Unveiling a host of a new platform with changes and improvements to its Storefronts and Checkout offerings + Zero percent revenue share for Shopify App Developers - Shopify Unite 2021 deep dives in making the future of Commerce easy. 

From the infrastructure changes, tooling to technologies that will unlock in the future of Commerce, here’s a roundup of everything announced for your Shopify stores advantage:

Online Store 2.0 

As the future of commerce relies on creative expression at every touchpoint, Shopify announces Online Store 2.0 to give Shopify developers, Shopify stores merchants greater levels of flexibility and customization without touching code.

What includes Shopify Online store 2.0?

1. Themes Editor

To configure and build the store's design, i.e., a granular way of customizing the layout of your Shopify stores.

Sections on every page:

By moving all of a theme's Liquid code into JSON templates - Your Shopify store's theme editor is now like an online store's Lego blocks. With the help of Shopify Partners, you can take these sections and use them to personalize every aspect of Shopify stores with various templates and selections. 

Build the template that defines your requirement for a page, like you can specify which sections to its working configuration.

2. Theme app extensions with app blocks

With no structured, end-to-end solution for Shopify Apps to easily integrate with your Shopify store’s theme, Shopify Partners and App developers usually develop a different integration logic for each store. This might not affect you as a merchant, but the chances of improving your Shopify store's performance with the Shopify "Theme app extensions” for Shopify developers are high. 

Built-in modularity:

Theme App extensions features allow Shopify App store developers to integrate their apps in your Shopify stores via app blocks. This means the Shopify app store developers can change their app through the theme editor without touching the theme's code. Also, to your advantage, you can uninstall their app easily with no ghost code left behind.

Host and manage assets:

The extension allows the Shopify developers (App store) to effortlessly add their app's supporting assets fast via Shopify's CDN so your Shopify stores can better perform with quick updates. 

3. Display Flexible Store Content

Improvements to meta fields:

Building templates without content might be bland. To help you push content or the extra pieces of data, you can attach to your Shopify stores  products, customers, orders, and other objects without using APIs or code - Shopify revamps the access to meta fields. 

Available later this year, you can define and edit meta fields directly in the Shopify store’s admin with a Shopify partners developer. Connect the meta fields to apps or your Shopify theme store, and personalize more of your Shopify store.

Display your product and variant configuration like fabric care instructions, delivery time frames, backorder dates anywhere in your store, such as your product pages or even checkout.

File picker:

Rather than hard-coding an asset into your Shopify theme store, the meta field file picker, which now supports media such as images or PDF files, makes it easy to upload and select media on your Shopify stores  - product pages. 

Scenario: If you want a product warranty or sizing chart available for download on a product page, the file picker makes it easy to select that file with a simple UX and insert it where the file meta field is placed on their theme.

Files API:

Targeted for Shopify partners  - App developers, where their app can easily gain access to the contents of Settings/Files through the new Files API, meaning GraphQL API enables apps to upload or select existing media content from Settings/Files. This allows apps to easily use their files and images that aren't directly related to a product, such as images used in themes.

Where to see all of these Shopify 2.0 in action? 

Built for the future with cutting-edge technologies -   DAWN

Shopify's first open-source reference theme, built using all the new features available in Shopify 2.0 and mentioned in the Shopify unite announcements. The Shopify theme store maximizes your flexibility and minimizes your complexities as you move forward. 

Dawn Shopify theme store features and benefits:

• It loads 35 percent faster than Debut Shopify Theme store. 
• Built with JSON templates, meaning you can use it as a model when unlocking sections on your own Shopify website themes. 
• Built with semantic markup with HTML and CSS to create great experiences on all browsers.

Up next, 

4. GitHub integration

Shopify introduces Github integration to make your theme change or update safely without any loss of data, so you or your Shopify partners can easily collaborate, move it with version controls, and review it before populating to a live theme.

5. Extend Shopify Checkout with apps

You know that Shopify website Checkout is critical for converting a visitor to a customer. Ensuring that Shopify website Checkout is the best in the world, Shopify announces extending the checkout through Shopify app store for everyone.

This new change will help you build whatever change or customization you ever wanted on the Shopify theme store Checkout without the need to go through the editor or the checkout. Liquid. 

In addition, this update includes changes to Shopify Scripts and a new payments platform.

6. Shopify Scripts

The exclusive Shopify Plus feature can now be built using local development workflow instead of using the online Script Editor. Also, with so many changes in the Shopify Infrastructure -Changes in Shopify website builder( theme store) to Shopify Partners developer console, you will now be able to leverage more reliable and faster Scripts for your store. 

Plus, you can benefit from the scripts via the Shopify App store, which allows you to leverage various growth opportunities without touching code. You can deploy it on multiple stores at once if you have any. 

Suppose you are in for an immediate solution. In that case, HulkApps Shopify Scripts gives your Shopify stores the power to affect carts at an essential level, meaning you can apply things like line item level discounts without the sort of hackery that existing applications have to perform. Explore more with HulkApps, Shopify Partners. 

7. Shopify Payments:

Do you like to start Shopify stores with just one product or just a product variant? No right! Similarly, having a single payment option can be good, but even a bit of friction can cause a high churn rate.

To allow your customers to choose their preferred payment method, Shopify’s Payments Platform with Shopify developers will enable payment providers to build new integrations into Shopify. This helps you increase checkout conversions and brings new business value to sell more and in more places. 

Just as a note, You could easily get up and start running a subscription business with HulkApps Shopify ReCharge integration in minutes. With our Shopify developers, support, and resources, you can easily automate your work and find productivity in superpowers

8. Buy Now, Pay later:

With the help of Shopify partners, Give your customers the flexibility to think BIG  with Shopify's "Shop Pay Installments," a feature currently available in the US only, and increase each customer's average order value. 

What are Shop Pay Installments? 

Allow customers to buy now and pay later and split their purchases into four interest-free payments, with 0% interest and no additional, hidden, or late fees. Currently available on orders of $50–$1,000, including taxes and shipping. 

You may be interested in:

1. Form Builder Shopify App:

If you need forms for generating leads, collecting payments, distributing surveys, tracking page views, and more, Form Builder is for you. Trusted by thousands, this form maker helps you build Unlimited Forms quickly and hassle-free. Embed just one snippet of code, and you’ll be up and running in no time. Learn more about Form Builder with File Upload.

2. Post Purchase Survey:

Improving the performance and experience of your website starts with understanding what your visitors want and what's preventing them from achieving it. Target questions to specific visitors anywhere on your web and mobile site. (even on the order confirmation or thank you page). Click here to learn more.

Apart from the above-mentioned points:

Shopify is launching several improvements to its Storefront API, including 

• A cart functionality which estimates the cost of products with taxes and discounts, 
• Pushing the limits by creating selling plans through Shopify’s native checkout, 
• Enhancing buyer experience with International pricing, and
• Optimizing the local pickup options.

In the Shopify Unite 2021  - we are also introduced to Hydrogen. This new React framework allows developers to build custom storefronts and Oxygen, which will act as the hosting platform for custom storefronts Shopify.

If you face any issue with your Shopify store or Shopify migration, you can reach out to HulkApps Shopify Support. 

Learn more with our references:

• https://www.shopify.in/enterprise/unite
• https://www.shopify.com/partners/blog/shopify-online-store