user base, DSers is typically the first pick.
AutoDS - AI Dropshipping & POD
Best for: Multi-platform dropshippers who want AI-assisted product research
AutoDS combines AI product research, multi-supplier support, and order automation in one platform.
Plans typically start around $26.90/month for an Import tier with 200 products.
Strong choice if you're serious about dropshipping as your core model and want research, import, and automation in a single tool.
Printify - Print on Demand
Best for: Creators selling custom printed products without inventory
Printify connects you to a network of POD providers:
- Free to install on Shopify
- Premium plan at ~$29/month for better margins
- Pay only when you sell (product + shipping costs)
- Deep Shopify integration for product and order sync
If you have a design-heavy brand and don't want to manage warehousing, Printify plus a strong reviews and email stack is a classic combo.
Best Shopify Apps for Bundles and Upsells
Once visitors are interested, your next job is making it easy to say yes and helping them build a slightly larger cart.
Koala Bundles - Volume Discounts
Best for: Merchants who want simple, effective bundles with BFS quality
Koala Bundles emerged in 2024 as one of the most popular new apps by review volume:
- BFS badge with ~4.97 average rating
- Free basic tier with paid options for advanced features
- Designed to increase AOV with volume offers, bundle deals, and post-purchase funnels
Good fit when:
- Your products naturally bundle (cosmetics, home goods, apparel)
- You want "buy more, save more" structures without custom coding
App | Primary Use | Starting Price | BFS |
Koala Bundles | Volume discounts | Free tier | Yes |
Rebuy | AI personalization | Higher tier | Yes |
Vitals | All-in-one suite | Mid-tier | Yes |
Other strong options:
Rebuy for AI-driven personalization at scale, Kaching Bundles for bundles that integrate with LinkShop pages, or Vitals if you prefer bundling mini-apps rather than installing many single-purpose tools.
Best Shopify Channel Apps for Social Media Marketing
TikTok, Facebook & Instagram, Google & YouTube
Best for: Pretty much everyone running paid or organic social
Skip quirky third-party connectors. Start with Shopify's official channel apps:
TikTok: Sync products, run ads, connect TikTok Shop in some regions. (Single most-reviewed app in 2024 with 4.8+ average rating.)
Facebook & Instagram: Official Meta sales channel for product sync, Shops, and ads.
Google & YouTube: Syncs your catalog for Shopping ads and YouTube product tagging.
These are table stakes if paid acquisition is part of your strategy. And if you're driving significant traffic from these platforms, LinkShop transforms how you convert that social traffic into sales.
EcommSend Pop Ups & Email Popups
Best for: Free or low-cost email capture at scale
EcommSend is a BFS popup and capture app that was one of the top 10 most-reviewed apps in 2024 with near-perfect ratings.
- Free plan with generous quotas
- Integrates with major email and SMS platforms
- Simple, effective list-building from on-site traffic
If your main goal is growing your email list from organic traffic, this is a very low-risk starting point.
How to Turn Instagram and TikTok Followers Into Shopify Customers
This is where things get interesting for social-first brands, and it's where we at LinkShop have a uniquely strong position.
The Problem Social Commerce Solves
Social platforms give you one clickable link in your profile. That's it.
Most merchants send that single click to a generic homepage or basic link list, which creates a terrible funnel:
Every additional click is a chance to lose someone. And in 2025, the landscape shifted in a way that makes this problem even more urgent.
Shopify's own link-in-bio tool, Linkpop, was shut down. (Shopify notified users that Linkpop would discontinue on July 7, 2025, pushing merchants to find alternatives.)
Meanwhile, external tools like Lnk.Bio Shop run their own checkout and charge a 5% fee per sale on top of normal payment processing fees. (For purchases through the bio page, this adds up fast.)
For Shopify merchants who care about keeping everything on their own domain with their own checkout, this matters a lot.
