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Part 10 of 10 in Starting a Shopify store: the money side.
A new store needs fewer apps than the App Store makes you think. Shopify does a lot on its own now: discounts, shipping rates, order emails, basic reports and more. Most apps are worth adding when a specific problem shows up, not before.
A lean launch setup
| Need | At launch? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Email marketing | Usually yes | Most tools are free for small lists. Collect emails from day one |
| Product reviews | Soon after | Once you have orders to ask for reviews |
| Shipping labels | Built in (in supported countries) | Shopify Shipping covers many stores; add an app if your carrier isn’t supported |
| Discounts | Built in | Add an app when you want offers shown on product pages |
| Analytics | Built in | Shopify Analytics is enough at first |
| Attribution | When you start spending on marketing | A post-purchase question covers what analytics miss |
| Order limits, payment rules | Only if you need them | Limited batches, COD, minimum orders |
| Page builder, popups, chat, upsell suites | Later, if at all | Each adds weight to your storefront |
The 30-minute app audit
Do it once now and then once a quarter. You need your admin, a list (paper is fine) and nothing else.
Minutes 0–10: list every app and its cost
Open Settings > Apps and write down every installed app. Then open Settings > Billing and add what each one cost you last month. Include the apps that show $0.
Minutes 10–20: ask three questions of each
- What did it do for me last month? One sentence. “Sent 340 abandoned cart emails” is an answer. “It’s for upsells, I think” isn’t.
- What breaks if I remove it? Open the store and look for the app’s blocks, popups or checkout changes.
- Is there an overlap? Two apps doing reviews, two doing upsells, an app doing what Shopify now does built in.
Mark each app keep, remove or replace.
Minutes 20–30: remove, and clean up
Uninstall the ones marked remove, ideally a day or two before their billing cycle renews (why that matters). Then check for leftovers:
- In Online Store > Themes > Customize, look for app blocks and app embeds that no longer belong to anything.
- If an app pasted code into your theme files, search your theme’s code for the app’s name. If you’re not comfortable editing code, ask the app’s developer how to remove it.
A keep or remove table
Copy this and fill it in:
| App | Monthly cost | What it did last month | What breaks without it | Keep / remove |
|---|---|---|---|---|
The app with a cost and an empty “what it did” column goes first.
How to choose the next app you install
When a real problem appears, look for the smallest app that solves exactly that problem, works through theme app blocks or checkout, and has a developer who answers email. Then put it in your budget.
That’s the end of the series. Start again from part 1 with a new product, or browse the guides.
Questions people ask
How many apps is too many?
There's no magic number. The question is whether each app earns its cost in money, time or sales. Ten useful apps are fine; three forgotten ones are too many.
Do apps slow down my store?
Some do, mainly ones that load scripts on every storefront page. Apps that only work in your admin, at checkout or on the Thank you page have little or no effect on how fast your pages load.
Does uninstalling an app remove its code from my theme?
Apps built with theme app blocks and embeds are removed cleanly. Some older apps paste code into your theme files, which stays after uninstall; you'll need to remove it by hand or ask the developer.