Apps we actually use.

The de-facto email + SMS platform for Shopify stores. Strong segmentation, solid automations, and a learning curve that flattens after the first flow. We use it on every client build that has a list bigger than a few hundred subscribers.

Reviews + photos + Q&A, with a free plan that does the basics. The paid tier unlocks video reviews and request-on-delivery — the latter alone is worth it for any store doing > 100 orders/month.

One-click upsells on the thank-you page, plus subscriptions and reorder flows. Compounds with Packmate (any bundle you set up shows again post-purchase, where the buyer is least price-sensitive).

Bulk label printing, rate shopping across carriers, branded packing slips. Beats Shopify Shipping on cost once you cross ~200 orders/month, especially with multi-warehouse setups.

Catches the silent on-page issues that Lighthouse misses — duplicate titles, broken H1s, missing alt text, JSON-LD gaps. Best $20/mo we spend on any new store.

Combines live chat, chatbots, and a simple ticketing inbox. Free tier covers most stores; the Lyro AI add-on is the best off-the-shelf bot we have seen for Shopify.

Polar is to Google Analytics what ProfitVault is to Shopify reports — it answers "what makes money" instead of "where did people click". Worth running alongside ProfitVault for the cohort + LTV views.

Drag-and-drop page builder for home, product, and landing pages. Good enough for non-developers, granular enough for designers. Our default when a client asks "can we redesign X" and the budget is not for a custom theme.

Subscription billing done well — dunning, churn saves, portal, multiple SKUs per bundle. If you sell anything recurring, this is the standard. Pairs naturally with Foreshelf for replenishment forecasting.

Helpdesk built for ecommerce — pulls order data, refund buttons, macros. The automation rules alone save hours. More expensive than Tidio but worth it past ~500 tickets/month.