What do billion-dollar companies like FitBit, Penguin Books, Lindt & Sprüngli, Hyatt Hotels Corp., and Kylie Cosmetics have in common? They are supported by Shopify, a Canadian eCommerce platform for retail point-of-sale systems and online retailers.
eCommerce systems assist B2B and B2C businesses by providing the front-end and back-end architecture necessary for online storefronts. They provide a smooth client experience and allow any online business to grow in size.
Shopify gives you complete control over the design and setting of your store because it is a cloud-based application. It is a fantastic option for companies selling tangible and intangible products or services. Over 1 million businesses choose Shopify as their preferred eCommerce platform for various reasons, including its adaptability, feature-rich capabilities, and customizability.
Businesses may increase income, expand globally, and streamline client relationships by selecting the proper eCommerce platform. Shopify is a great platform, and its development shop offering—specifically, its sample store capabilities—is helpful for testing app and website functionality. Shopify is an excellent choice if your company offers goods with less than 100 different product variations per item.
What is a Shopify Development Store?
Although creating an eCommerce website from scratch is difficult, Shopify is a platform that may be helpful in this endeavour. Shopify is the chosen eCommerce platform for over a million businesses because it provides high quality, effectiveness, simplicity, and a wealth of features. Before adopting the platform, eCommerce companies may install and test various themes for their online “storefronts” by opening a Shopify development store account.
Some web providers only let the creation of a single website version, URL, and domain; however, Shopify Partners may open an infinite number of development shops for testing. And they’re not merely for visual layout testing. To test the functionality of all your apps and add-ons before going live, you’ll also get access to Shopify’s discount engine, real-time carrier-calculated shopping, abandoned checkout recovery, and 50 test orders.
The Partner Dashboard allows access to a free account called a Shopify development shop. It offers features comparable to the Advanced Shopify plan and has no time restrictions. However, you cannot install premium applications or make more than 10 private apps until you upgrade to a paid account. That’s why hiring an agency to create a development store for you is advantageous!
What Features Do Shopify Development Stores Offer an eCommerce Business?
According to Shopify, Development stores allow organizations to:
- Install and test apps and themes still in development
- Build a demo Shopify store
Development shops provide the optimal testing environment for developing online eCommerce platforms without trial restrictions that end after a specific amount of time. If you have an existing storefront, you can set up a development environment with Shopify without changing it. After you’re satisfied with the new design, you can migrate your business to it.
A word of advice: All new development shops require a password. The only ways for users to access the development shop are by entering their passwords on the password page, signing into the development store’s admin, or clicking a link to a demo in the Shopify Theme Store or Shopify App Store. The development shop password is not connected to the online store’s theme and cannot be altered, unlike the configurable password page for a premium plan or free trial store.
How Can I Build a Shopify Development Store?
You need a Shopify Partner account to create a Shopify development store. It allows users to test Shopify shop features and is free to join. You may use free training sessions and other helpful tools as a Shopify Partner to use the platform to advance your company.
You may create a development store by following these steps after creating a free Shopify account:
- Log into your Shopify Partner dashboard.
- Click Stores.
- Click Add Store.
- In the Store type section, select Development store.
- In the Login Information section, enter a name for your store and a development store password that you will use to log in.
- Optional: You can enable a developer preview by selecting the developer version from the drop-down list.
- In the store address section, enter your address.
- Optional: Select why you’re creating this development store in the store purpose section.
- Click Save.
Your Shopify Development shop can be archived after it has been built. You must transfer ownership and choose a Shopify plan if you want your Shopify development shop to become live. All limitations are removed from the development shop after this is executed.
Some businesses utilize the developer preview for Shopify development stores to get early access to new Shopify capabilities so they can create and test applications using those features before they are officially launched. A warning: Development shop’s built-in developer preview mode cannot be sold or upgraded to a premium subscription.