Are custom apps hosted within the shopify store or on a separate server?

Shopify Apps

Topic summary

Custom Shopify apps require external hosting on platforms like AWS or Heroku—they are not hosted within the Shopify store itself. During development, tools like Ngrok enable localhost testing without needing production hosting.

Key clarifications:

  • Apps must be hosted on separate servers that developers provision and maintain
  • Both frontend and backend can typically be deployed to a single hosting platform (e.g., one Heroku instance)
  • No custom domain is strictly required for the app itself, though hosting infrastructure is necessary

Point of confusion:
One participant incorrectly stated apps are hosted on the store’s server, but this contradicts the established consensus that developers must provide their own hosting environment.

The discussion remains open with questions about domain requirements and hosting architecture for frontend/backend components.

Summarized with AI on October 28. AI used: claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929.
1

Hello,

I read through the documentation but am very confused. I am learning shopify app development and trying to figure out if I build a custom app where is it hosted? Do I need to host it on my server? I know the app has to be installed through some sort of a link right?

Any pointers will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

2

Yes, your app will need to be hosted. AWS, Heroku… you need an environment to run your application.

To get started these are my best picks:

https://shopify.dev/tutorials/build-a-shopify-app-with-node-and-react

https://shopify.github.io/shopify-app-cli/

In development, you do not need hosting, Ngrock helps you create a localhost server.

2 Likes
3

Hi, I’m new to Shopify development. I would like to ask you some questions if you don’t mind. I am a newbie and currently looking into hosting my app.

Do I also need a custom domain to host the front-end seperately, or both the front-end and backend into just 1 heroku server?

4

Obviously they’re hosted on your store’s server, which is why apps always degrade the loading speed of shops. It just makes no sense to me why users have to rely on apps which then ruin the loading speed.