🛒 Shopify ecosystem – the backbone of your store
Shopify is the world's leading e-commerce platform – and for good reason. Whether you're just starting out or scaling past 100 million, Shopify is flexible, powerful, and built for growth. Beyond the core platform, there’s a full ecosystem of tools, communities, and developer resources to help you build, launch, and grow your store faster.
Shopify: The best e-commerce platform – hands down. Shopify is beginner-friendly, highly scalable, and powers millions of online stores worldwide. Whether you're dropshipping, building a DTC brand, or running an international store, Shopify adapts to your business model.
Shopify Blog: Official blog covering product updates, e-commerce insights, marketing strategies, and success stories from merchants. Great source for learning and staying updated.
Shopify Status: A live dashboard showing real-time status of Shopify services, helpful for troubleshooting or confirming platform issues.
Shopify Capital: Get fast and easy access to funding based on your store’s sales history. No credit check, no paperwork – just repay a small percentage of your daily sales until the balance is covered. Works similarly to PayPal Working Capital and is perfect for inventory purchases or ad scaling.
Shopify Community: Official merchant forums where you can connect with other store owners, ask questions, and share insights.
📦 Fulfillment, finance & operations tools
Running a successful Shopify store means more than just selling – you need to ship, invoice, track, and manage your money efficiently. These tools help you automate the boring stuff, avoid mistakes, and stay in control as you scale.
American Express: If available in your country, you can use an American Express business credit card to pay for your ad spend on platforms like Google, Meta, Pinterest, or TikTok – up to 58 days later. This gives you a massive cash flow advantage and can help you scale faster without tying up capital.
Finom: A modern business bank account with intuitive dashboards and fast support. Helps you manage expenses, pay suppliers, and keep finances organized. Includes features like smart tagging, real-time notifications, and invoice management.
Wise: The best multi-currency business account I’ve used. Perfect for paying suppliers abroad, especially from an eu-country to a non-eu country like Tunisia or China. Real-time transfers with minimal fees – way cheaper and faster than traditional banks.
Google Workspace: If you're running a Shopify store, the best setup is to buy your domain directly through Shopify and then connect it to Google Workspace for your email. That way, you can create professional addresses with top-tier reliability and full Gmail functionality. I use this setup for every store I run – it's far more stable and user-friendly than relying on hosting providers, which honestly tend to be a pain.
1Password: 1Password is my go-to password manager for organizing all logins, API keys, and sensitive store data. Especially when managing multiple Shopify stores, apps, tools, and platforms, having everything securely in one place is a huge relief.
Sendcloud: One of the best tools for handling your shipping operations. Print shipping labels in seconds, connect to your carriers like DHL or GLS, and manage returns smoothly. Especially useful for stores doing fulfillment in-house before switching to 3PL.
Billbee: My go-to invoicing tool in Germany. It creates legally compliant invoices and integrates perfectly with Shopify. If you’re working with accounting software like Lexware, Billbee saves you hours of manual work every month.
Lexware Office: A powerful accounting solution used widely in Germany. Works great with tools like Billbee and makes your tax reporting way easier. Best suited for merchants who want full financial oversight.
GetMyInvoices: A must-have for bookkeeping. Automatically pulls invoices from your email inbox or supplier websites and syncs them to your accounting tool. Huge time-saver if you manage lots of SaaS tools or supplier orders.
PayPal Working Capital: Get quick funding based on your PayPal revenue. The repayment is fully automated and deducted as a small percentage of your daily sales. Perfect if you need extra cash flow for stock or ad spend – similar to Shopify Capital.
📈 Analytics & tracking
Good data is the backbone of every smart marketing decision. These tools help you track performance across channels, analyze real profitability, and fine-tune your store for conversions and retention.
Pandectes Cookie Banner: Pandectes is my go-to app for cookie consent on Shopify. It’s fully GDPR-compliant, easy to customize, and integrates smoothly with your store's theme.
Google Analytics: Track all user behavior on your site – traffic, conversions, retention, and more. Use GA4 with Shopify for powerful cross-device and multi-touch insights.
Lifetimely: Go beyond revenue tracking. See exact profit per product or customer, calculate contribution margin, and monitor blended ROAS. Ideal for small stores – with Klar as a more advanced (but pricier) alternative for later growth stages.
Klar: A premium analytics suite for DTC brands. Helps you track CM2, LTV, Blended ROAS, marketing attribution, and profitability in one beautiful dashboard. Designed for scaling brands that need deep financial visibility.
Mable: A powerful data optimization tool that improves ad performance across all platforms by sending cleaner, more accurate data (+108% ROAS through better Data for your Ad-Algorithms). No technical skills needed. Ideal once you hit €5–10k/month in revenue and want to scale profitably.
