The Shopify App Store has over 8,000 apps. That's a lot of options — and a lot of ways to accidentally slow your store down, create checkout conflicts, or install something that stops being maintained six months later.
Most advice about Shopify apps focuses on which apps to install. This guide focuses on how to evaluate any app before you install it, and how to clean up the ones you've already got.
The first thing to check: does it inject scripts on your storefront?
Apps fall into two categories: ones that only run in your Shopify admin (backend apps) and ones that load code on your actual storefront (frontend apps). Frontend apps have performance implications that backend apps don't.
Every piece of JavaScript an app loads on your storefront is code that runs in your customer's browser. Too many scripts and your page load time goes up. Page load time going up means conversions going down.
Before installing any app, check:
- Does it have a storefront component? (Most apps describe this in their listing)
- Does the listing or the app developer mention performance impact?
- Is there a way to limit which pages the app loads on?
Some categories of apps almost always affect storefront performance: live chat, pop-ups, loyalty widgets, upsell bars, product reviews (if they load dynamically), and anything that renders UI elements on your pages. This doesn't mean you shouldn't use them — it means you should be selective about which ones you use and how many you stack.
Reading the reviews properly
App store ratings are useful but require some interpretation.
Look at the 1-star and 2-star reviews specifically. Positive reviews often tell you the app works as advertised when everything goes right. Negative reviews tell you what happens when something goes wrong — and specifically whether the developer responds, fixes things, and treats merchants fairly.
An app with a 4.8 rating and no developer responses to negative reviews is a different kind of risk than an app with a 4.5 rating where the developer has visibly resolved every complaint.
Check the review dates. An app with 200 reviews but the most recent one is from 18 months ago might be unmaintained. Shopify updates its platform regularly, and apps that aren't updated alongside it can break — sometimes silently.
Filter for merchants similar to you. A 5-star review from a merchant doing $50k/month on a general store is more relevant to you than a review from an enterprise merchant with a dedicated developer team.
What to look at in the app listing
Last updated date. Look for this in the technical details section of the app listing. Anything last updated more than a year ago should be approached with caution unless the app is doing something very simple.
Number of active installs. More installs generally means more real-world testing and more incentive for the developer to maintain the app. An app with 50,000 active installs is less likely to be abandoned than one with 200.
Support response time. Some listings show average support response time. This matters — if something breaks on your store, you need to know the developer is reachable.
Pricing model. Understand how you'll be charged before you install. Some apps have usage-based pricing that can scale unexpectedly (per image processed, per order, per email sent). Know the billing model upfront.
Questions to ask before installing
Do you actually need this? Many merchants install apps to solve problems they don't have yet, or to replicate features they saw on a competitor's store without knowing whether those features are actually driving results for that competitor. Install apps that solve a specific, identified problem.
Does Shopify do this natively? Shopify has added a lot of functionality to its core platform over the years. Before installing an app for email capture, abandoned cart recovery, SEO basics, or order tracking, check whether Shopify already handles it.
Is there a simpler alternative? Sometimes the right answer is a one-time theme customization instead of an ongoing app subscription. If a feature can be added via a small theme code change, that's often better than an app that runs indefinitely.
Auditing what you already have installed
If your store has been running for more than a year, it probably has apps installed that are no longer doing anything useful. Here's how to audit:
Go to your app list and categorize each app into one of three buckets: - Actively using and it's working - Installed but not sure if it's doing anything - Definitely not using this
Uninstall everything in bucket three immediately. For bucket two, check whether the app is actively loading on your storefront (you can do this with browser developer tools or a performance testing tool like WebPageTest) and whether removing it would affect anything.
Run PageSpeed Insights before and after removing apps. This gives you a measurable sense of whether a cleanup improved performance.
Check for app conflicts. If you've had unexplained issues with checkout, cart behavior, or any page functionality, there's a reasonable chance two apps are conflicting with each other. Conflicts between pop-up apps, cart modification apps, and checkout scripts are common.
The best app stack is a small one
The merchants with the fastest, most reliable Shopify stores tend to have fewer apps than you'd expect. They've replaced multiple overlapping apps with one well-chosen one, removed anything that isn't actively contributing revenue, and been deliberate about adding new ones.
More apps doesn't mean more features — it means more scripts, more potential conflicts, and more subscription costs. The best Shopify app stack is one where every app earns its place.
