How to access Simple Bundles in a Development store

This guide outlines the key differences between Dev Stores and Client Transfer Stores, and provides step-by-step instructions on how to access and test Simple Bundles within a Dev Store.

Difference between a Dev store and a Client Transfer store

• Dev store – Intended for development and testing. It’s ideal for building and testing apps, and experimenting in a sandbox environment. Dev stores cannot be transferred to a merchant and are not designed to be launched as live stores.
• Client Transfer store – Designed for building a complete, production-ready store that will be handed off to a client. These stores can be transferred to a merchant and transitioned to a paid Shopify plan when ready to go live.

How to create a Dev store

To access Simple Bundles in your Dev Store without activating a paid subscription, you’ll first need to create the Dev Store correctly.

Please follow the steps below to ensure your store is set up to allow you to install and test the app in a development environment.

1. To access your Dev Dashboard, log in to your Shopify Admin.

   From there, click on your store name in the top-right corner of the screen, then select Dev Dashboard from the dropdown menu.

2. From the Dev Dashboard, click on Dev Stores. From there, you can proceed to create a Dev Store.

3. Create a name for your Dev Store. This name will be used to identify the store within your Dev Dashboard. Next, select the plan you’d like to use for testing purposes. Choose the option that best aligns with the features you’d like to evaluate during development.

• Optional: Select Test a feature preview if you’d like to try capabilities that aren’t yet available to all stores. This allows you to explore upcoming features in a preview environment.

4. After clicking on Create store, your Dev Store will be generated using the selected plan and build version.

5. Install the Simple bundles app

6. Email hello@simplebundles.io with your store's .myshopify.com URL so we can enable paid plan features for testing. Don't click Upgrade in the app. Shopify blocks app charges on dev stores, so the upgrade will fail.

Understanding Dev stores

Dev Stores are designed strictly for development and testing purposes. They are not intended for production use and cannot be used to process real transactions.

Before using a Dev Store, it’s important to understand the following limitations:

• Only free apps and partner-friendly apps can be installed.
• Custom or draft apps cannot be installed on Client Transfer Stores. If you need to build and test an app, you must create a Dev Store through the Dev Dashboard.
• Orders can only be tested using the Bogus Test Gateway or by enabling test mode with your payment provider. Real transactions cannot be processed through active payment providers, Store Credit, or Gift Cards.
• The password page cannot be removed or replaced with a custom version. However, you can still customize and preview the password page.

For more details on dev stores, please visit the Shopify help page at Create a dev store. Should you have any further queries, please feel free to contact our support team.