Add-ons, and when not to add one

An add-on adds something the store does not do on its own. Each one is also a thing that can break, slow the shop down, or need looking after.

Before you install

Ask what it replaces. If the answer is "nothing, it just adds a badge", you are adding weight for decoration.

Look at what it needs access to. An add-on that asks to read orders to show a popup is asking for more than it needs.

What they cost you besides money

Every add-on that runs in the storefront adds something to load. Three of them turn a fast shop into a slow one, and slow shops lose orders quietly — nobody writes to say they left.

Turning one off

Switching an add-on off should leave the shop working. Check the pages it touched afterwards: a leftover empty block is the usual sign something did not clean up.

What to check

• The shop still loads quickly on a phone after installing.
• The thing the add-on promised actually happens, on the storefront, not in its own settings screen.
• You know how to turn it off, before you need to.