What Apps Does This Shopify Store Use? 5 Proven Methods

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. The Strategic Importance of App Detection
3. Method 1: Utilizing AI-Powered Online App Detectors
4. Method 2: Browser Extensions for Instant Insights
5. Method 3: Manual Source Code Inspection
6. Method 4: The URL Sub-directory Trick
7. Method 5: Analyzing Help Documentation and Support Pages
8. Beyond Detection: Choosing the Right Stack
9. Diversifying Revenue with Digital Products
10. Evaluating App Costs and Transparency
11. How to Avoid "App Bloat" While Scaling
12. Setting Realistic Business Expectations
13. Final Steps for Your Research
14. Conclusion
15. FAQ

Introduction

Did you know that the average Shopify store in 2025 relies on at least six different third-party applications to manage its daily operations? While some powerhouses run lean, others utilize dozens of integrations to handle everything from complex loyalty programs to sophisticated subscription models. This "hidden" tech stack is often the engine behind a brand’s high conversion rates and seamless user experience. If you have ever browsed a competitor’s site and wondered how they implemented a specific community feature or a sleek course portal, you are asking a fundamental question: what apps does this shopify store use?

The purpose of this guide is to demystify the process of identifying the technology behind any Shopify storefront. We will explore five proven methods ranging from instant AI-powered detectors to manual source code inspection. Beyond mere curiosity, understanding a competitor's app stack provides a strategic blueprint for your own growth. It allows you to skip the expensive trial-and-error phase and move directly to implementing proven solutions. At Tevello, our mission is to turn any Shopify store into a digital learning powerhouse, and we believe that the best way to build a sustainable business is through transparency and informed decision-making.

By the end of this article, you will not only know how to uncover any store’s secret weapons but also how to evaluate those tools to see if they align with your business goals. We will demonstrate how a streamlined, native approach to digital products can outperform a fragmented stack of third-party redirects. Ultimately, the goal is to help you build a more efficient, high-converting store that keeps your customers exactly where they belong: on your own brand's URL.

The Strategic Importance of App Detection

Why does it matter what tools your competitors are using? In the competitive world of e-commerce, your tech stack is your infrastructure. Just as a physical retail store chooses its location and shelving carefully, an online merchant must choose the digital tools that facilitate the buyer's journey.

Competitive Benchmarking

When you identify the apps used by a leader in your niche, you are essentially looking at a refined list of what works. If five of your top competitors are all using the same specific tool for customer reviews or memberships, there is a high probability that the tool provides a significant return on investment. This allows you to benchmark your own store’s capabilities against the industry standard.

Enhancing Customer Lifetime Value (LTV)

Many merchants look at competitor apps to see how they handle post-purchase engagement. Are they offering digital upsells? Do they have a thriving community area? By investigating these features, you can discover new ways to increase LTV. For example, a merchant selling high-end coffee beans might notice a competitor using an app to host a "Mastering the Pour-Over" video series. This is a high-margin digital product that requires no shipping boxes and builds massive brand loyalty.

Troubleshooting and Optimization

Sometimes, you might want to know what apps a store uses because their site is exceptionally fast—or frustratingly slow. Analyzing the app stack of a high-performing site can help you understand how to balance functionality with performance. Overloading a store with redundant apps can lead to "app bloat," which significantly slows down page load times and hurts SEO.

Method 1: Utilizing AI-Powered Online App Detectors

The fastest way to get an answer is to use dedicated web-based tools. These platforms have indexed thousands of app signatures and can cross-reference a store's URL against their database in seconds.

How Online Detectors Work

Online detectors like ShopScan or PIPIADS work by sending a "crawler" to the target URL. This crawler looks for specific snippets of code, unique CSS classes, or JavaScript files that are known to be associated with specific Shopify apps. Most of these tools provide a confidence score, as some apps are harder to detect than others—especially those that run entirely on the "back end" without modifying the store's visual appearance.

Step-by-Step Detection

1. Copy the URL of the Shopify store you want to analyze.
2. Paste it into the search field of an online detector.
3. Review the categorized list of apps, which usually includes sections for Marketing, Sales, Operations, and Customer Support.
4. Look for direct links to the Shopify App Store to verify the pricing and feature set of the detected tools.

