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What is Shopify Functions?

Last updated: May 24, 2023

Shopify is a popular ecommerce platform that helps businesses create online stores and sell products or services. Shopify Functions is a relatively new feature that has been introduced by Shopify to help store owners and developers build custom functionality on top of their Shopify stores. In this article, we'll explore what Shopify Functions is, how it works, and how it can benefit your business. Let's get started.
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Shopify Functions

Shopify Functions is a new feature introduced by Shopify to help developers build custom functionality on top of their Shopify stores. With Shopify Functions, developers can create and deploy serverless functions that can interact with Shopify's API, enabling them to perform various tasks such as adding new products, updating customer information, and processing orders.

Shopify Functions is built on top of AWS Lambda, which is a serverless computing platform provided by Amazon Web Services (AWS). This means that Shopify Functions can scale automatically to handle a large number of requests without requiring any additional infrastructure or configuration on your part.

How does Shopify Functions work?

Shopify Functions works by allowing developers to create serverless functions using popular programming languages such as JavaScript, TypeScript, and Python. These functions can then be uploaded to AWS Lambda, where they are executed in response to events such as a new order being placed or a customer updating their information.

Developers can use Shopify's API to interact with their Shopify store and perform various tasks such as adding new products, updating customer information, and processing orders. This Shopify API allows developers to access the store's data and functionality, making it easy to build custom solutions on top of Shopify.

Who is Shopify Functions For?

Shopify Functions is primarily designed for developers and businesses that want to extend the functionality of their Shopify stores beyond what is provided out of the box. It is also suitable for businesses that need to automate routine tasks or integrate with other systems or services. Here are a few examples of who Shopify Functions might be suitable for:

Developers: Shopify Functions is an ideal platform for developers who want to build custom functionality for their clients' Shopify stores. By leveraging serverless computing, developers can build scalable, high-performance applications that integrate seamlessly with Shopify.

Small businesses: Shopify Functions can be particularly beneficial for small businesses with limited resources. By automating routine tasks, such as updating inventory levels or processing orders, businesses can save time and reduce the risk of errors.

Medium to large businesses: Shopify Functions can also be useful for medium to large businesses that need to integrate with other systems or services. For example, a company might use a custom function to integrate with their inventory management system or automate the process of printing shipping labels to better facilitate efficient shipping options.

Businesses with complex requirements: If your business has complex requirements that cannot be met by off-the-shelf solutions, Shopify Functions can provide a high degree of flexibility and customisation to satisfy these business needs. By building custom functions, businesses can tailor their Shopify stores to meet specific requirements and customer demands.



Benefits of Shopify Functions

Increased flexibility: Shopify Functions offers a high degree of flexibility to developers and store owners. With the ability to create custom functions and workflows, businesses can tailor their online store to meet specific needs and customer demands. For example, a developer could create a custom function to automate the process of updating product inventory levels in real-time, which could save time and improve accuracy.

Improved performance: Shopify Functions are built on AWS Lambda, a serverless computing platform. This means that functions can scale up or down automatically in response to the amount or number of requests, ensuring that the store remains responsive even during periods of high traffic. This can help reduce page load times and improve the overall user experience.

Reduced costs: Since Shopify Functions are serverless, businesses only pay for the compute time used by the function, rather than paying for the entire server hosting, or infrastructure. This can help reduce costs significantly, particularly for smaller businesses or those with unpredictable traffic.

Better security: Shopify Functions run in a secure environment provided by AWS Lambda, which is designed to protect against potential security vulnerabilities. Additionally, Shopify Functions can be configured to access only the specific data and resources they need to operate, further reducing the risk of unauthorised access.

Increased automation: By leveraging Shopify Functions, companies can automate many routine tasks, freeing up time and resources to focus on higher-value activities. For example, a developer could create a custom function to automatically tag products based on certain criteria, making it easier to manage inventory and run promotions.

Enhanced integration: Shopify Functions can be used to integrate with other systems and services, such as third-party payment gateways, inventory management systems, and shipping providers. This can help streamline operations and reduce the need for manual data entry or duplicate efforts.

Why use Shopify Functions?

Shopify Functions enables developers to build custom functionality on top of Shopify stores. By leveraging the power of serverless computing, Shopify Functions offers increased flexibility, improved performance, reduced costs, and better security. Whether you're a developer looking to build custom solutions for your clients or a business owner looking to improve parts or all of your store's functionality, Shopify Functions is definitely worth exploring.