LinkShop - Link in Bio Shop
Best for: Shopify merchants driving real volume from Instagram, TikTok, or other social platforms
LinkShop is a Shopify-native app that turns your single bio link into a full shoppable storefront page hosted at a path like
/a/linkshop on your own domain.It's genuinely Shopify-native. BFS certified, which signals strong performance and integration quality. (As of late 2025, we hold a 5.0 rating across all reviews, with merchants consistently highlighting ease of use and tight Shopify integration.)
Flat, predictable pricing. $15/month with a 7-day free trial. No transaction fees beyond your standard Shopify and payment processing costs. (Unlike Lnk.Bio Shop's 5% per sale, you know exactly what you're paying.)
Real storefront functionality. Not just a link list. LinkShop renders a proper Shopify storefront on your domain with product grids, links, in-page cart, and live inventory.
Deep integration ecosystem. Works with integrations like Alia (popups), Kaching Bundles (bundle offers), Moast (shoppable video), Fileflare (digital delivery), and Judge.me (reviews) directly inside the LinkShop page. Your social visitors see offers, UGC, and opt-ins in one focused place.
Marketer-friendly. Marketing teams, not developers, can own the social storefront and update featured products per campaign without touching code.
If social is a tiny fraction of your sales, you probably don't need this. But if Instagram, TikTok, or other social platforms are a major acquisition channel, a native bio-storefront is often one of the highest-ROI apps you can add.
Your funnel becomes:
Minimal context switching. Maximum conversion opportunity.Compared to alternatives:
Tool | Hosting | Checkout | Transaction Fee | Shopify Integration |
Your domain | Shopify native | 0% | Deep (BFS) | |
External Bio Tools | External | Third-party | Often 5% | Basic |
Generic Link Lists | External | Redirect | 0% | Link only |
Generic link tools work great if you have multiple non-Shopify properties or different businesses to link. They treat Shopify as "just another link."
External commerce tools take checkout off Shopify and layer on percentage fees.
LinkShop keeps everything in your Shopify store using your payment gateways, taxes, checkout, and analytics.
For a Shopify-centric brand, our "on your domain, using your checkout, BFS-grade" model is hard to beat if social is a real channel for you. Learn more about how LinkShop transforms social commerce for Shopify stores.
Best Shopify Subscription Apps
Keeping customers is cheaper than acquiring new ones. Here's what to consider.
Recharge Subscriptions
Best for: Brands with natural replenishment or membership models
Recharge is one of the longest-standing subscription apps on Shopify, powering thousands of programs.
Strong fit for:
- Consumables (coffee, supplements, beauty)
- Membership clubs and recurring access
Pricing scales with volume (per-order fees plus subscription tiers). Often worth it if a large share of revenue comes from repeat orders.Equally viable alternatives:
Skio and Loop Subscriptions both offer competitive feature sets. Choice often comes down to portal customization depth, whether you want subscriptions in the same platform as loyalty, and pricing model for your size.
Loyalty and Referral Programs
If you want formal rewards programs, the usual 2025 shortlist includes:
- Smile.io
- LoyaltyLion
- Okendo's built-in loyalty (if you're already using it for reviews)
Critical advice: Don't launch a loyalty program until you actually have returning customers. Otherwise it's just another widget eating up your budget and slowing your site.
Best Shopify Apps for Inventory Management
Once you have product-market fit, operations become the real bottleneck.
Ablestar Bulk Product Editor
Best for: Anyone with more than a few dozen SKUs
Manual edits in Shopify admin don't scale. Ablestar Bulk Product Editor:
- BFS with near-perfect rating
- Bulk update thousands of products at once
- Schedule edits for campaigns
- Preview and undo features so you don't accidentally nuke your catalog
Less "sexy" than a fancy popup, but in terms of time saved per dollar, it's one of the most impactful apps many merchants install.
Other ops helpers:
Ablestar Link Manager for automatically finding and fixing broken links, and Matrixify as an alternative for heavy CSV-based imports and exports.
