Hi friends,
One of the questions I receive the most when I work with my Ecommerce clients is how to budget effectively for their website. When I say I’m a budgeter – I mean I am a BUDG.ET.ER. I don’t like to spend money on things I won’t be using enough and I certainly don’t like to spend money on things that aren’t necessarily needed.
It’s no secret that Shopify has an incredible app store – which is one of the reasons why I love it. However, no one really talks about the best FREE Shopify apps you could be utilizing for your business.
Before ever recommending an app that costs a monthly fee, I try to exhaust all efforts by utilizing free apps offered in the Shopify app store. I definitely don’t want my clients to spend more money than they need to (or can afford!)
Around two years ago, I blogged one of my most popular blog posts yet and it was all about my top 10 favorite Shopify apps. Since then, I’ve tested an indescribable amount of apps and I wanted to share my thirty favorite ones. I may even write a blog post about the ones I wasn’t crazy about and why because truthfully, I think that may be a blog post that would be helpful to so many versus testing out multiple apps.
Over the last two years, a few of my favorite apps still remain including Privy, Printful, Printify, and Product Reviews. They’ve stood the test of time and are incredibly easy to implement. But today, I want to share the other apps I’ve grown to love over the last two years!
If you’ve found a free Shopify app, I’d LOVE to hear it in the comments below so others can share!
1. Sales Pop
Just like Privy and Better Coupon Box, this popup software allows you to create discount codes and enticing popups that increase your customer retention and the possibility of them completing checkout.
If you’re considering offering ebooks, PDFs, or templates, Digital Downloads is THE best app to use. The only issue I’ve ever had is that you can only upload one file per product; however, the workaround is to just zip all the files together and update as one large file. I also like to include a file that tells your customers how to use it (if applicable!)
If you aren’t gaining traffic to your site and scratch your head when I ask about your search engine optimization practices, we need to have a chat. If you aren’t into SEO and absolutely cringe at the thought, you need the Bulk Image Edit app. This app essentially adds Alt Text to your product images and will save you time and money as you add more products to your site. PS: Alt Text is a way for Google to read what your images are about – it’s essentially a way of describing the image to Google to effectively allow it to show up better in search results.
If you’d like a way to garner subscribers without being annoying, I think you need Better Coupon Box. It allows you to see a coupon after subscribing. Another option is Privy (#14!)
Just like it sounds, this is a great option for customers to quickly be able to calculate their shipping costs.
If we learned one thing in 2018, it was how important a privacy policy was due to the GDPR. If you haven’t yet implemented this, it’s important to ensure it’s working properly for your retail store (especially those with international customers!)
This is a great app for ecommerce businesses that either have multiple locations or have a wholesale division. If you offer wholesale, this allows your customers to quickly search and see if your product is local to them.
Your customers need to see reviews in order to effectively build trust with you and your brand. This app is made by Shopify and insanely easy to implement in just a few quick steps. You can set it to display under each product so new customers can see what others have thought about the product.
9. Shippo
With Shippo, you’re able to get discount shipping rates (although Shopify does offer these as well for USPS) as well as save customer information for later, create return labels faster, and batch-print labels.
One of the most exciting things I see retailers implementing! With Partial.ly, you’re able to offer payment plans to your customers, which creates a need to spend more and purchase more quickly! It allows helps around the holidays when money is tight. If your products are high-end, this is a great thing to implement.
11. Mailchimp
If you’re a Mailchimp user, this is a great free app to install that allows you to sync all subscribers & customers to your Mailchimp lists. From there, you can create additional abandoned cart emails and other sequences. But please, ensure there are places for your customers to subscribe and enter their emails at checkout. And let’s stop those no thank you options that say things like “I suck. I don’t like to save money.”
12. Return Magic (30 day free trial)
If you need an area where your customers can quickly create return slips, Return Magic can create that for you. Although it only has a thirty day free trial, it’s relatively inexpensive afterwards at $10 per month.
13. Order Printer
I love this free app because it allows you to have more control over your picking slips, invoices, and other packaging details. It’s also SO easy to use. After installing, you can find it directly in each order.
14. Privy
THE NUMBER ONE FREE POP-UP SOLUTION. I also love that you can implement a discount code to show after someone subscribes. I always use Privy first! You can also implement an “exit-intent” popup to stop people from leaving without purchasing.
These are my two favorite dropshipping apps to use if you’re creating a product from a design you’re wanting to upload. For example, if you’d like to sell mugs with your design on them, these two are your go-to. I’ve tested and used both before for my own business and love how quick and easy both apps are. You upload your file, choose the products, and boom – you’re ready! If you’d like to send them your packaging (tissue paper, inserts, thank you cards, etc) you can definitely do so.
16. Facebook Store
If you’ve successfully built a solid Facebook fan-base, you need to make sure your products are quickly visible to newbies and returning customers. The Facebook store allows you to add your products to your facebook business page. You can also select the option for customers to be forced to checkout at your store, versus on facebook.
17. Klaviyo
Sell more with pre-built email flows, including abandoned cart and winback emails. Create custom flows using virtually any trigger. While this is similar to Mailchimp, it reads the data of your former customers a lot more effectively, allowing you to do a little more research based on what they’ve ordered.
If your website doesn’t have a free shipping bar at the very top, you can use this free app to add one in quickly. I love adding these types of bars (although I do them with code – this app helps eliminate that for ya!) I utilize this space for shipping notices, discount codes & sales, and other fun things that are happening in my clients’ stores.
19. Oberlo
If you’re wanting to dropship products of your choosing, Oberlo is the best company to choose. You can browse through their products, upload them directly to your store, and they’ll do all the heavy lifting for you including shipping.
20. Yotpo
If the Product Reviews app isn’t your thing, you may want to try Yotpo. It also allows your customers to share their personal photos. Don’t worry – you can approve before it shows!
21. Bulk Discounts
If you find you’re needing to add tons of discount codes at once, this app does exactly as it sounds: adds multiple discount codes all at once for you!
22. Messenger
I LOVE FACEBOOK MESSENGER. For me personally, I absolutely love getting updates via Messenger so that I know when my products will be arriving. You’re able to customize your messages as well!
If your theme doesn’t have sharing buttons on your product page, you definitely need to implement these so that those who love your products can quickly share them on social media.
By installing the Instagram sales channel, you’re able to sale your products via Instagram which makes the shopping experience EXTREMELY easier for your customers.
25. Pinterest Sales Channel
One of the best traffic-driving sources for your website is Pinterest. You need to ensure all of your items are properly pinning to Pinterest.
26. Wishlist Pro
This app allows your customers to build wishlists that they can then share with loved ones for their birthday and holidays!
27. Smart Offers
With this free, easy-to-use app, you can create multiple tiered discounts to increase your items per transaction!
28. Simple Pre-Order
If you’re needing to implement pre-orders on your website, this is a great option for that! No coding necessary and no developer needed to get started.
If you currently do not have a contact form, I highly suggest implementing one. This app allows you to quickly add one so your customers can get in touch with you whenever they need to.
30. Charge Rabbit
This is a fantastic option for companies with subscription options! Normally, when your customers checkout on your website, Shopify authorizes their card for ONE payment, so you aren’t able to login and recharge them a second time. With Charge Rabbit, you’re able to setup a system where they pay on a set schedule every month.
So tell me – do you use any of these? Have you found any other free apps you truly love?
Hi Kait,
I own a shopify store and just started out. However, apart from two apps, I have never heard of the other. So good job. I bumped into your board. Thank you