Fixing Shopify App Conflicts
The step by step guide for when a Shopify app conflict brings your business down
Mike Day - Founder ProStore®
Your New Shopify App Just Broke Your Store. Now What?
It’s a very common and stressful situation when you realise two apps you rely on are causing a conflict. The key is to approach the problem systematically to identify the culprit and find a solution without causing major disruption to your live store.
Here is a step-by-step guide on what to do.
Step 1: Confirm and Identify the Conflict
First, you need to be sure it’s an app conflict and pinpoint which apps are involved.
Use Browser Developer Tools: Open your website in Chrome, right-click anywhere on the page, and select “Inspect.” Click on the “Console” tab. Look for any errors listed in red. Often, these errors will mention the name of the app or a specific file, which can give you your first clue.
Temporarily Switch to a Default Theme: A common cause of conflicts is an app interacting poorly with your specific theme’s code. To rule this out, go to Online Store > Themes. Find a fresh, default Shopify theme like “Dawn,” and click “Preview”. If the conflict disappears in the preview, the issue lies with your theme’s code, not necessarily the apps themselves.
The Disabling Method (The Most Reliable Test): This is the most effective way to find the conflicting apps.
Create a Backup: First, duplicate your live theme (Actions > Duplicate) so you have a safe copy.
Disable Apps One-by-One: Go to your theme customizer (Online Store > Themes > Customize). In the sidebar, go to “App embeds” and turn off all your front-end apps.
Test: Check if the problem is resolved. If it is, you know one of the apps is the cause.
Re-enable Apps Sequentially: Turn your apps back on one at a time, checking your site after each one. When the problem reappears, you’ve found the app that is causing the conflict. It’s often the last one you enabled, or the one you enabled just before it, that are clashing.
Step 2: Resolve the Conflict
Once you’ve identified the conflicting app(s), here are your options:
Contact Both App Developers Immediately: This should always be your first course of action.
How: Go to the app’s listing in the Shopify App Store. There will be a “Support” section with contact information or a support portal.
What to Say: Be specific. Write to both developers, explaining the situation clearly: “I’ve discovered a conflict between your app, [App Name 1], and [App Name 2]. When both are active, [describe the specific problem, e.g., ‘the product gallery stops working’]. Here is a screenshot of the console error. Can you investigate and provide a fix?”
Important: Shopify Support will not fix issues caused by third-party apps. They will only tell you to contact the developers directly.
Look for Alternative Apps: While you wait for a response from the developers, start researching alternatives. Search the app store for other apps that provide the same functionality. Look for:
High Ratings & Recent Reviews: This indicates the app is well-maintained.
Performance-Focused Language: Apps that mention being “lightweight” or “built for speed” are often better coded and less likely to cause conflicts.
All-in-One Solutions: Sometimes you can replace two or three single-purpose apps with one multi-function app, which completely eliminates the risk of them conflicting.
Consider Custom Development: If the feature is absolutely critical to your business and you can’t find a stable app solution, your best long-term option may be to hire a Shopify developer. A developer can build the functionality directly into your theme, ensuring it’s perfectly optimized for your site and will not conflict with anything else.
The ProStore® Approach: Customer Experience as a Strategy
At ProStore®, we’ve built our entire platform on this philosophy. We believe that a retailer’s primary job is to be an expert in their products and customers, not a part-time IT manager.
Our approach is to provide a fully-managed, all-in-one solution that prioritizes the customer experience above all else. We handle the technology so you can handle the customer.
We Vet the Tech for You: Our team constantly evaluates emerging technologies. But we only integrate a new feature when it has been proven to deliver a quantifiable benefit to the customer experience, such as a faster checkout or more accurate order tracking.
Performance is Built-In, Not an Afterthought: Because ProStore® is a single, unified system, it’s engineered for speed and reliability. You’ll never have to worry about app conflicts or bloated code slowing down your site.
A Seamless, Branded Journey: From the product page to the shipping notification, every touchpoint is part of a single, cohesive system, ensuring a consistent and trustworthy brand experience for your customers.
Summary
Don’t just leave it: A conflict that seems minor now could cause major issues later, especially during a high-traffic event like a sale.
Don’t try to edit the app’s code yourself unless you are an expert: This can break the app completely and may void any support from the developer.
By methodically identifying the source of the conflict and communicating clearly with the developers, you can hopefully find a resolution and get your store back to running smoothly.