Exciting New Features Unveiled at Shopify Unite 2021
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- Features for Storefront Owners
- Online Store 2.0
- Meta Fields
- Dawn Theme
- Features for Developers
- Version Control System Integration
- Faster Rendering Engine
- App Integration with Checkout
- Zero Percent Revenue Share
- Shopify Hydrogen
- My Take on the Features
- Conclusion
- FAQs
Shopify Unite 2021: A Look at the Features Coming to Shopify
Shopify Unite 2021 has come and gone, and with it, Shopify has unveiled some exciting new features that are set to be implemented in the upcoming year. In this article, we'll take a closer look at these features and what they mean for both storefront owners and developers.
Features for Storefront Owners
Online Store 2.0
Perhaps the biggest feature that Shopify unveiled at Unite 2021 is what they're calling "Online Store 2.0." According to Shopify, this is the biggest and boldest update they've ever made to their storefront. The primary change with this feature is that sections, the things that you click and drag in the Shopify editor to put on your page, are now going to be everywhere on your store. This means you'll be able to customize your collections, product pages, and any other page on your site. This feature is going to make it really easy for people who don't know how to code to customize the look and feel of their site just much more, and it's going to give entrepreneurs and store owners much more control over the way that they can build out their site's storage.
Meta Fields
Shopify already has something called meta fields, which allow you to attach certain data to customers or products that isn't already in Shopify's back end. Currently, the only way to access meta fields is either using an app or a hacky way that involves interfacing with the site's URL. However, with Online Store 2.0, Shopify is actually including the ability to edit meta fields in the admin. This is going to make it much easier for store owners to store data for their products that they hadn't previously been able to, and it's going to make it much smoother for developers if they need to store some sort of piece of data with a customer or a product.
Dawn Theme
Shopify's newest theme, called Dawn, is going to implement all the Online Store 2.0 changes. It's going to have the ability to do all that customization, and it's going to have the ability to do those meta fields that we talked about earlier. It's also going to be Shopify's most performant theme ever. The other cool thing about this theme is that it's open source, so you could go on GitHub on Shopify's GitHub and download the theme code and upload it to your site.
Features for Developers
Version Control System Integration
Shopify is going to make it much easier to connect a version control system to your Shopify store's code. Git is a great version control system for managing changes, and it's great that Shopify is embracing it.
Faster Rendering Engine
Shopify has said that the rendering engine for the website is going to be up to five times faster. We'll have to see if that's actually true in practice, but a five times increase in speed would be very impressive.
App Integration with Checkout
Shopify is making it possible for you to inject an app into the checkout page. This is going to make it much easier for developers to add extra information or get extra information from the customer.
Zero Percent Revenue Share
Shopify is reducing its revenue share from 20% to 15%, but the big thing is that the first million dollars you make, they're not collecting a single penny of that.
Shopify Hydrogen
Shopify Hydrogen is an alternate storefront that you're going to be able to put hook up with your site. It allows you to use Node.js with the storefront, and if that's your preferred way of coding things, then you're free to do it that way.
My Take on the Features
As a Shopify developer, I'm very happy with the features that Shopify unveiled at Unite 2021. Shopify is listening to store owners and developers, and they're implementing the feedback that they're getting. The investment towards infrastructure is really geared towards both developers and store owners. Shopify is taking a philosophy where they say, "We're all in this together," and I think that's really true. The longer you run your store and the more successful you are with your store, the more successful I am as a developer.
Conclusion
Shopify Unite 2021 was a great event, and the features that Shopify unveiled are going to make a big difference for both storefront owners and developers. I'm excited to see how these features are going to be implemented in the upcoming year.
FAQs
Q: What is Shopify Unite?
A: Shopify Unite is a yearly event where Shopify unveils new features that it's going to implement each year and explains a little bit of their thought process behind why they're implementing the features and what the features are.
Q: What is Online Store 2.0?
A: Online Store 2.0 is the biggest and boldest update that Shopify has ever made to their storefront. The primary change with this feature is that sections are now going to be everywhere on your store.
Q: What are meta fields?
A: Meta fields allow you to attach certain data to customers or products that isn't already in Shopify's back end.
Q: What is Shopify Hydrogen?
A: Shopify Hydrogen is an alternate storefront that you're going to be able to put hook up with your site. It allows you to use Node.js with the storefront.
