Getting Started with Shopify Functions
Advanced Shopify: Customizing the Backend
What is a Shopify Function?
The first “Shopify Editions” back in 2022 introduced us to the notion of “Shopify Functions,” a new way to extend the Shopify platform with custom functionality for app developers. This introduces a new paradigm in Shopify customizations, offering a legitimate hook system into native Shopify behavior that doesn’t necessitate hacky frontend workarounds in the theme code or delayed asynchronous updates executed via the API.
Shopify Functions are like a standalone app built for a catered singular purpose. The restriction of the functionality here is offset by the delegation of infrastructure and boilerplate to Shopify. Shopify Functions are hosted and distributed automatically by Shopify but we’re getting ahead of ourselves. Simply put, a Shopify Function is a small, isolated bit of code you can upload into Shopify’s infrastructure to customize the behavior of a given store.
The real secret sauce is that customizations that used to require some very hacky and brittle workarounds (looking at you, product bundles) can now be accomplished with a seamlessness that feels nearly native.
