Well, folks, it's that time of the year again! Shopify has just rolled out their Summer Editions 2023, and I'm here to share with you some of the updates that have got us super excited at Gadget.
The top 3 announcements coming out of Editions that I’m most excited about are:
AI for Commerce (Shopify Magic)
App Development Enhancements
World's Best Checkout
First on our list is the introduction of AI capabilities into Shopify, a feature that's been aptly named Shopify Magic. Although most of these new features are merchant-specific, it is exciting to see Shopify jumping on the AI bandwagon. It’s a good sign that there’s a need for AI-powered tools in ecommerce, and app developers can find creative ways to incorporate them.
With features like Sidekick, the new AI-enabled commerce assistant that can recommend different apps to merchants, there’s a whole new way to think about marketing your app or finding unique and helpful ways to solve merchant problems.
Ultimately, Shopify Magic is a great reminder that Shopify will always do what’s best for the merchant, and as app developers, we should too.
Next up, we have some major enhancements in the app development department. Shopify has always been a platform that encourages innovation and creativity, and these new updates take that to a whole new level.
The Shopify CLI received a major overhaul. The default template now uses Remix for building admin-embedded applications. There’s also an exciting new option for extension-only CLI apps! With this, you can build and launch apps without building an admin app, easily add extensions to an existing application, or build your admin app using a different tech stack. Shopify went with a config-as-code approach, which means you can fully configure your extension-only app through a toml file included in the project root. Extension deployment and versioning have also (thankfully!) been simplified, and you can deploy your extensions with a single command in the CLI.
And speaking of extensions… Shopify has rolled out new Function APIs, made JavaScript support available in full release, and added new platform capabilities. This means that developers now have even more tools at their disposal to create powerful, efficient, and customized solutions for Shopify businesses.
One of the most exciting updates is the introduction of admin UI extensions. These allow us to customize built-in pages of the Shopify admin such as the products or orders pages, and help provide a seamless user experience. It's like being able to customize your own command center, tailoring it to fit your specific needs and preferences. Admin UI extensions are in developer preview right now, so there is plenty of time to try them out before integrating them into your Shopify apps.
Finally, a new version of Polaris has been announced. The admin has a new coat of paint and gives us a glimpse of the direction Polaris v12 will be going. Embedded apps will have a new design language with this release, so if you want your apps to feel “Shopify native”, upgrading might be a good idea. You can read more about the updates to the design system in Shopify’s Polaris beta docs.
Last but certainly not least, we have the World's Best Checkout. We know Shopify has been tweaking and refining the checkout experience for months, making it smoother, faster, and more efficient. And with the World’s Best Checkout, come new opportunities for checkout UI extensions, like custom checkout forms, pre-purchase upsells, and many other minor customization options merchants will be looking for.
The new one-page checkout is revolutionary. It simplifies the checkout process, making it easier for customers to complete their purchases. This not only improves the customer experience but also helps to increase conversion rates. There’s no doubt this will give developers new ways to think about the checkout experience when it comes to apps and extensions.
There were too many Editions updates to cover in one post, so for now, that’s my top three. I recommend all Shopify app developers take a look at the full overview of the 2023 Summer Editions announcement, over at the Editions Hub.
And as always, if you're looking to build public or custom Shopify apps without the boilerplate, check out Gadget, try one of our tutorials, or join our community Discord.
