Lessons learned creating my first Shopify app
After a few months of getting around the Shopify app development learning curve, I've finally released my first app.
I made some crucial mistakes in the beginning and I'd like to just cover the top 3 big ones.
Keep the scope way smaller than you think
My first version of the product was trying to solve 3 problems instead of hyper focusing on one.
I feel like this is classic MVP advice, you hear it over and over but it really doesn't stick until you realize you're a few months in and don't have a product ready.
I ended up scrapping my first idea which was an app that would compete with other players in the Trust & Safety space on Shopify.
Read the Forums first ya dummy
I assumed because I work in Trust & Safety for marketplaces that I understood how chargeback fraud works for e-commerce platforms.
It's simple right? Just create dynamic policies that will hold suspicious orders until they can be verified.
However, it's not that cut and dry. I've learned about issues within Shopify's own automatic payment flow that will still result in chargebacks for merchants even if you refund suspicious payments and never ship.
But, of course the builder in me didn't read these stories or understand that issue until I built a super complex proof of concept. My solution was effectively neutered by a logic bug I have no control over.
Can you explain your apps value in 1 phrase?
I wish I would have started listing apps on marketplaces instead of trying to start SaaS's from scratch over the years.
Why? Well because marketplaces with quality control will essentially teach you how to make a good landing page.
By working against the constraints that Shopify's Listing guidelines require, you learn how to communicate more effectively and even guide your product to it's real value prop easier.
A constraint sounds like a burden, but in fact it helped me focus on the problem I needed to solve for others. You're only given so many characters to deliver a message, how are you going to give a long winded explanation for your complicated solution to a problem?
The answer is you most likely can't, so reduce your solution footprint and focus on a smaller problem.
We're all just fishing
I had this tendency to get all excited over one idea. But the reality is, there are so many variables you don't even know you don't know. Until you get to understand a specific market, you're going to fail.
It's just like fishing. You draw up a hypothesis that you think casting a line next to a fallen tree will produce results. There are so many factors that could lead to success or failure: the time of day, the water temperature, the type of bait, the season, water quality, the way you're presenting the bait, the depth of the bait.
That's how I currently see my attempts at building a successful product. I'm just casting my line and playing with different variables in the market I'm interested in. If this line doesn't get bites, I'll pivot and throw another app into the water with a different set of hypotheses to back it.
Thanks for reading
I should probably tell you about this little app huh?
Blockade empowers merchants to control which countries have access to their site.
This enables them to:
- Avoid international shipping & compliance issues
- Block fraud right in the bud before checkout
- Protect digital download merchants from chargebacks because shipping is instant
Shopify merchants can download and use the app for free:
https://apps.shopify.com/blockade
This my first venture and I'm just looking for experience in this space. That's enough for me to consider this venture worth it.
