SMSified
SMSified is a service that makes it easy for you to build SMS-enabled applications. They provide a straightforward API that you can call RESTfully to send and retrieve text messages to and from phone numbers and short codes. Using SMSified opens you to the huge user base of SMS, which Wikipedia calls “the most widely used data application in the world, with 2.4 billion active users, or 74% of all mobile phone subscribers”.
The diagram below shows how SMSified works:
If you’re building an application that needs to reach the widest possible range of mobile phone users – no app required to send or receive messages, and it works even those on plain old “feature phones” – you should take a look at SMSified. They make integrating SMS into your software or service as simple as an API call, freeing you to work on what sets you application apart.
SMSified + Shopify
Shopify is a service developed in the same spirit (and company name and colour scheme!) as SMSified: we take care of the tedious parts of setting up an online store so you can concentrate on what sets you apart. Also, like SMSified, we also provide an API that lets you build applications to enhance your online store or the behind-the-scenes business of running that store (we even have a place for you to sell your apps to Shopify merchants).
There are all sorts of ways you can use SMS with a Shopify store:
- Notifying customers of a special limited-time deal or if their order has shipped
- As another way for customers to reach customer support or for repeat customers to place a quick order
- Pinging you, the store owner, when some major happens, such as a customer making a king-size order or requiring special attention
Mark Headd of SMSified put together this video showing how you can put SMSified to work in your Shopify store. In this example application, all customers with a known mobile number are sent a simple text message about an upcoming sale:
You can find out more about Shopify/SMSified integration in Mark’s post on the SMSified blog. Check it out and see how you can integrate SMS message with your Shopify store!
This article also appears in the Shopify Technology Blog.