Zigpoll: Run post-purchase surveys to learn how customers found you, what almost stopped them from buying, and what ultimately convinced them. Use those insights to improve your funnel, targeting, and messaging – no more guessing.
Hotjar: Visualize how users interact with your store via heatmaps, screen recordings, and scroll tracking. Great for identifying UX issues and increasing conversions.
Typeform: Create interactive surveys, quizzes, and feedback forms that are fun to fill out. Perfect for collecting zero-party data and learning more about your audience.
💌 Marketing & retention – tools that drive repeat sales
Marketing doesn’t stop at acquisition. To build a profitable brand, you need the right tools to engage your audience, recover lost sales, and turn one-time buyers into loyal fans. These tools help you increase revenue, reduce churn, and build long-term customer relationships.
Klaviyo: One of the most powerful email marketing platforms for Shopify. Automate abandoned cart emails, winbacks, and post-purchase flows using smart segmentation and real-time customer data. Easily accounts for 20–30% of total store revenue when used well.
Reviews.io: Collect product and store reviews to boost trust and conversion. Display them beautifully on your homepage, PDPs, or even in your checkout. Bonus: It integrates seamlessly with Klaviyo for automated review requests and flows.
LoyaltyLion: Build a fully customizable loyalty program with points, rewards, referrals, and tiered incentives. Ideal for increasing retention and lifetime value – without relying on constant discounts or aggressive remarketing.
Charles: A WhatsApp-based conversational commerce platform for DTC brands. Perfect for product drops, re-engagement, and high-converting product advice. Adds a personal touch to your customer experience.
Recharge: Recharge is the leading solution for subscription-based commerce on Shopify. Whether you're selling nutrition, supplements, or beauty products, this app helps you set up flexible and fully integrated subscription models.
💬 Customer support – better conversations, happier customers
Providing excellent customer support is key to building trust and turning first-time buyers into loyal customers. Whether you need live chat, helpdesk automation, or AI-powered support, these tools help you handle inquiries efficiently and keep your customers satisfied.
Tidio: Combines live chat, automated replies, and AI-powered chatbots into one powerful support solution. Great for improving conversion rates and providing 24/7 help.
Zendesk: Industry-standard customer service tool. Centralize tickets from email, chat, and social in one place and build a professional support team around it.
🎨 Design, branding & creative tools
Design defines how your brand feels. Whether you’re crafting your visual identity, creating ad creatives, or simply compressing images – these tools help you keep everything polished, fast, and on-brand.
Canva: My go-to tool for designing everything: product images, ad creatives, social posts, and quick videos. It’s fast, intuitive, and packed with templates. I literally use it every single day.
Adobe Creative Cloud: The Adobe Creative Cloud gives you access to professional design tools like Photoshop, Illustrator, and Premiere Pro. If you’re creating high-end assets for branding, packaging, or ad creatives, there’s no way around it.
TinyJPG: Compress images for free without losing quality. Ideal for speeding up your store’s load time by reducing file size – especially useful for product galleries and homepage banners.
Coolors: Find color palettes that actually look good together. I use it to explore combinations, generate brand kits, and find balanced tones that fit the mood of my store.
Google Fonts: Browse and use high-quality web fonts for your Shopify store. Clean typography goes a long way in creating a premium feel.
Favicon Generator: Helps you create browser icons in every required size and format. Makes your store look more polished and professional.
Pixabay: Free stock images and videos for commercial use. Great for blog content, placeholder images, or ad inspiration – all royalty-free.
Fiverr: Fiverr is a great platform for outsourcing small one-off tasks like logo design, video voice-overs, translations, or custom coding tweaks. I’ve used it many times when I needed something quick and affordable without hiring an agency.
🧠 AI & content creation
Whether you're building ad creatives, improving your copy, or managing campaigns – these tools give you a competitive edge. AI tools are becoming essential, and smart ad management helps you scale profitably without wasting budget.
ChatGPT: My daily assistant for everything from brainstorming to product descriptions. Helps with copywriting, translations, email flows, and even technical support. If you’re not using AI for your store, you’re missing out.
Gemini: Google’s AI assistant – a strong alternative to ChatGPT. Especially helpful for analyzing data from Google Sheets, Search Console, or Ads if you're already in the Google ecosystem.
Writesonic: Fast, AI-powered writing assistant. Great for creating blog posts, ad copy, or email content. Offers tons of templates, from product descriptions to social captions.
Midjourney: The best AI image generator for high-quality, artistic visuals. I use it to mock up campaign visuals, product ideas, and social content. You’ll be amazed at the creative possibilities.
