I am a professional wallpaper installer who gets asked “where can I buy wallpaper way too often, turns out hundreds of other installers across the country get asked the same question. Wallpaper Select will list 300-600 products for homeowners to choose from. Instead of marketing, I have built a network of 100+ other professional installers and will be giving them Affiliate Codes so they earn money for referring home owners. Wallpaper Select will operate as a drop shipping store, with tight knit relationships with top wallpaper manufacturers and installers. What follows below is a list of what I need for my site. MUST-HAVE SHOPIFY FEATURES (NON-NEGOTIABLE) Advanced Search (THIS IS CRITICAL) Your catalog will be large. Default Shopify search is not enough. Required capabilities: • Search by: • Brand • Pattern name • Color • Style (modern, grasscloth, geometric, etc.) • SKU / item code • Predictive search (auto-suggest) • Typo tolerance Why it matters: Customers often come in saying: “My installer told me to buy this exact paper” If they can’t find it in 10 seconds, you lose the sale. Smart Filtering (Faceted Navigation) This is where most conversion lift happens. Required filters: • Brand • Color family • Pattern type • Material (vinyl, non-woven, grasscloth, etc.) • Price range • Commercial / residential suitability • In-stock vs backorder UX rule: • Filters visible above the fold • Mobile-friendly filter drawer • Filter combinations remembered while browsing ⸻ Installer-Friendly Product Pages Your PDP (product detail page) must support professional use, not just browsing. Required elements: • Clear roll coverage info • Repeat pattern specs • Lead time clarity • Dye lot warnings • Installation notes (non-binding) • High-quality zoomable images • “Order samples” option (if applicable) What NOT to do: Hide specs behind tabs Make installers dig Fast Checkout (NO EXPERIMENTS HERE) Do not customize checkout heavily. Required: • Shopify native checkout • Apple Pay / Google Pay • Saved addresses • Sales tax calculated automatically • Clear checkout disclaimer (already written) Why: Installers hate friction. They will abandon if checkout feels janky. Affiliate / Installer Tracking (CORE TO YOUR MODEL) Required capabilities: • Unique installer codes • Persistent attribution (30–60 days) • Roll-level tracking • Commission reporting • Refund adjustments UX requirement: • Installer code input is: • Auto-applied from link • Or simple field at checkout No dashboards needed at launch — keep it clean. Visual Navigation (DYNAMIC FLOW) This increases engagement without clutter. Required: • Mega-menu with: • Shop by Brand • Shop by Style • Shop by Color • Featured collections (curated) • Recently viewed products Why: Wallpaper is visual. People browse before they search. Strong Collection Pages (UNDERUTILIZED) Collections do more selling than product pages. Required: • Editorial copy (2–3 sentences max) • Featured brands per collection • Sort options: • Most popular • New arrivals • Price • Clean grid layout (no clutter) Performance Optimization (SILENT CONVERSION BOOST) Required: • Fast theme (no heavy animations) • Optimized images • Lazy loading • Minimal apps Speed matters more than design flourishes. Trust Signals (SUBTLE, NOT CHEESY) Required: • “Installer-recommended” language • Fulfillment transparency • Clear return process • Contact info visible • Professional tone (not retail gimmicks) Avoid: Countdown timers Popups everywhere Discount badges NICE-TO-HAVE (ADD AFTER LAUNCH) • Recently ordered by installers (internal) • Sample ordering system • Designer collections • Saved projects / wishlists • Bulk order helper (calculator) FEATURES TO AVOID (THESE HURT YOU) • Over-customized checkout • Heavy animations • Pop-ups on first visit • Coupon obsession • Live chat bots (early stage) • Blog overload You are premium + professional, not mass retail. CORE SHOPIFY APP STACK (LAUNCH-READY) Advanced Search & Filtering (MOST IMPORTANT) Searchanise (Best balance) Why • Fast, typo-tolerant search • Strong faceted filters • Predictive search • Handles large catalogs cleanly • Easy to manage without dev work Use for • Brand / SKU / pattern name search • Color + style filtering • Mobile-friendly discovery Alternative (enterprise): Algolia (overkill for launch) Affiliate / Installer Tracking (CORE TO YOUR MODEL) UpPromote: Affiliate Marketing Why • Installer referral links + codes • Persistent attribution (30–60 days) • Roll-level order tracking • Easy 1099 reporting • Refund handling Key setup • Disable public signup • Manual approval only • No flashy affiliate dashboards needed Alternative: Refersion (more expensive, less flexible early) Sales Tax Automation (DO NOT SKIP) Shopify Tax (Native) Why • Automatic nexus handling • Reliable state-by-state calculation • Clean reporting for CPA • No plugin conflicts If you scale aggressively later → Avalara For now: Shopify Tax is enough ⸻ Invoices / Packing Slips (PROFESSIONAL TOUCH) Order Printer Pro Why • Clean, branded invoices • Easy packing slips • PDF downloads • Installer-friendly documentation This quietly reinforces professionalism. Image Optimization (SPEED = SALES) TinyIMG Why • Image compression • Lazy loading • SEO-friendly • Improves mobile speed Wallpaper = image-heavy → speed matters. Analytics & Behavior Tracking Shopify Analytics (Native) • Google Analytics 4 Why • See conversion paths • Identify drop-offs • Track installer-attributed orders Avoid heavy heatmap tools at launch. Fraud & Payment Protection (PASSIVE) Shopify Fraud Analysis (Native) Why • No setup • Passive protection • Helps with large ticket orders APPS YOU SHOULD AVOID (IMPORTANT) Do not install: • Page builders (Gempages, Shogun) early • Popup apps • Countdown timers • Discount engines • Chatbots • Review apps (installers don’t care) These: • Slow the site • Hurt brand perception • Add failure points IDEAL APP COUNT Launch: 6–7 apps Max: 10 apps Every extra app: • Slows performance • Adds risk • Complicates ops FINAL STACK SUMMARY Search & filtering Searchanise Affiliate tracking UpPromote Sales tax Shopify Tax Invoices Order Printer Pro Image speed TinyIMG Analytics Shopify + GA4 Fraud Shopify native