The release provides a window of opportunity for store owners and developers to create custom logic and customisations for their stores using code. These functions enable merchants to create backend logic that can handle tasks such as discounts, validations, and shipping rates, and cart / checkout customisations. With Shopify Functions, developers can use webAssembly and Rust to create custom logic for their stores. This functionality allows developers to write custom code that can handle everything from payment methods to shipping rates. Shopify Functions also enables store owners to create customisations using app extensions available in the Shopify app store.

Shopify Functions offer several other features that make it a valuable tool for merchants and developers. For example, it enables merchants to provide a better shopping experience for people vising your site by customising the checkout process with checkout extensibility, payment customisations, and delivery customisations. This feature allows merchants to tailor the checkout process to their customers' needs, making it easier for them to make a purchase wherever they are in the world.

What else can be done with Shopify Functions?

With Shopify Functions, developers can create custom components for their sites, such as location-based content and delivery options. These customizations allow merchants to tailor their site to their customers' needs and provide a more personalised shopping experience. In addition, Shopify Functions offer robust reporting capabilities that enable merchants to track their sales and monitor their business's performance. The sales reporting feature enables merchants to view their sales by date, product, or region, giving them valuable insights into their business's performance.

Furthermore, Shopify Functions allow merchants to customise their public-facing site and inbox by adding custom content, such as news and updates about their business. This feature allows merchants to keep their customers informed about new products and promotions, helping to build brand loyalty and customer recognition of your url, helping the marketing aspect of business operations. To use Shopify Functions, developers must follow a series of steps that involve configuring settings, purchasing a plan, and creating function APIs. Once they have created their function APIs, they can use tokens and queries to access and manipulate data, and output the results to the site's frontend.

One of the most significant benefits of Shopify Functions is that it is available for all users, regardless of whether they have a Shopify Plus account or not. However, users with a Shopify Plus account have access to additional features, such as volume discounts and backend customisations. Shopify Functions can be used to create customisations for the frontend of a Shopify site, as well as for the backend of the Shopify admin. These customisations can include metafields, input validation, and custom payment options. Developers can also use Shopify Functions to create custom reporting, routing, and sales functionality.

To get started with Shopify Functions, web and app developers can use the Shopify CLI to create function APIs that can be linked to their Shopify store. They can also use the developer preview to test their customisations before deploying them to a live site. Developers can also use Shopify Scripts to create custom logic for discounts and cart functionality. When creating customisations with Shopify Functions, there are some limitations to keep in mind. For example, some discount types and item variables may not be available, and some validation rules may not be supported. However, the Shopify development team is continually working to expand the capabilities of Shopify Functions. To summarise, the reasons why to use Shopify Functions are plentiful for businesses of all shapes of sizes in different ecommerce industries.

Getting the most out of Shopify Functions

Merchants can maximise the potential of Shopify Functions to enhance their online businesses in various ways. By utilising Shopify Functions, merchants can customise their cart and checkout processes to optimise conversions and provide a seamless shopping experience for customers. They can create dynamic discounts based on factors such as order value or customer location, and customise shipping options to offer competitive rates and ensure timely delivery. Shopify Functions can be used to guide customers through the ordering process with informative language and intuitive interfaces. Additionally, merchants can leverage Shopify Functions to integrate additional payment options, enabling customers to choose their preferred method. App developers can also take advantage of Shopify Functions to create powerful customisations that align with the merchant's brand and business goals.

Through effective use of Shopify Functions, merchants can enhance their overall management and gain valuable insights from detailed reporting on sales and performance. With the ability to manipulate variables, tokens, and outputs, merchants can implement complex logic and tailor their Shopify store to suit their unique use cases. By utilizsng the Shopify CLI, developers can streamline the development and deployment process, making it easier to create and manage Shopify Functions. Whether it's creating volume discounts, generating comprehensive sales reports, or adding custom functionality to the public-facing site, Shopify Functions provide merchants with a flexible and powerful toolset to achieve their desired results.

Unlock the full potential of Shopify Functions

Charle is a Shopify and e commerce agency with deep expertise in Shopify development and can help merchants identify the best use cases for Shopify Functions, as well as designing and developing custom apps, APIs and functions that meet their needs, and ensure that Shopify functions are deployed and integrated correctly with their Shopify stores. Not only can we help with Shopify Functions, but also bespoke Shopify theme design, Shopify backend improvements, Shopify checkout, and powerful web development.

Additionally, at Charle we have the tools that can help businesses leverage the full power of Shopify by providing strategic guidance on other Shopify features and integrations that can help merchants optimise their stores and improve their bottom line for the greatest chance of success, the list of opportunities are endless. By working with Shopify Experts such as Charle, businesses can ensure that they are getting the most out of Shopify Functions and their overall Shopify investment. Have a query on Shopify Functions or questions about a new Shopify project? Be sure to get in touch with us to talk all things Shopify.

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