Runway: A game-changer for AI video editing. Add effects, edit scenes, or generate animations with just a few clicks. Especially helpful for creating branded content or TikTok-style ads.
Buffer: Helps you plan and publish social media posts across multiple platforms. Especially useful for scheduling product drops or campaigns in advance.
📢 Ad creation, management & feed tools
This is where great campaigns begin. From creative generation to feed management and smart scaling – these tools help you make better ads and stretch your budget further.
Meta Ads Library: A powerful (and free) tool to spy on competitor ads. See what’s running right now on Meta – get inspiration for copy, format, and offers that are working.
Canva: My go-to tool for designing image ads and little animations for video ads. It’s fast, intuitive, and packed with templates. I literally use it every single day.
ElevenLabs: By far the best AI voices for text-to-speech. Use it to generate voiceovers for ads, product explainers, or even customer support. Sounds impressively natural.
CapCut: My favorite video editor for quick social ads. Way easier than Premiere Pro and designed for short-form content. Includes templates, text overlays, and AI tools to speed up the process.
Speekly: Speekly is a UGC platform that connects you with creators to produce authentic, high-converting videos for social ads. Ideal for testing new angles and boosting ROAS with native-style content.
Arcads: An ad tool focused on high-converting UGC-style creatives. Helps you build attention-grabbing video ads without expensive production.
DatAds: Helps you manage and scale your ad campaigns by syncing product data and performance insights across platforms. Great for making data-driven creative decisions.
Clideo: Simple online tool for compressing videos. Makes your Shopify product videos load faster without losing quality. Ideal when you want speed without sacrificing visuals.
Producthero: A CSS Partner that lets you save 20% of your Google Ads budget by switching from Google CSS to theirs. Fully legit and Shopify-compatible. Free money, basically.
Channable: One of the best feed management tools out there. Sync your product data across platforms like Google, Meta, Pinterest and more. Great for multi-market stores.
Confect.io: This tool automatically creates dynamic ad creatives using your product catalog – with your brand fonts, colors and overlays. Especially useful for remarketing and catalog ads.
Socioh: Great for building branded catalog creatives for Meta and Pinterest. Perfect if you want to control your look and feel without hiring a designer.
Google Ads Script by Mike Rhodes: A smart automation script that helps optimize your Performance Max campaigns. If you’re running serious Google Ads, this is a hidden gem.
🔍 SEO tools – boost your organic visibility
If you want to reduce your dependence on paid traffic, you need a solid SEO strategy. These tools help you identify relevant keywords, analyze your competitors, optimize your content, and monitor your rankings – so your store can grow sustainably.
Ahrefs: A powerhouse for SEO and competitor research. Track your keyword rankings, discover backlink opportunities, and monitor your content performance. Especially useful for finding gaps in your strategy and identifying high-potential keywords.
Semrush: A complete digital marketing suite – great for SEO, PPC research, and content planning. Includes tools for keyword tracking, site audits, and competitive analysis. Ideal for teams or stores managing multiple channels.
Google Search Console: Gives you direct insights from Google on how your site is indexed and which keywords are driving traffic. Absolutely essential for any SEO efforts.
Google Pagespeed Insights: Analyzes your website speed on mobile and desktop, then gives you actionable recommendations to improve load times. Faster sites rank better and convert more – especially on mobile.
GTmetrix: Another great tool for performance optimization. It provides detailed technical audits and waterfall charts so you can pinpoint what’s slowing your store down.
💻 Coding, development & customization
Even if you’re not a developer, these tools help you tweak, build, and customize your Shopify store. From Liquid snippets to coding references – here’s what makes dev work easier and cleaner.
W3Schools: The ultimate resource for learning HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and more. Their tutorials and documentation are beginner-friendly and easy to reference while working on your theme.
HTML Color Picker (W3Schools): Perfect for adjusting brand colors or finding matching tones. I use it to lighten or darken a color in precise 5% increments.
FontAwesome: A library of icons that you can embed directly into your Shopify theme. Helps you quickly add visual elements without custom design work.
Shopify Cheat Sheet: Provides all the most-used Liquid tags, filters, and logic – great for customizing sections or building your own theme features.
Shopify Liquid Code Examples: Official GitHub repo with real-life Liquid examples. Helps you understand how Shopify logic works so you can implement smart customizations.
Shopify Developers Platform: Official hub for building apps, themes, and custom integrations. Ideal if you’re working with developers or building something advanced.
Shopify Partner Directory: A curated list of verified Shopify Experts, freelancers, and agencies who can help with development, design, marketing, and more.
