Shopify Plus, an advanced plan from Shopify, launched in 2014, is the enterprise-level solution proposed by Shopify and built specifically for high-growth and high-volume businesses.
Shopify is constantly improving and enhancing the platform’s features to serve both store owners and their customers better. However, we understand that each business has unique requirements. In many instances, your business needs more than the built-in features offered by Shopify to achieve optimal performance.
With the right Shopify Plus integration tool, scaling your online business to the next level will be effortless. Shopify offers robust third-party integration that allows you to leverage unique and prolific app features and additional external services. Third-party integration is needed to maximize the online store’s potential because of the company’s exponential growth.
Investing in efficient e-commerce app integration permits you to access exclusive features and capitalize on potential sales opportunities. But remember, you just download everything you see in the app store. It can cause slow app loading time, unwanted operational costs, and recurring bug issues.
In this blog, discover more about Shopify Plus third-party tools, integration, setup, and optimizing techniques to enhance Shopify plus functionality and more.
Why Does Your Business Need Third-Party Integration?
- It saves your valuable time and money by automating routine tasks
- It eliminates human errors by automation tools like third-party apps
- It boosts business productivity by enabling order management, customers, and inventory on the go.
Types of Shopify Integrations
We can categorize the Shopify integration based on its functionality. For example:
- Core Business: Inventory, order fulfillment, accounting, and customer management.
- Marketing and Sales: Email marketing, social media, SEO, and analytics.
- Design and Customization: Theme development and app creation.
- Other: Payment gateways, shipping carriers, and marketplaces.
One of the most popular ways to integrate third- party with Shopify is through Shopify Flow and connectors. With the help of connectors, merchants can easily connect multiple apps and services to Shopify Flow, which will eventually help in boosting business proficiency.
Explore Popular Third-Party Categories and Services on Shopify Plus
| Service Categories | Services |
|---|---|
| Marketing and Analytics | Google Analytics, Klaviyo, Yotpo |
| Operations and Logistics | Shipstation, TradeGecko, Boldsubscriptions |
| Customer Support Services | Zendesk, Gorgias, Smile.io |
Benefits of Shopify Plus Third-Party Integration
Third-party integrations with Shopify Plus can significantly enhance customer experience. Here are a few advantages listed of Third-party integration to improve your customer experience for your online store.
1. Earn Customer Loyalty through Personalization
We are living in a hyper-personalized world. Using the right third-party integration tools will ensure you deliver personalized shopping experiences through browsing history and buying behavior analysis and convert them into loyal customers.
2. Communicate with Customers Through Reviews
The Shopify Plus apps that activate customer reviews provide social proof and strengthen trust among potential buyers.
3. Manage Payment and Checkout Seamlessly
Shopify Plus ensures a faster and more secure customer checkout experience through popular methods like digital wallets with minimal cart abandonment rates.
Comprehensive Steps to Integrating Third-Party Services and APIs with Shopify Plus
Store owners can integrate any third-party service or app through the Shopify App Store. For example, if you want to install an OMS-related app, you can search for the keywords ‘OMS for Shopify’ or ‘Shopify OMS’ in the search box of the Shopify App Store.
Case 1: For Third-Party Platform Integration
1. Identify what services and features you need to manage your online store. (Here we have taken Klavio- Email marketing and messages app for example)
2. Finalize third-party platforms, then integrate them with Shopify Plus by installing the necessary plugins and apps using the documentation guide.
Case 2: For API Integration with Shopify Plus
When you delve deep into the seamless app integration path, it’s crucial to go through the prerequisites and understand the steps involved in the process. Analyze this step-by-step guide for the API integration process for the required app for your business needs:
Step 1: Know Your Business Goals
Know exactly what you want from your business and make a list of the features you need from the third-party API. These feature requirements can enhance product discovery, more engaging customer engagement, and more.
Step 2: Get the Mandatory API Credentials
Collect essential API credentials such as client ID, and API key for Shopify Plus API integration. You can also explore the API documentation for the required app to understand the exclusive features available and other pivotal elements like communication protocols for efficient data transfer.
Step 3: Prepare the Development Surrounding
While testing APIs, set up a dedicated environment within your Shopify account. Such simulation helps in live store operations where you can easily modify the customized changes you want without altering real-time transactions.
Step 4: Build the Custom App
Select a suitable programming language and go through Shopify’s extensive collection of Shopify API, libraries, and tools.
Start creating your customized app as the centralized hub for seamless data communication between your online store and API.
Step 5: Security and Authentication
Always consider secure ways for data transfer through APIs. Shopify offers OAuth as a safe authorization mechanism. Consider using the latest standards of PCI-compliant tools to safeguard data leaks and system vulnerabilities.
Step 6: Ready for Final Testing
Simulation environments are beneficial in testing real-life situations to evaluate any potential flaws in the Shopify Plus integration process. Pay close attention to feedback loops to monitor app performance and modify them accordingly.
Step 7: Deployment
Once the app meets your business demands after testing, be ready to deploy the integration to your live store. Routine monitoring is also a necessary element to avoid any unwanted discrepancies.
End Note
We have covered all the essential points and valuable insights of Shopify third-party app integration. With suitable third-party apps and Shopify Plus integration tool, Shopify store owners can elevate their store to the next level. By automating pivotal operations and gaining deeper customer insights, put your efforts on growing your business and improving the customer experience. Explore the suitable third-party integration options and ensure your online store’s success.
If you are wondering about the experienced customization and integration partner for your Shopify store. Ignitiv offers top-notch third-party integration services, including OMS integration. Connect with our Shopify experts now!
Frequently Asked Questions
If you follow the optimized and well-tested API integration protocols, it will not affect your site performance. With the right API integration methods, it will minimize load times and efficient processing.
Yes, you will need a Shopify developer account which is available for free. It will help to access Shopify’s APIs and build your customized app through Shopify.
It offers multiple advantages which can be as follows:
- Enhances business operation
- Boost your business revenue
- Delivers memorable customer experience
