Do you know what’s more lucrative than selling out products on a Shopify store? It’s renting out the pricey goods or equipment for a fairly reasonable per-day charge! For instance, there are a lot of gadgets and items that you can rent out on your Shopify store for people to be able to use for the required period of time, after which they will return them to you.
You can literally turn your Shopify store into a rental outlet using a dedicated plugin or app. Now, you can take the help of Shopify developers to learn more about the different plugins or apps available on the official App Store of the platform to find out what’s better.
The experts will not just advise you on choosing the best Shopify rental plugins but will also help you install them in the store. Even if you have hired the best Shopify web development services for developing your store or installing the rental plugin, you must still be aware of the steps that go into making this integration a success.
So, this article is all about educating you on the steps for installing or configuring the rental plugin for your Shopify store.
What are the Steps One Must Follow to Turn Shopify into a Rental Website?
Here are the steps that you must follow in order to make your Shopify store converted into a rental website:
1. Choose the Perfect Plugin or App
The first thing you must do while converting your Shopify store into a rental website is choose the perfect app or plugin. You can hire a Shopify expert to help you find the best rental plugin, loaded with features and is available with an affordable premium plan.
Some of the features that you must look for in a Shopify rental app to choose the best one from the lot are:
- Dates should be booked automatically upon customers’ selection and payment.
- You must be able to put up special rates or discounts based on the dates that the Shopify customers will select.
- Rental options should be made available based on both time and date.
If you want to see the demonstration of the features, avail of the free version of the plugins first before getting along with the paid versions. In case you don’t find any rental app that has the features you need, go ahead and let your Shopify development company know about it.
The experts will develop custom Shopify apps for invoking rental features to your store. You just have to specify your feature requirements to them on priority.
2. Install the Rental Plugin
Once you have chosen or custom-developed the Shopify rental plugin, it is time to install it! If you have relied on custom Shopify developers to create a unique rental plugin, do let them initiate the installation process from their end, while keeping you updated on the progress.
On the other hand, if the rental app you need is already present in the official App Store of Shopify, you will have to follow some basic steps, which include:
- Click on ‘Add App’, followed by ‘Install’.
- You will now be asked to initiate the connection between your Shopify store and the rental plugin. Now, you must log in with the store, as well as the rental app credentials, separately.
- This way, the connection will be established between the app and your store, enabling rental features.
3. Configure the Settings
You can now configure the settings to initiate rental services for your selected products on the Shopify store. Add the product ID, rental conditions, rental rates, calendar access and payment models to allow your customers an easy way to place their rental orders.
For instance, if you are providing professional cameras on rent, you must add the product ID, hourly/per-day pricing details, and an availability calendar for the customers to see if the required product is priced reasonably and whether or not it is available on the selected dates.
What are Some of the Popular Shopify Rental Plugins Available at Platform’s App Store?
Before you talk to the best Shopify developers for creating a custom app for your needs, it is better to get an idea of some of the best pre-built rental apps available at the platform’s app store, which include:
- IzyRent
It is one of the most easy-to-use and complete apps for managing bookings, events, appointments and services. Setting up rental inventory or managing the availability calendar is quite easy with IzyRent. You can pair this plugin with the Event Management app by MyAppGurus, which will make it easier for you to create special events or offers for dedicated booking dates.
Thus, it will give your product rental business a significant boom. Talk to the experts who offer Shopify store development services, and they shall help you integrate both apps and help you understand the usability.
- BookThatApp
BookThatApp is one of the popular apps that will allow you to manage the rental inventory or bookings directly from the Shopify store. With the use of this app, you will be able to set multiple pricing tiers for the products based on the rental length or calendar availability.
Some of the other features that make this app worth considering are automated notifications via email, custom booking forms and reputed payment gateway integrations. You can also consider pairing it up with the Shopify form builder app to make more intuitive booking forms for the customers to feel enticed.
Parting Words
With this, you are now aware of the standard steps you must follow in order to install any rental plugin to your Shopify development approach. But, depending on what your business demands, there’s a need for you to choose the best app from the crowd to offer rental services to your customers.
You can always take the help of Shopify developers to either create custom rental apps or help you choose the most rewarding one for your business. Once you find the one that aligns with your business needs and goals, go ahead and install it in your store. In case you face any kind of complexity, let the developers help you with the installation process!