You can try Shopify and even the paid Shopify apps as long as you want without any charging fee. Yes, it is absolutely able if you create a Shopify Development account. So, what is a Shopify Development store and how does it work?
Hi, I’m Lea. I’m from the4.co– we are constantly place of Top 3 Themeforest’ best-selling theme for Shopify users in over 5 years by far.
1. Why shouldn’t sign up for Shopify 14-day trial?
14 days Shopify trial sounds long, but as a Shopify Partner experience, over 85% of our customers are not able to operate an eCommerce store within 14 days. In fact, completing a sales website indeed requires conducting at least hundreds of stages (product details and stocks data entering, collection arrange, layout setting,…) In case the web is unfinalized in time, you will be forced to register a package or lose everything you’ve built.
Over 3 years of work, we have seen thousands of customers must be paid $29-$299 for just a month of setting up. The Development store is familiar to any Shopify Expert and Website Agency, but if you are a new merchant and getting started with Shopify, I hope this trick helps save a deal of money for your business.
So, what is Shopify Development store?
In short, a Shopify Development store is a free Shopify account that serves the product testing purposes of Shopify Partner developers (Create here). Thus, a Development store account basically contains similar functions as a standard Shopify account but granted permissions for functions experiment, indefinitely storefront customization and allowable to free install some paid applications. Once you’re satisfied, you can switch a Development store to a subscription store and launch the website.
2. What is a Shopify Development store for?
Development stores available most of the features on an Advanced Shopify plan. Typically, experts use a Development store for 2 purposes:
- To test any theme or app in development
- Building a Shopify storefront on behalf of merchants and handed back
Since a Development store is for testing purposes, it has few limitations for developers but it shouldn’t be an obstacle for merchants to design their own ideal store.
3. Features and limitations of Development stores
Features:
- Process an unlimited number of test orders
- Create an unlimited number of unique products
- Create up to 10 private apps
- Assign a custom domain
Limitations
- Only free apps and partner-friendly apps are freely download
- Only able to test buyer orders by using the Bogus Test gateway or by enabling test mode for your payment provider. You can’t test orders using real transactions through active payment providers. Learn more
- You can’t remove the password page
Partner- friendly app
Some developers allow Development stores to test apps at no cost, which calls partner-friendly apps. In spite of not the whole apps being partner-friendly, there are still testing-allowed essential and productive apps which you’ll need in the future.
Therefore, you can fully take advantage of the Development account for setting up and see how compatibility or suitability of 3rd party applications before make a buying decision.
3. How to create Shopify Developer Store?
Development store belongs to Shopify Partner account. Before you can create a development store, you need to create a free Shopify Partner account.
Steps:
1. Log in to your Partner Dashboard.
2. Click Stores.
3. Click Add store.
4. In the Store type section, select Development store.
5. In the Login Information section, enter a name for your store and a password that you can use to log in. By default, the email associated with your Partner Dashboard is used as the username, but you can change that if you want.
6. Development stores have the option to enable a developer preview. This function gives developers early access to new features of Shopify so that they can build and test the apps against upcoming features before they’re released to merchants.
IF YOU NEED TO ACTIVATE YOUR STORE LATTERLY, DO NOT ENABLE DEVELOPER PREVIEW. Development store with developer preview can’t be transferred to another store owner or transitioned to a paid plan.
7. In the Store address section, enter your address.
8. In the Store purpose section, select the reason why you’re creating this development store
9. Click Save.
4. Set up a Shopify Development store
Partner account can open unlimited Development store. Log in to a specific store via the Shopify Partner page to set up each one.
Shopify’ primary setting section is on the left-hand side column.
Sales Channel is all about the things that you want to share with customers because it is the display on the site.
The remaining setting sections are store sales data, where are keep your product, marketing, discount, order’ information.
You must have sales data to design the site. Fill up these data before trying any themes:
1. Upload products -> Sort/Segregate by collection
2. Setting up payments
3. Setting up shipping
After that, the store is ready to set its appearance.
Do I need to buy a Premium theme?
Absolutely NO. If your start-up business has a limited budget; small to medium scale, Shopify’s available free themes have enough functions and are well designed to satisfy your site’ interface demands. Discover the free Shopify theme here.
However, in case your business is larger scale and constantly organizes various discounts and giveaways, the website needs a sufficiently powerful theme to improve the functions and stabilize the web’ load performance for buyers, especially ensuring the risk of data or system failure in case of overloaded web traffic. Although the process to set up a premium theme is often complicated and given up easily, be rest assured it is well worth efforts to create a professional website and affirm your brand when it is active in the market. Discover the Premium Shopify themes here
Additionally, Shopify beginners can get a FREE Theme Installation gift service (Newbie Gift Pack). You can refer to the receiving conditions of the Newbie Gift Pack here
5. The Development Store password
Specifically, all newly created development stores are 2 two passwords protected. One is your account ID, one is the protection password for guests to enter your storefront on the Development store password page.
Steps to set the protection password on development store password page
1. On a Development store Home page, scroll down and click to See store password.
3. It will navigate to the Preferences of Online Store section. You can change a protection password from here. Then click Save to complete.
How to access to a Development Store?
Visitors to development stores can access a Development store in the following ways only:
- Visitor must enter the protection password on the development store password page for storefront view mode only.
- Through a Shopify Theme Store or Shopify App Store by ID your-store-name.myshopify.com and admin account’ password
Unlike the customizable password page for a store that’s on a free trial or paid plan, the development store password page isn’t linked to the online store’s theme and can’t be customized.
You can remove the password page only after you transfer the store to a merchant or switch the store to a paid plan.
Conclusion
Finally, you have learned what is a Development store and how to create it. If you are an individual or small to medium business scale, this trick is an effective way to delay the timing of a monthly subscription. Remember that a Development store belongs to a Shopify Partner account. So you must open a Shopify Partner account and create a child Development store. Learn more about Development store detail.
Our $300 deal as Shopify Partner for new merchants!
In case you are looking for a professional theme setting service, we already provide the FREE $300 Theme Installation support gift pack for newbies (Newbie Gift Pack) according to innumerable requests from customers, but it is only for customers who:
- Create Shopify free account through this link (Create a free Shopify account)
- Install or use any themes by the4.co
Customers who qualify in the Newbie Gift Pack will be prioritized in order to optimize the support service quality for the customer.
We do apologize for it.
Read more about $300 Newbie Gift Pack