These tools are excellent for a broad overview, but they may miss apps that use advanced obfuscation or those that have been heavily customized by a developer. If you need a deeper look, you might want to consider seeing how the app natively integrates with Shopify through more direct methods.

Method 2: Browser Extensions for Instant Insights

For merchants who frequently perform competitor research, browser extensions are a more convenient alternative to web-based tools. These extensions live in your browser (usually Chrome or Firefox) and can be activated with a single click while you are actually browsing the target store.

Popular Extension Options

Several well-known extensions provide high-accuracy detection:

• Fera.ai Shopify App Detector: A widely used tool that identifies both the theme and the apps. It is particularly good at spotting review apps and loyalty programs.
• Wappalyzer: While not Shopify-specific, Wappalyzer is a powerhouse for identifying general web technologies. It can tell you if a store uses specific JavaScript frameworks, analytics tools, and even the hosting provider.
• Koala Inspector: This is a comprehensive "spy" tool that goes beyond apps to show you a store's best-selling products, pricing strategy, and traffic sources.

The Advantage of Extensions

The primary benefit of using an extension is the ability to see the app in action. If you see a specific pop-up or a unique membership login page, you can trigger the extension to see exactly which app is generating that specific element. This real-time validation is much more helpful than a static list because it connects the tool to the user experience.

If unifying your stack is a priority, start by a simple, all-in-one price for unlimited courses.

Method 3: Manual Source Code Inspection

If you are technically inclined or if the automated tools are failing to identify a specific feature, you can go straight to the source—literally. Every Shopify store's front-end code is accessible via your browser's "View Source" or "Inspect" tool.

Finding the Clues

To do this, right-click on the webpage and select "View Page Source" (Ctrl+U on Windows, Cmd+Option+U on Mac). Use the "Find" function (Ctrl+F) to search for specific keywords:

• "asyncLoad": This is a common Shopify function used to load third-party app scripts. Scanning the URLs inside this function will often reveal the names of the apps being loaded.
• "CDN": Many apps host their assets (images, scripts, CSS) on their own Content Delivery Networks. Searching for "cdn" can reveal the domains of third-party services.
• "Shopify.shop": This often appears in scripts that are communicating back to the Shopify API or specific app servers.

Inspecting Specific Elements

If you want to know what powers a specific button or form, right-click that element and select "Inspect." Look at the "ID" or "Class" names of the HTML tags. Developers often name these after the app. For example, a class named tevello-course-list would be a dead giveaway for our platform.

Method 4: The URL Sub-directory Trick

Shopify has a standard URL structure for certain types of app interactions. By manipulating the URL, you can sometimes force a store to reveal its app integrations.

The "/apps/" Path

Many apps that create custom pages (like a course portal, a community forum, or a specialized return center) are hosted on a sub-directory of the main domain. Try adding /apps/ or /community/ or /courses/ to the end of the store's root URL. If the store uses a specific membership app, it might redirect you to a login page that clearly identifies the software in the URL or the footer.

Looking for Redirects

Notice the URL bar during the checkout or login process. If the URL briefly changes to a third-party domain (like app-provider.com/auth) before returning to the store, you have identified an external integration. However, many modern merchants prefer to avoid this. At Tevello, we advocate for keeping customers at home on the brand website because redirects often break trust and lower conversion rates.

Method 5: Analyzing Help Documentation and Support Pages

Sometimes, the best way to find out what apps a store uses is to look at their "Contact Us" or "FAQ" sections.

Branded Footers

Many free or lower-tier apps include a small "Powered by [App Name]" link in the footer of the widgets they create. While many premium apps allow merchants to remove this branding, it is still a very common sight on smaller or medium-sized stores.

Support Tutorials

If a store offers digital products or a membership, they likely have a "How to access your content" page. This page often contains screenshots or instructions that mention the name of the app the customer needs to use. For example, a support article might say, "Log in to our community portal powered by..." which gives you the answer immediately.

