BSSA #64 - Reduce platform risk 🚀

Hello everyone! 😁

Shopify Summer Editions was last week and as always they gave us more than 100 updates.

I agree, as a Shopify App Founder it’s a bit overwhelming. They announce 100+ updates every 6 months.

You don’t even have time to implement everything from the last Editions and they introduce something new 🥵

And as always you’re wondering: Will this update kill my business or not?

And it’s not a question you should have if you do things properly. So let me give you my thoughts about Platform Risk and what you should do to reduce it.

There are 3 important points you should absolutely follow:

1. Go in the same direction as Shopify

2. Don’t build something on Shopify’s limit

3. Give more than the basic

1 - Go in the same direction as Shopify

The most important one is to go in the same direction as Shopify. And this is a simple rule: Don’t build something that isn’t recommended or is forbidden by Shopify and don’t build something that goes against Shopify’s vision.

Otherwise your app will be useless sooner or later.

The best way to know what is not recommended or forbidden is to look at Shopify's documentation and rules. Don’t try to “bypass” the rules. If you have doubts, don’t do it. Simple as that.

For the vision, it’s a bit more complicated as Shopify doesn’t explicitly tell us what they will do in the future or where they’re going. So you have to figure this out yourself. The best way is to look at all the recent updates.

But don’t worry, I’ve done it for you, here is what I think will happen.

Shopify recently released many things for developers: Functions, Checkout Extensions, removed checkout.liquid, app blocks, Online Stores 2.0.

And I think it’s pretty obvious: They give developers more power but with less flexibility. They want you to build for Shopify and ONLY for Shopify.

Your function, extension, app block, etc, will only work on that platform. And everything gets pushed to the Shopify platform to be hosted.

I think they want to reduce technical debts that developers created in the past years. They want everyone to follow the same structure so they can easily add more updates.

When they release new tools, they also give the merchants the basics so merchants don’t complain that they have to use apps.

But what they release will always be pretty basic.

• I won’t be surprised in the future if they remove apps dashboards and you’re forced to create your dashboard using admin extensions

• I won’t be surprised if Polaris becomes mandatory with more reasons to use it (such as Built for Shopify)

It’s always like that. They start in a direction and suddenly add something to their platform. In the beginning, it’s optional, then it becomes recommended and finally it’s mandatory.

So if they start to work on something, you better find a way to work with it too.

For example they’re doing a lot on Functions. They’re starting to create extensions in the admin to display dashboard elements. They are pushing Polaris / Built for Shopify.

You already know the future with that.

And if you’re building an app that relies only on Shopify Functions, you’re in a great position!

2 - Don’t build something on Shopify’s limit

Again, this is a recommendation, but you can still do it if you want to 🤷‍♂️

Shopify platform will have some limits (such as the 100-variant limit). And if your app can work and is helpful because of that limit, then you increase the platform risk.

Because limits will sooner or later be removed to allow merchants to do more.

They will either remove the limit or create a new system to avoid it. And in both cases, apps relying on that limit will take a hit.

Remember Shopify first builds for merchants. Every time merchants are limited, Shopify will work on something to reduce their churn.

3 - Give more than the basic

If you’re afraid Shopify copies your app, it’s because you’re not giving more than the basic.

Shopify has no interest in copying and killing your apps.

Why would they allow us to create better bundles? Why don’t they just release their bundle apps and keep the system for them?

It’s not in their interest to kill the Shopify App Ecosystem.

But you have to understand that Shopify has to release things to merchants. And to not impact devs too much, they will usually build the basic.

Quick exercise:

• What’s your app's main feature?

• What’s the simplest app that can be created with that main feature?

• Is your app giving WAY MORE value than this simplest app?

If the answer is no, then your business is at risk! Because Shopify WILL build the basic sooner or later.

Let’s take this example: Translation Apps.

Before Shopify Markets, some apps were there to translate the store. But they were basic: You take a text, you set the translation, and that’s it.

Now if you ask the questions again for that app:

• What’s your app's main feature? Store translation

• What’s the simplest app that can be created with that main feature? You take a text and you translate it

• Is your app giving WAY MORE value? No. It’s the same app.

So what happened? These apps couldn’t make it anymore. The only apps that will stay are apps giving way more value.

Quick info: Apps that don’t show something on the storefront are usually riskier.

For example, an app to download a digital product. Suppose the only feature is to download the digital product. Then the moment Shopify introduces this, the basic feature will be to download the digital product, so the app will die.

And if you focus on these 3 things, you reduce the risk significantly. 👍

That’s it for today’s email!

I hope you enjoyed it! Feel free to share my newsletter with someone else: https://news.matdesousa.com/

And let me know what you want me to talk about in the next email!

See you next week,

Mat