How to Generate Better Placeholder Product Images for Massive Catalogs
In e-commerce, a product without an image is essentially invisible. For distributors managing massive catalogs of industrial parts, hardware, or specialized components, obtaining unique photography for every SKU isn’t just difficult—it’s a logistical nightmare.
When products lack images, or use low-quality “Image Coming Soon” placeholders, you hit two major roadblocks:
- Consumer Distrust: Customers perceive a lack of images as a sign of an unmaintained or unreliable site.
- Ad Rejections: Major ad platforms—like Google Merchant Center—will flag or suspend products that don’t meet their image requirements.
Hardcoding for Speed is a Myth
Recently, I’ve had multiple clients and Project Managers suggest some version of: “We should just hardcode this because we need it done by the end of the week.”
While understandable under deadline pressure, this idea reflects a fundamental misunderstanding of software development. Hardcoding is often assumed to be faster because it sounds simpler, but you might be surprised to learn that it isn’t.
Learn why 'quick fixes' are actually slowing you downOn Quality Assurance
There is a common misconception that the goal of Quality Assurance is simply to verify that code matches documentation. But the name “Quality Assurance” implies something much deeper. Assuring quality is about far more than satisfying a set of requirements created in a vacuum; it is about how that experience is realized in a real-world context.
In the “vacuum” of the mockup phase, everything is perfect. The data is clean, the screen sizes are standard, and the user always follows the intended path. But “Minimum Quality” does not exist in a vacuum. It is defined by the user’s lived experience with the final implementation.
If a feature meets every written requirement but feels clunky, looks broken on an unusual screen size, or creates friction during a non-standard interaction, it has failed the quality test. True quality isn’t found in the plan; it’s found in the implementation.
Learn how to improve the quality of your Quality AssuranceScripts vs Apps
When teams look for ways to automate workflows or improve business processes, a common question arises: Should we write a script or build an app? Both can interact with the same APIs, solve similar problems, and save time—but choosing the wrong approach can create extra maintenance work or make a solution harder for teams to use effectively.
This post explains the difference between scripts and apps, when each makes sense, and why a working script doesn’t automatically simplify app development.
Understand when to write a script and when to build an appB2B Company Credit Limits Using Shopify Flow
For many B2B companies, offering credit is crucial for building strong customer relationships and driving sales. However, managing credit limits manually is risky. Without an automated system, customers can easily exceed their allowed credit, creating financial exposure for your business.
Shopify does not offer a native solution to automatically track a company’s available credit or prevent orders that exceed it. This forces manual reconciliation, leads to potential overspending, and increases the risk of late payments.
The ideal solution is a dynamic system that tracks each company’s credit usage, enforces limits during checkout, and automatically restores credit when invoices are paid. This protects your business from credit overextension while ensuring a smooth ordering experience for your B2B customers.
Implement Shopify B2B Company Credit Limits using Shopify Flow