Beyond Detection: Choosing the Right Stack

Identifying what others use is only half the battle. The more important step is deciding which tools will actually help your business grow. While it might be tempting to install every app your competitor has, this often leads to a bloated store and a confusing customer experience.

The Problem with Third-Party Redirects

Many traditional "course" or "membership" apps for Shopify actually act as a bridge to an entirely different platform. When a customer clicks "My Courses," they are whisked away from your Shopify store to a third-party URL. This creates several problems:

1. Brand Fragmentation: The customer feels like they have left your store, which can be jarring.
2. Login Friction: Customers often have to manage two different accounts—one for their Shopify purchases and one for the external app.
3. Data Silos: Your customer data is split between two platforms, making it harder to track the true Customer Lifetime Value.

At Tevello, we solved this by focusing on a Native Shopify Integration. Our goal is to ensure that digital products that live directly alongside physical stock feel like a natural part of the shopping experience. This keeps the customer on your URL, using the Shopify checkout they already trust.

Real-World Success: The Power of Native Integration

Consider the case of Charles Dowding, a renowned gardening expert. He faced a fragmented system where his community and courses were disconnected from his main store. By unifying a fragmented system into a single Shopify store, he was able to streamline the user experience significantly. This transition involved migrating over 14,000 members and reducing support tickets because the native approach eliminated the login issues common with third-party redirects.

Diversifying Revenue with Digital Products

One of the most common reasons merchants investigate competitor apps is to find ways to add digital revenue streams. Whether you sell physical goods, consulting services, or craft supplies, adding a digital component is one of the most effective ways to increase margins.

The "No-Shipping" Advantage

Physical products come with logistical headaches: inventory management, shipping costs, and returns. Digital products, such as online courses or exclusive community access, have none of these overheads. Once the content is created, the cost of selling it to the 1,000th customer is virtually zero.

A great example is the brand Crochetmilie. They didn't just sell yarn and patterns; they realized that their customers wanted to learn the "how-to" behind the craft. By generating revenue from both physical and digital goods, they built a more resilient business model. They eventually saw massive success, including how one brand sold $112K+ by bundling courses alongside their physical offerings.

Building Recurring Revenue

Memberships are another powerful tool in the Shopify app arsenal. Instead of a one-time purchase, you can create a community where customers pay a monthly fee for access to exclusive content, early product drops, or a forum of like-minded individuals. This provides predictable revenue that can help stabilize your business during slow seasons.

Evaluating App Costs and Transparency

When you are researching what apps a Shopify store uses, you must also consider the cost. Many apps use "teaser" pricing that looks affordable but quickly scales into hundreds or thousands of dollars per month as your business grows.

Hidden Fees and Success Taxes

A common practice in the app industry is the "transaction fee." Some apps will take a percentage (e.g., 2% to 5%) of every sale you make through their platform. This is effectively a tax on your success. As your revenue grows, these fees can become your single largest expense.

At Tevello, we reject this model. We offer predictable pricing without hidden transaction fees. We believe you should keep 100% of what you earn. Our flat-rate plan that supports unlimited members ensures that your costs stay the same whether you have ten students or ten thousand.

The Unlimited Plan

To build trust with our merchants, we keep our pricing simple. The Unlimited Plan is $29.99 per month. This isn't a "starting at" price with hidden tiers; it includes all the key features for courses and communities that a growing brand needs.

What do you get for that flat monthly fee?

• Unlimited Courses and Students: Grow your academy without worrying about hitting a cap.
• Unlimited Video Hosting: We handle the bandwidth, so you don't have to pay for external hosting services.
• Community Features: Build member directories, social feeds, and user profiles natively on your site.
• Drip Scheduling: Release content over time to keep students engaged and reduce refund rates.
• Quizzes and Progress Tracking: Ensure your students are actually learning and achieving the results you promised.

How to Avoid "App Bloat" While Scaling

While knowing what apps a Shopify store uses is helpful, the most successful merchants are those who prioritize a "lean" stack. Every app you add to your store adds a small amount of JavaScript that the customer's browser must load. If you have 20 different apps, your site speed will suffer, which can lead to higher bounce rates and lower search engine rankings.

