Features like product upsell recommendations, search, sort & filtering, and bundle building can pay off in dividends; however, they do require additional functionality to be implemented on top of a basic Shopify store. Third-party apps hold the advantage of offering an out-of-the-box solution that covers most bases, while custom-built functionality allows for a bespoke experience tailored to a business's specific customer base and needs (albeit at a higher price tag).

There is no one size fits all answer to which solution works better for all clients, and part of my job is to evaluate what works best for a client. This can be shaped by factors such as site build setup, business integrations, team capacity, and of course, budget.

In a world with rising costs and tighter funds, I see more clients wondering what they can trim down to make budgets stretch further while still keeping the ship sailing. One place some clients look to do this is in their tech stack — are third-party apps giving them the most bang for their buck? Or does it make sense to invest in custom-building a solution with native Shopify that will not require a recurring cost like apps do?

Part of my job is to determine the depth of a client's functionality requirements, conduct discovery with my developer teammates to determine if a native Shopify counterpart can be built, identify any risks or limitations, and assess whether the cost of building will be lower than the monthly cost of keeping a third-party app solution. In other words: I get to help figure out whether the juice is worth the squeeze. 🍋

The sky's the limit on innovation, but thinking about how to implement an amazing design can be overwhelming for clients. How do we build a feature without having it go live prematurely? What does the client need to do before launching the feature, and what can our team do to support prep?

My job doesn't stop at designing a clean solution that's user-friendly and visually appealing; it also involves designing a solution with an implementation approach that feels attainable for a client and their stakeholders. I collaborate with my team to put together a game plan for production, identify what should be tackled first, and identify to-dos for the client so that implementation feels doable for everyone.

A feature can be designed and developed beautifully, but it will never see the light of day if the client lacks the bandwidth to populate content or is intimidated by the settings configuration.

I work closely with development to determine settings that are as streamlined as possible, and when it's time to ship the feature to the client for review, I try to include thorough documentation and testing notes where possible — that way, content population tasks can be easily delegated among their team.