Best Shopify Apps for Customer Service
Customers expect to reach you without leaving your site.
Shopify Inbox is a free starting point for on-site chat and simple automation.
Tools like Gorgias and Richpanel add multi-channel support, macros, and deep integrations. Worth considering once ticket volume justifies them.
Pick something, wire it into your order and customer data, make it easy to reach you.
Best Shopify Mobile App Builder
If your brand has a strong base of repeat buyers, a mobile app can significantly boost engagement.
Tapcart - Mobile App Builder
Best for: Brands with significant mobile traffic and repeat customers
Tapcart turns your Shopify store into a branded mobile app:
- No-code design tools synced to your catalog
- Push notifications for drops and promotions
- Integration with loyalty and subscription tools
(Recent 2025 guides cite conversion rate lifts up to 3x for traffic moving into native apps, especially during high-intent events like product drops.)
For most smaller stores this is overkill. For brands with large, loyal audiences, it can be a powerful retention lever.
Real Shopify App Stacks You Can Copy
Let's make this concrete with three realistic setups.
Stack 1: "I Just Launched and Want My First Consistent Sales"
Profile:
- Under 500 orders/month
- Mostly organic traffic, some paid
- Limited budget
Suggested apps:
→ Reviews: Judge.me (free or low-cost plan)
→ Email: Shopify Email
→ Popups: EcommSend for email capture
→ Acquisition: TikTok, Facebook & Instagram, Google & YouTube apps as needed
Goal: Get to a clean 1-2% conversion rate, grow your email list, prove your core offer works.
Stack 2: "Content-First Brand with Heavy Social Traffic"
Profile:
- You post consistently on Instagram/TikTok
- Most traffic starts on social
- Selling a tight set of products (physical or digital)
Your essential toolkit:
② Trust: Loox or Judge.me for visual reviews
③ Email: Klaviyo or Omnisend once you outgrow Shopify Email
⑥ Digital products: Fileflare plus LinkShop if selling downloads (Fileflare handles delivery, LinkShop is the storefront)
Your funnel becomes:
TikTok/Instagram bio → LinkShop storefront (products + reviews + bundles + email capture) → Shopify checkout → fulfillment/deliveryMinimal context switching, maximum conversion opportunity for people in "scroll mode."
Stack 3: "Scaling DTC Brand in Mid-Six to Seven Figures"
Profile:
- Thousands of orders/month
- Dedicated marketing team
- Mix of paid social, search, email, SMS
Your advanced stack:
- Reviews: Okendo or Loox (full marketing suite vs. visual emphasis)
- Email & SMS: Klaviyo, optionally paired with Postscript for deeper SMS
- CRO: Shoplift for A/B testing on key templates
- Site speed: Possibly Nostra if you're at scale where milliseconds matter (and you've already optimized your theme)
- Bundles/upsell: Koala Bundles, Rebuy, or similar
- Operations: Ablestar Bulk Product Editor plus Link Manager for broken links
- Social entry: LinkShop if social is a non-trivial revenue channel (gives paid social and influencer traffic a dedicated high-conversion landing page)
Most important here: Discipline. Measure revenue impact of each app, prune regularly, watch page speed and tech debt closely.
How to Install Shopify Apps Without Breaking Your Store
A few practical rules to avoid common traps.
How to Test New Shopify Apps
If you install three apps at once and conversion rate moves (up or down), you won't know which one caused it.
- Introduce apps in small batches
- Track metrics for a full sales cycle (30-60 days)
- Remove anything clearly not earning its keep
How to Monitor App Performance Impact
At minimum, watch:
- Homepage and product page load times
- Core Web Vitals in Shopify's speed report
- Any change in bounce rate or add-to-cart percentage
If a lightweight app tanks your load time without delivering a huge revenue bump, it's probably not worth it.
Why App Data Access Matters
Apps that touch orders, customers, checkout, and script tags are particularly powerful and sensitive.
