How to see what apps a Shopify store is using

What the detector shows

Most of what makes a Shopify store feel finished is apps: the reviews under the product, the email pop-up, the cart upsell, the chat bubble, the subscription option. The Shopify app detector names the apps that load on a store's public pages and links each one to its App Store listing.

It sees what a shopper's browser sees. Apps that only work inside the Shopify admin, such as accounting, inventory or shipping label apps, leave nothing on the storefront and will not appear. The detector reads the public page like any visitor. Nothing is installed on the store and the owner is not told.

How to use it

1. Paste a store URL. A product page URL is better than the homepage, because review, subscription and size chart apps often load on the product and stay quiet elsewhere.
2. Read the list. Each app has a name and an App Store link.
3. Group them by job: reviews, email and SMS, upsells and bundles, chat and support, subscriptions, loyalty, pop-ups.
4. Open the listing for the apps that matter to you.
5. Repeat on a collection page and the cart if something you expected is missing.

How to read the result

• A short list is normal. A store with four apps can convert better than one with fifteen. Every app adds code that a shopper's phone has to load.
• Several apps for one job (two review apps, two pop-ups) can mean a store is mid-migration or has leftovers.
• The category tells you the strategy. A subscription widget and a loyalty program suggest a bet on repeat purchase. An upsell app and a cart goal suggest a bet on order value.
• A missing app is not proof it is not used. It may run only in the admin, or only on a page you did not check.

Worked example

This is an example, not a real store. You run a competitor's best-selling product URL and get four apps: a reviews app, an email and SMS app, an upsell app, and a chat tool. You then run their homepage and see the email app and the chat tool only.

You take away three points. They collect reviews at the point of purchase. They have a second offer after add to cart, which is the upsell. The theme and page are carrying the rest. Next you open the listing for the upsell app and read its pricing and what it claims to do. Then you check your own product page: do you have anything in that position? Use the Shopify CRO Audit on your own URL to see whether your cart has a second offer, and read the score guide to prioritise.

The jobs apps do, and what to look at

When you read a list, ask what job each app is hired for. Then ask whether you have that job to do.

• Reviews. Social proof near the buy button. Look at where on the page the reviews sit and whether photos are included.
• Email and SMS. Capture and follow-up. Look for the pop-up offer: is it a discount, a gift or an early-access list?
• Upsells and bundles. A second offer on the product page, in the cart, or after checkout. This is the job most directly tied to order value. The average order value lesson covers when it helps.
• Chat and support. Answers before the sale. Check whether it is a live agent, a bot or a form.
• Subscriptions and loyalty. A bet on repeat orders. Check the numbers with the lifetime value guide before copying it.
• Shipping and cart goals. A bar that shows how far the shopper is from free shipping or a gift.

The apps in the result link to their App Store listings. Read the listing's pricing, recent reviews and what changed in the last few months. An app that has not been updated in a year deserves caution.

Which page to run, and why

Apps load where they are needed, so the page you choose changes the answer.

• Product page. Reviews, bundles, size guides, subscription options, back-in-stock alerts and trust badges.
• Homepage. Email pop-ups, chat widgets, loyalty launchers and announcement bars.
• Collection page. Filters, quick-add buttons and merchandising apps.
• Cart page or drawer. Upsells and shipping goals. Add a product to the cart on the live store to see them, then run the detector on the cart URL where you can.

Two or three runs on different pages give you a much fuller picture than one on the homepage.

Deciding whether to install the same app

1. Write down the job: what problem would the app solve on your page?
2. Check the price against what the job is worth. An upsell that adds $4 to one order in ten is worth little to a store with 50 orders a month.
3. Compare two or three alternatives in the App Store.
4. Install on a duplicate theme, or test on a small share of traffic.
5. Measure it. If it does not move order value or conversion in two or three weeks, remove it and make sure its code is gone from the theme.

Run any extra margin through the margin guide first, because a monthly fee comes straight out of what each sale keeps.

Run it on your own store too

The detector is just as useful pointed at yourself. Paste your own product page and read the list as a stranger would. Three things usually turn up:

• Apps you forgot you installed. If one is no longer used, remove it, and check your theme for leftover code.
• Two apps doing one job. Pick one.
• A job nobody is doing. If the list has no reviews app and no second offer, that is a gap to think about before you buy more traffic.

Count what loads, not what you pay for. Each extra app is more code for a shopper's phone to download, which slows the page. If speed worries you, remove the app you can least justify, then run the detector again to confirm it no longer loads.

Common mistakes

• Copying a stack. Their apps fit their products and traffic. Yours may not need them.
• Judging by the homepage only. Run the product page.
• Installing and forgetting. Unused apps slow the page and add fees.
• Forgetting the theme. Many features are built into themes. Check the theme finder guide before you pay for something the theme already does.

What to check next

Apps are one layer. Add the theme, the ads and the catalog to see the rest: find the theme, see their ads, and export their products.

Shopify questions