Shopify Editions – Connect to Consumer (Summer '22)

Calling all Shopify developers! How do you feel about the updates that Shopify has made on their platform or are in the process of making? Oh wait, you’re uncertain whether you understand them completely? Not a problem, we’re here to simplify everything that Shopify broadcast on their latest edition release.

Enter Shopify Editions – Connect to Consumer (Summer ‘22)

When we say you’re in for a treat, we mean it! Shopify has just shown us a glimpse of what they’re going to be rolling out in the future and what they’ve released. Prepare yourself for some nifty and useful features being added to their already highly capable offering. We’re here to sum up a few of the main updates that they have introduced for you and highlight the benefit of these for your online store.

New Ways To Build Apps

• Built for Shopify – if you’re into creating apps, this is the one for you. Built for Shopify outlines the new standards and guidelines that need to be met in order to be featured on Shopify’s App Store. Building an app according to Shopify specifications means being granted the opportunity of exposure to business owners who need what you’ve just built.
  
• Shopify Functions – With Shopify Functions you’ll be able to extend or replace server functionality. Shopify Functions are available to all merchants. They need to be deployed with an app and then form part of the admin just like that. Meaning that merchants can focus on their business operations and not have to code anything.
  
• Checkout Extensibility – Finally, it will be possible to extend the Shopify Checkout with little to no headaches. With private or public apps, you can surface additional functionality in the Checkout. It’s secure, lighting fast and upgrade safe. (exclusively for Shopify Plus merchants, sorry everyone else)
  
• Pre-orders & more – Shopify has made updates to suit the ever-growing needs of their merchants. They have improved upon their Selling Plan APIs to allow for pre-orders and TBYB (try before you buy). This makes both the lives of merchants and their consumers easier. Winning all round.
  
• B2B on Shopify – Shopify has expanded on their B2B functionality, adding important primitives like business customers, more flexible pricing rules and assigned payment terms, which makes building B2B eCommerce cases on Shopify way more viable.
  
• ShopifyQL – Gain access to the most important data through the GraphQL Admin API. Query Shopify’s analytical data to gain insight in the business. It’s access like never before so that your reports and those of Shopify match.
  
• Segmentation – Through Segmentation, businesses can divide based on location, purchasing behavior or marketing preferences. This will allow them to better target and therefore better engage with their customers.
  
• Return APIs – Game-changing. Shopify is developing Return APIs that will give you a glimpse into the future of the returns you can expect across all of your sales platforms. (apply for early access here)

Improved Dev Tools

• Developer Experience – Shopify has simplified the writing and distribution of apps through their CLI. They have also made navigating and deploying an app in the Partner Dashboard a little easier.
  
• Embedded App Improvements – Amazing news for developers! Let your users do all the work within one tab, let them take advantage of fullscreen within Admin and look forward to apps loading 2x faster on a mobile device thanks to Shopify’s App Bridge.
  
• Data Protection – Changes were made to support businesses for compliance with privacy and data protection rules to ensure that their customer’s information is secure.

Next Level Storefront Building

• Hydrogen & Oxygen – It’s known as the Shopify stack for headless commerce. The Hydrogen part has pre-build components, starter templates, hooks & utilities that map directly to Shopify APIs. Oxygen is the hosting solution specifically built for Hydrogen. The benefits for businesses are too long to list, but just think of a custom-built, future-proof, highly efficient, superfast and extremely powerful online presence. Wanna know more about going headless with Shopify? Download our latest white paper ‘Unleashing Shopify’ by going headless! Or start off smaller and take a read of our blog ‘Headless Commerce – What is it?’
  
• Pixels – Safely engage with customers and store their information in a secure manner. Do so with Web Pixels Extensions or subscribe to behavioral data that Shopify (and other partners) publish.
  
• Marketplace Kit – Makes adding commerce to any platform much easier. Quickly built marketplaces with Shopify’s APIs, tools and documentation. On the Partner Dashboard you will easily be able to create and manage your channel.
  
• Prettier Plugin – A way to quickly format your code. It adds support for Liquid and creates more consistency within code styles.
  
• App-Owned Metafields – A spot where you can securely save your app’s private data. Apps can now use metafields to store information/data that only they are allowed to have access to, massively reducing the risk of external interference with the data that's stored in these metafields.
  
• Liquid for Themes – Build themes faster! This allows you to quickly prototype your use case directly into Shopify’s docs.
  

If you would like to read more about all these nifty updates, then hit the next link on Shopify Editions – Connect to Consumer (Summer ‘22).

Connect to Consumer

It is always highly exciting when Shopify shares new products or makes updates to their ever-growing catalog. We’re super intrigued to see where these updates will take us. All of these updates were made with the desire to make merchant’s and developers' lives easier so that they can connect with their consumers easier too.

Some of the things sound very techy, and they are. If you have the right tech team at your side, they can work with all the updates that Shopify has just announced to better your online presence. This will allow you to engage with your online visitors in a way that you could have never before. We would like to work with you on this. Please don't hesitate to contact us on hello@especial.digital or through our contact form on our website.