shopify app

6 Useful Steps To Build Secure Shopify App & Retain Customers

Mobile app security is not an option. It is relevant to secure customers interaction on your Shopify app while shopping and sharing personal details.

Ensuring the apps’ security is imperative to maintain customers’ trust in your brand and experience a lasting retention factor.

Building an app with the support of a Shopify developer means half the battle is won. You need to consider the security elements of the application & safeguard the shopping experience.

Refer to six useful ways of protecting your Shopify app functionality and strengthening the ecosystem for customers.

# Tip 1: Use source control while developing an app

Use source code while developing and deploying the Shopify application. It helps collaborate the efforts of different developers and allows tracking and monitoring of changes accordingly. Using sources helps automate the deployment process. It results in saving the efforts of manual changes at the last minute and avoiding errors. Thus, you are likely to increase the potential of your eCommerce app and reduce the risk factor.

#Tip 2: Stay careful with the user input

Building a Shopify app must contain the element of adding a custom user interface (UI). Developers build the UI either in the storefront or the admin area. Maintaining the application security is advisable to prevent using the direct DOM (Document Object Model) access with the user-generated content.

It is best recommended to encode the user interface before rendering the same to the page. If you do not do this, then cross-site scripting might occur when someone tries to get temporary access to one of your Shopify app user’s accounts. It will further result in raw input will be there in the database and remaining there without detection. As a result, the customer will see the remote script tag and a fake payment page.

#Tip 3: Check on dependencies

Using other people’s codes can be risk-free at times. It is a part of the modern-day Shopify app development process. Developers use other similar app code structures to create functionality of your eCommerce app in the shortest possible time.

Sometimes, creating a new code for the application increases the security risk of errors and bugs while using at the first hand. In some scenarios, it is fine to utilize other people’s code to attain the desired functionality within the app and prevent the security risk to an optimum extent.

#Tip 4: Do the static analysis

Another way to secure your application as part of Shopify support is by using a preferred choice of analytics tool. It helps you find issues with the mobile app like SQL injections, bugs, etc. An analytics tool can discover complex issues with your application, but still relevant to find a few problems and fix the same.

One of the starting points with the analytical tool is highlighting code smells that allow you to identify an issue with the code and fix it well on time. It is worth reviewing manually along with the combination of a static analysis tool.

#Tip 5: Prevent saving passwords

Storing passwords can be problematic at times for your Shopify application. If the passwords are stored in plaintext within the database, then it might be an issue for the app. It is relevant to check the log files and error tracking tools to find passwords there and hash them all.

# Tip 6: Rotate the keys

There are times when you need third-party services attached as part of the Shopify app and provide an extra dose of services to customers. It could be integrating API keys, both for production and development. Such keys might likely be saved somewhere else, where they should not be mishandled at times.

It is imperative to rotate the keys at times and do not store them on the developer’s laptop to prevent the potential security risk.

Concluding Thoughts

Building a secure app with the assistance of a Shopify app development company is based on several useful tips and articulated measures. Refer to the above-mentioned factors and maintain the security of your eCommerce application. Further, collaborate with Shopify experts at OrangeMantra and develop your app at a low cost.