This time, we interviewed Takahashi, a Tech Geek student, who has released a public app on Shopify!
By interviewing them about the development process and background of the public app, why they chose TechGeek, and their impressions of taking the course, I hope this will be helpful for those who want to learn Shopify app development.
The person who spoke
Guin Takahashi (28 years old)
I am currently working as a freelancer, building Shopify stores, etc. I am also working as a full-stack engineer, handling storefront development and PHP Laravel.
Overview of the Shopify app we developed
The app developed this time is " Howdy Customer Tag Discount ", which offers discounts on orders with specific customer tags.
What makes this app unique is that it utilizes Shopify's new feature , Shopify Functions, to apply discounts to each order and product, making it an app that incorporates the latest technology.
Shopify Functions is a new way to implement unique functionality on the Shopify platform, allowing you to add custom logic.
This app can be used as a tool to enhance your marketing strategy by applying discounts to specific products and orders based on customer tags!
Background and reasons for developing the app
For merchants using the Shopify Plus plan, checkout.liquid (a feature that allows you to customize the checkout screen with a Liquid file) is scheduled to be discontinued, and it is expected that this will result in many malfunctions and unusable apps.
With this in mind, they decided to develop a new discount app to address these issues and meet their needs!
In fact, one merchant was using the discount feature using customer tags and needed an app to meet that need.
However, rather than making money from this app, they plan to develop a second and third app and aim to expand sales through those!
Their strategy is to make profits by developing apps that can be used by many merchants, rather than niche apps that are needed by certain merchants.
Development period and process
The app's development period, from start of learning to release, took about eight months.
Takahashi originally had four years of experience as an engineer.
He started his career as a front-end engineer, and then spent a year and a half as a full-stack engineer, gaining experience in PHP Laravel, database management, and API creation. Despite having such engineering skills, it took him eight months to complete the project, so you can imagine how tough it was! (laughs)
He would study and develop on weekdays, spending a few hours in the morning before work or after work, and on weekends he would concentrate on studying in co-working spaces. He was currently earning a master's degree in computer science at a graduate school in the UK, and since the topic of his thesis was Remix, GraphQL, and a Shopify app, he worked particularly hard from January to April.
Why did you choose TechGeek?
Takahashi told us why he took the Tech Geek course!
He chose TechGeek to learn Shopify app development because he wanted to save time and learn efficiently.
In particular, having had the experience of failing to develop a Shopify app two years ago, he was worried about whether he would be able to continue learning until the end, and was concerned about whether there was an environment where published apps could be reviewed and consulted on.
However, TechGeek not only provided him with a curriculum, but also advice on the actual development and release, and provided him with a wide range of support to alleviate his concerns, which is why he decided to take the course.
Since TechGeek's managers are actually developers of Shopify apps, they were able to give specific advice which was highly appreciated!
In fact, Shopify's technology is evolving every day, and I believe a systematic learning environment is necessary to keep up with that speed.
TechGeek offers a systematic curriculum and also answers questions and gives advice on Shopify app development outside of the curriculum, so I think it was a good fit for Takahashi's style.
However, according to Takahashi, every aspect of the development was difficult.
At the same time, he said he was able to experience the joy of learning a new programming language and developing on his own!
Lessons learned and growth points
Technically, he said he was able to deepen his knowledge of Shopify and understand new frameworks such as Remix. In particular, he felt that his ability to develop and maintain apps more efficiently had improved as he gained a deeper understanding of how to utilize Shopify Functions and development methods using Remix and GraphQL.
Mentally, working mainly on a contract basis has helped him develop the mindset of an entrepreneur who develops his own service.
I think that I gained the ability to give shape to my ideas and actually see them through to release, which gave me a lot of confidence.
Message to those considering taking the course
From Takahashi
To be honest, developing a Shopify app is very difficult. However, whether you give up because it is difficult or see it as an opportunity is up to each individual.
At TechGeek, we have an environment that supports such challenges, so please take the first step.
Conclusion
We hope that sharing how TechGeek students developed Shopify apps and achieved success will be helpful to you. We hope that this interview has given you an understanding of the learning environment and support system that TechGeek provides.
TechGeek offers programs for a wide range of levels, from beginners to experienced people. If you are interested in Shopify app development, please come and learn at TechGeek. We hope that our programs will support your growth and help you lead to success.
We look forward to your participation.