Choose Multi-Purpose Tools

Instead of installing one app for courses, another for a community forum, and a third for digital downloads, look for all-in-one ecosystems. By choosing a robust tool that covers multiple needs, you reduce the number of scripts running on your site and simplify your administrative tasks.

Prioritize the Native Experience

Apps that work "natively" with Shopify are generally more efficient. They use Shopify’s own infrastructure and payment gateways, which means they don't need to load as many external resources. This not only improves speed but also provides a unified login that reduces customer support friction. When the customer is already logged into their Shopify account to check an order status, they are automatically logged into their course dashboard.

Setting Realistic Business Expectations

It is important to remember that the apps themselves are just tools. While the right tech stack can amplify your success, it is not a "get rich quick" button.

Focus on Value, Not Just Features

The most successful Shopify stores aren't successful because they have the most expensive apps; they are successful because they use those apps to provide genuine value to their customers. A poorly made course won't sell even if you use the most expensive LMS on the market. However, a high-quality course hosted on a professional, native platform like Tevello can become a significant revenue driver and a pillar of your brand identity.

Long-Term Growth

Building a digital product arm or a membership community takes time and effort. Focus on building brand loyalty and increasing Customer Lifetime Value through consistent engagement. Use the tools you discover through competitor research to enhance your existing efforts, not to replace them.

Final Steps for Your Research

Now that you know how to identify what apps a Shopify store uses, it’s time to put that knowledge into practice.

1. Analyze 3-5 Competitors: Use the methods above to list the common tools in your niche.
2. Look for Gaps: Is there something your competitors are not doing? Perhaps they have a course, but no community. This is your opportunity to differentiate.
3. Audit Your Own Stack: Are you paying for multiple apps that could be replaced by a single, all-in-one solution?
4. Test the Native Advantage: Before committing to a complex, third-party platform, see if a native Shopify solution can meet your needs more efficiently.

We invite you to start your 14-day free trial and build your first course now. You can build your entire curriculum and community structure before paying a cent, allowing you to see exactly how a native integration can transform your store.

Conclusion

Understanding the digital infrastructure of successful e-commerce brands is a vital skill for any merchant. Whether you use AI-powered detectors, browser extensions, or manual code inspection, the answer to "what apps does this shopify store use" is always within reach. By identifying these tools, you gain a competitive edge and a clearer roadmap for your own store's development.

However, the goal isn't just to copy your competitors—it's to out-execute them. In a world of fragmented third-party platforms and hidden transaction fees, choosing a native, transparent, and all-in-one solution is the best way to protect your brand and your margins. At Tevello, we are committed to helping you turn your store into a digital learning powerhouse without the complexity of external redirects.

To build your community without leaving Shopify, start by reviewing the Shopify App Store listing merchants install from. With our simple Unlimited Plan and 0% transaction fees, you can focus on what you do best: creating incredible content and products for your customers.

FAQ

How do I know if an app is slowing down my Shopify store?

The best way to check is to use tools like Google PageSpeed Insights or GTmetrix. Run a test on your store, then temporarily disable the app in question and run the test again. You can also look at the "Network" tab in your browser's Developer Tools to see which scripts take the longest to load.

Can a Shopify store hide the apps they are using?

While a merchant can remove "Powered by" links and some apps use techniques to hide their presence in the source code, it is nearly impossible to hide all traces of an app that interacts with the front end. If an app adds a feature to a page, its script or CSS will almost always be detectable by a skilled eye or a robust detector tool.

Is it legal to use an app detector on a competitor's store?

Yes. These tools only analyze public-facing code that the store sends to every visitor's browser. They do not access private database information, sales figures, or customer personal data. It is a standard practice for market research and competitive analysis.

Why should I choose a native app over a third-party platform?

Native apps keep your customers on your domain, use your existing Shopify checkout, and require only one customer account. This reduces "friction"—the obstacles that prevent a customer from completing a purchase or accessing their content. Lower friction leads to higher conversion rates and fewer support tickets regarding login issues.