I’m working on building a custom Shopify application and I have some questions about the technical requirements. Do I need to set up my own server or hosting service to run the app once users install it on their stores?
I’m also curious about customizing the interface. Is it possible to add custom elements or modify the admin dashboard and the customer-facing store pages? I want to make sure I understand the hosting requirements and UI customization options before I continue development.
Any guidance on these technical aspects would be really helpful for planning my app architecture.
Yes, external hosting is necessary once you install your Shopify application on a store. Your app will run on your own servers and communicate with Shopify using APIs and webhooks. Depending on your app’s needs and your budget, I’ve used platforms like AWS and Heroku.
As for customizing the interface, you have ample options available. The Admin API and App Bridge allow you to tailor the admin dashboard, while the Storefront API enables you to add custom sections and app blocks for merchants. It’s important to think about scaling early, as you’ll need to manage the server load as your user base grows.
yep, you gotta use your own hosting. digitalocean is what I use, pretty good! your app will run from your server and connect to shopify via their api. you can customize some of the UI, but don’t expect to change shopify’s layout too much.
Yeah, you’ll need hosting but it depends on how complex your app is. I started with a simple Node.js app on Railway - worked great for testing and early development. Your app basically sits between Shopify and whatever custom stuff you’re building.
UI customization is way more flexible than you’d think. App Bridge lets you build custom admin pages that look native to Shopify. For storefronts, App Blocks are awesome - merchants can just drag and drop your components right into their theme editor. You get tons of control over the customer experience without messing with theme code.
Biggest lesson I learned: webhook management matters big time once you scale. Make sure your hosting can handle webhook processing reliably - Shopify expects quick responses.