A Complete Guide on Shopify Polaris – Definition, Use Case & Features Explained!

Shopify is known for its intuitive offerings, and the leading eCommerce development platform has always proved user-friendly with its bespoke service and support. Recently, it came with a significant announcement in the field of front-end design named Shopify Polaris.

It is specifically designed for front-end developers with numerous add-ons like Polaris components, Polaris design system, Icons, libraries, patterns, and many more.

The Shopify Polaris is designed to simplify designers’ lives by providing customized and advanced front-end design solutions.

Let’s find out more about Polaris with the following content:

What is Shopify Polaris?

Shopify Polaris is another flagship offering of Shopify to its merchants. Simply put, it is a design system comprising numerous reusable components and guidelines that designers can use to enhance front-end designing.

It has a vast range of resources and building elements like patterns. Enhancing the Shopify Polaris, Shopify designers now have the opportunity to create impeccable UI solutions for merchants globally.

Shopify Polaris system holds all the essential building blocks required to create flexible and attractive UI in a Shopify App. It has a simple learning curve.

Shopify designers can download its style guide, UI kit, and its library of components to understand the patterns for better use.

What is the Shopify Polaris used for?

From the design and layout patterns to content, Shopify Polaris help develops all elements that make up an excellent user experience. It includes the following:

• Design

This section contains all the resources and user guides on using colors, typography, and illustrations.

It also ensures best practices on sounds and icons. You will also get tips on using spacing, data visualization, and interaction states.

• Contents

From the right way of writing product and meta descriptions to structuring blog and web page content, this section covers the best practices of content guidelines and resources.

It will also help you understand preferred data formats and how to develop language structure.

• Tokens

This section includes Shopify Polaris CSS items that represent design actions. It comprises colors, text, and content spacing – that is used to enhance user experience.

• Components

This section includes a readily available set of React and CSS components and interface elements that Shopify designers use to provide a top-notch user experience.

• Patterns

From page design layout to its navigation, this section contains guidelines and resources for color combination, best practices for error messages, etc.

Shopify Polaris Target Audience

Everything that Shopify does, every update, component, and library integration, belongs to its users or so-called Shopify merchants.

But, yes, those users also need expert inclusions to enjoy those updates and benefits.

The Shopify Polaris is explicitly designed for front-end developers. Front-end developers who carry exclusive proficiency in React have the advantage of using it with ease.

Using Shopify Polaris and its advanced components, they have the liberty to create stable and visually pleasing user interfaces for their clients.

The best part is that Shopify Polaris comprises reusable UI components and in-detail guidelines, significantly reducing the development time, effort, and cost.

The UI team can create a modern eCommerce platform and customize mobile and web apps by leveraging Shopify Polaris to fulfill merchants’ unique Shopify development requirements.

Step-by-step process to build Shopify Apps using Shopify Polaris

Follow the below steps to develop a Shopify App using Polaris.

• Development Environment Set Up

To set up your development environment, you must be proficient or have a basic understanding of React and Node.js.

Plus, you must own a Shopify account. Apart from these basic requirements, you must install and understand the usage of some tools, like Yarn, and Shopify App CLI, Node.js, etc.

• Build a New Shopify App

Create a new App by enabling its essential files using the Shopify App CLI.

• Ensure Seamless Polaris Integration in Your App

Using the NPM, you can install the Polaris React Components provided by Polaris. Later, you can import the required components in your App’s code.

• Develop the UI of your App

You can quickly develop the different views of your App using the reusable UI components provided by Polaris.

For quality assurance, seamless accessibility, and visual satisfaction, you can follow and use the Polaris guidelines. 

• Connect Your App to the Shopify Platform

You can use the Shopify APIs to connect your App with the Shopify platform and retrieve essential data from it.

• Test & Deploy the App

This last step involves testing your App Locally and submission in the App store.

These are fundamental steps that developers often follow to create Shopify App using Polaris. It is not specific and can be changed as per App’s requirements.

However, if you need help during the process, consider contacting Shopify professionals for help.

You can take Google’s help to look for examples. But the first suggestion is considerably reliable compared to the first one.

Build Shopify Apps using the below tools other than Shopify Polaris!

Here the list goes:

• Shopify App CLI

An all-in-one command line tool used to create, test, and deploy Shopify Apps.

• Shopify API Libraries

These refer to multiple sets of APIs developers use to create custom functionality. Later they integrate it with the Shopify platform.

• Polaris Sandbox

An advanced development environment that developers use to run multiple experiments.

It also allows them to run various UI components and designs tests using the Polaris design system.

• GraphiQL Admin API Explorer

Using this, developers can run multiple tests of the queries and mutation without even writing any code. It is an incredible tool for debugging and exploring APIs.

The list doesn’t end here; there’s more to it. You can use those tools as per your project budget and requirements.

It’s best you hire shopify developers to use these and other related tools effectively.

Getting Started with Shopify Polaris!

To download using Shopify Polaris, you must first download the Sketch UI kit and React components. You can get access from the Polaris landing page itself.

Once you land on the landing page, scroll to:

Resources (At the bottom of the page) -> Click View more Resources to get the download link.

You will also find links to various documentation, developers’ forums, blogs, and third-party tools for further enhancements in that section.

Contact Metizsoft Solutions – India’s most trusted Shopify partner, for end-to-end assistance!

Final Words

Shopify has always been there for its users in times of need. One way or the other, it always brings dynamic solutions that help merchants grow immensely on digital platforms.

This time, it has brought Polaris to help front-end designers enhance the UI in Shopify stores.

Many have already adopted the Polaris technology to revamp their Apps’ user interface and are still not convinced about its usage and benefits.

For those, this blog is a guiding light, and I am sure it will clear the confusion regarding the feature and benefits of Shopify Polaris.

Meanwhile, they can opt for our Shopify App Development service to ensure seamless Shopify Polaris integration by our experts.