You should:
- Prefer BFS apps and established vendors for these scopes
- Read privacy policies and look for clear data retention and deletion policies
- Limit access to what you truly need
What to Know Before Installing Any Shopify App
Before installing anything that touches themes or scripts:
- Make a theme backup
- Note which templates the app modifies
- Understand what happens to your data if you uninstall (whether reviews are stored in Shopify metafields, whether redirects remain, etc.)
Future-you will be grateful.
What Conversion Rates Should You Expect?
You need reference points to know if you're on track.
Recent 2025 data gives you these baselines:
Top Shopify performers: Closer to 4.7%, with the very best hitting around 8%. (Among successful merchants.)
If you're below 1%, focus your app budget on trust, UX, and offer clarity before obsessing over acquisition. Get the foundation solid first.
Common Questions About Shopify Apps
What are the most essential Shopify apps every store should have?
The true "essentials" depend on your business model, but most successful stores need at minimum: a reviews app (Judge.me, Loox, or Okendo), an email platform (start with Shopify Email, graduate to Klaviyo or Omnisend), and official channel apps for your acquisition channels (TikTok, Facebook & Instagram, Google & YouTube).
Beyond that, install based on your specific bottleneck. If social is a major channel, LinkShop becomes essential. If you're dropshipping, DSers or AutoDS are mission-critical. If you have returning customers, subscription or loyalty apps make sense.
Don't install apps because they might help "someday." Install to solve a specific problem you have right now.
How many Shopify apps should I install?
There's no magic number, but most successful stores run apps in the mid-single digits for core functionality.
The real question is: "Is each app net-positive for revenue after accounting for its subscription cost, performance impact, and complexity?"
More apps isn't better. A lean, well-chosen stack almost always outperforms a bloated one. Every app you install should pass this test: "Does this measurably improve traffic, conversion, AOV, or LTV enough to justify the cost and weight?"
Do Shopify apps slow down my store?
Yes, if you're not careful about which ones you install.
Every app can add JavaScript, network requests, or extra scripts that impact load time. Site speed specialists consistently point out that once you've optimized your theme and images, unnecessary apps are one of the biggest remaining drags on Core Web Vitals.
This is why the BFS badge matters. BFS apps have to meet performance requirements. It's also why you should regularly audit your stack and remove apps you're not actively using.
Fast page loads directly impact conversion rate. Don't sacrifice speed for features you don't actually need.
What's the difference between free and paid Shopify apps?
Free apps typically have limitations on features, usage volume, or branding. They're great for testing and early stages.
Paid apps usually offer more features, higher limits, better support, and no "powered by" branding cluttering your storefront.
The real decision isn't "free vs. paid." It's "Does this app solve a problem that's currently costing me revenue?"
If you're losing sales because you don't have reviews, a 100/month CRO tool won't help.
Start lean with free tiers where available, upgrade when you hit limits or need advanced features, and always measure actual impact on revenue.
Can I use multiple apps for the same purpose?
Technically yes, but you almost never should.
Running multiple review apps confuses customers and splits your social proof. Running multiple email platforms means fragmented lists and broken automations.
The exception is when apps serve complementary roles. For example, Klaviyo for email plus Postscript for SMS makes sense because they're different channels. Or LinkShop for your social bio plus your main store theme for direct traffic makes sense because they serve different entry points.
But for the same job (like reviews), pick one good solution and commit to it. Switching between apps constantly tanks your data continuity and wastes time.
Are Built for Shopify apps actually better?
In general, yes.
BFS certification isn't just a badge. Apps need to hit specific benchmarks for performance, UX quality, and modern integration patterns. Shopify's data shows BFS apps see roughly 49% more installs after certification, which suggests merchants trust it as a quality signal.
When choosing between similar tools and one is BFS while the other isn't, the BFS option is usually safer unless there's a very specific feature you need from the non-BFS app.
