5 Shopify Development Trends You Need to Consider in 2023

1. Improve the mobile checkout experience

Black Friday 2022 broke records, but for senior ecommerce consultant Kurt Elster the real story was that on Thanksgiving evening a record number of people shopped after dinner from their phones.

For Plus merchants, Shopify’s Checkout UI Extensions now make checkout customizations as easy as installing an app.

For non-Plus merchants, Shopify Functions will provide backend scripting power similar to Plus plans’ Script Editor. Functions will allow devs to make more efficient and powerful apps that streamline discount and checkout logic.

In 2023, more merchants will be looking for apps that support the new checkout and it poses another opportunity for developers to create value for their clients.

You might also like: 9 Key Commerce Trends You Need to Watch in 2023.

2. Cut down development time by enhancing pre-built themes

Due to increased inflation and the threat of a recession, merchants are looking for more cost-saving measures in the new year. This means Shopify developers need to use their resources wisely.

Together with Shopify’s GitHub integration and Shopify CLI for themes, this approach simplifies code updates, Thomas explains, and allows easy integration of custom sections created by in-house developers alongside using libraries of pre-built sections.

3. Make the most of metafields

Metafields is a flexible way to extend Shopify’s native functionality by enabling the storage of additional information about a resource — like a size guide on a product page, a relevant warranty upsell within the basket, or some deeper customer information at signup.

Metafields have benefits for customers, developers, and store owners alike; they improve everyone’s experience of the Shopify ecosystem.

Specifically, the team at Thought and Mortar has identified the following trends:

Developers relinquishing control to clients: Clients are now able to create their own metafields and link them into their own themes without the need for additional development resources.

Customers looking for more content on PDP pages: More product-specific information empowers customers to make key decisions at key moments, thereby increasing engagement with content such as size guides, warranty info, and product weights with or without packaging. As a result, customers need less customer service.

Store owners storing more data-points against customer records: Metafields can be used for both connecting APIs with third-party CRMs, as well as giving customer service teams immediate access to customer information at any touchpoint across the Shopify admin (e.g. VAT numbers, preferred contact methods, customer IDs).

4. Take headless commerce to the next level

As the understanding of headless commerce matures, Ian Jamieson, head of technology at Shopify Plus agency Swanky, believes we will see the increased adoption of Hydrogen (Shopify’s React-based framework for building custom storefronts) and Oxygen (Shopify’s hosting platform for Hydrogen storefronts).

Jamieson expects more complete new headless builds, the integration of standalone Hydrogen UI components within existing headless projects, and more advanced and innovative use cases beyond enhanced performance and improved developer experience.

Specifically, he sees these opportunities presented by composable architectures:

A shift to unified content platforms such as Sanity.io, which enables the creation of truly dynamic and regionalized content experiences while reducing the workload on content creation teams.

Deep integration ofblazing-fast personalization and machine learning recommendation engines, such as those provided by Crossing Minds and Dynamic Yield, to provide a more engaging buying experience and increase retention.

Use of better A/B testing and feature-flagging capabilities, via platforms such LaunchDarkly and Growthbook, which derive and share valuable insights into buying behavior.

Drew Garratt, principal headless developer at Shopify Plus agency We Make Websites, thinks Shopify’s recent acquisition of open-source React framework Remix will push headless commerce even further.

5. Adopt an objectives-first mentality

Galen King, founder and strategic director of Shopify Plus agency Lucid, points out that if you’ve worked with a client for some time, you will have a constantly growing list of feature requests and requirements for changes to their store. It’s less likely to have a clear picture of their goals and objectives.

The issue with building features and functionality, however, is that it’s easy to lose the view of where your client is, where they want to be, and how you might help them get there.

This helps you lead your clients better as you will ask better questions, unpack the why and the purpose behind requests, and, ultimately, develop better solutions to the underlying problems.

By reframing the requests, you’ll also find that many client requests aren’t actually necessary and you and/or your team will spend less time building things that have little impact and more time designing simpler solutions to increasingly complex problems that will have real value to your clients.

As a result, you will be able to iterate more quickly, keep your clients for longer, and increase profitability for your team and for your clients. You will find that you quickly become less of a tool in their toolbox and more of a highly-valued expert resource that is instrumental in their growth.