It's not a guarantee of perfection, but it's a meaningful quality filter in an ecosystem with twelve thousand apps.
How do I know if an app is worth the cost?
Simple formula: Revenue impact > (subscription fee + performance cost + complexity cost)
Before installing, ask:
- What specific metric should this improve? (conversion rate, AOV, email list growth, etc.)
- By how much does it need to move that metric to pay for itself?
- Can I measure that impact?
After installing, track the metric for 30-60 days. If it's not moving the needle enough to justify the cost, uninstall it.
Most merchants install too many "might be helpful" apps and not enough "clearly moving revenue" apps. Be ruthless about ROI.
What apps do I need for a social-first Shopify store?
If social platforms (Instagram, TikTok, etc.) are your primary acquisition channels, prioritize:
→ Social storefront: LinkShop to turn your bio link into an actual shoppable page with in-page checkout, not just a link list
→ Visual reviews: Loox or Judge.me, because social traffic responds strongly to UGC and social proof
→ Email capture: EcommSend plus in-page popups (like Alia integration on LinkShop) to build your list from social visitors
→ Bundles/upsells: Koala Bundles or Kaching Bundles to boost AOV (Kaching integrates directly with LinkShop)
→ Official channels: TikTok and Facebook & Instagram apps for product sync and ads
The key difference for social-first brands is that your bio link becomes your primary storefront. Generic link lists force too many clicks. A native shoppable page like LinkShop collapses the funnel and converts way better.
Should I use Shopify's built-in features or third-party apps?
Start with Shopify's built-in features when they cover your needs, then graduate to third-party apps when you hit limits.
For example:
- Shopify Email works great until you need advanced segmentation and automation (then move to Klaviyo or Omnisend)
- Shopify Inbox handles basic chat until ticket volume justifies Gorgias
- Native discount codes work fine until you need complex bundle logic (then add Koala Bundles)
Don't install an app for features you could achieve with Shopify's native tools. But don't avoid apps when they genuinely solve problems Shopify doesn't address (like reviews, since Shopify retired its Product Reviews app in 2024, or social storefronts, which is why LinkShop exists).
What's the best way to organize my Shopify app stack?
Think in terms of jobs, not categories:
Foundation: Reviews, email, basic analytics
Conversion: Bundles, upsells, CRO tools
Retention: Subscriptions, loyalty, referrals
Operations: Bulk editors, link managers, support tools
For each job, identify your current bottleneck. Install one good app to solve it. Measure results. Only add more when you've maxed out what you're currently using.
The best stack isn't the biggest one. It's the most focused one that directly addresses your specific weak points.
Final Thoughts: Build Your Stack Like an Operator
Here's what separates merchants who build lean, high-impact stacks from those who end up with bloated, slow stores:
They start from the bottleneck. Not the hype, not affiliate recommendations, not "what everyone else uses." They look at their analytics, identify the weakest link in their funnel, and install apps specifically to fix it.
They respect tradeoffs. Every app has three costs: the subscription fee (obvious), the performance cost (page speed), and the complexity cost (maintenance, bugs, learning curve). The best apps deliver revenue improvements that dramatically exceed all three.
They measure actual impact. Before installing, they define success metrics. After installing, they track for 30-60 days. If an app isn't clearly moving the needle, they remove it.
They keep it simple. The average successful store doesn't run 30 apps. It runs 5-10 really good ones that work together coherently.
If you apply this framework, "best Shopify apps" stops being an overwhelming question and becomes a series of clear, reversible bets that compound over time.
At LinkShop, we're obsessed with helping Shopify merchants turn social traffic into actual revenue without the usual friction and complexity. If Instagram, TikTok, or other social platforms are a real channel for you (not just a "nice to have"), our native bio-storefront approach is probably worth a look.
Either way, we hope this guide gave you a clear framework for thinking about your entire app stack. Build strategically, measure ruthlessly, and keep things lean.
Your store (and your customers) will thank you.