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·7 min read·Seven Hills Team

Shipping Across Platforms: SaaS, Shopify, and Chrome

platformsshopifychromesaas

At Seven Hills, we build AI-powered products across three distinct ecosystems: standalone SaaS applications, Shopify apps, and browser extensions. Each platform has its own rules, distribution channels, and user expectations.

Our SaaS and Shopify products are deeply AI-powered — using agentic systems to automate work that would otherwise require human effort. Our browser extensions are focused utilities that solve specific problems with simple, fast code. Different tools for different jobs.

Here's what we've learned about building for multiple platforms — and why we think it's a strategic advantage.

Three Platforms, Three Realities

AI-Powered SaaS

Products like Sentinely and CutMagic are web applications with AI at their core. CutMagic uses AI for background removal. Our upcoming products leverage agentic AI to automate entire workflows. Users find them through search, word of mouth, or content marketing. We control the entire experience from landing page to checkout.

Pros: Complete control, no platform fees, direct customer relationships.

Cons: You own all distribution. No built-in marketplace. Every customer must be acquired.

AI-Powered Shopify Apps

Our Chakril brand apps — StoreBlog, Rank Collections, StoreWorkers — are AI-native products for Shopify merchants. StoreBlog uses AI to research, write, and publish SEO content. StoreWorkers deploys AI agents that handle customer support, inventory monitoring, and marketing automation. These live in the Shopify ecosystem and integrate directly into stores.

Pros: Built-in distribution through the App Store. Trust by association with Shopify. Clear monetization path.

Cons: Platform dependency. Revenue share. App review process. API limitations and changes.

Utility Extensions

BlurShield is a focused browser utility — no AI, just fast, reliable privacy protection. Users install it from the Chrome Web Store, and it runs directly in their browser. Not everything needs AI; some problems are solved better with simple, deterministic code.

Pros: Massive reach (Chrome dominates browser market). Low infrastructure costs. Users already in the browser.

Cons: Limited monetization options. Review process delays. Chrome API changes can break functionality.

What Transfers Across Platforms

Despite the differences, many skills and patterns transfer:

User Onboarding

The first five minutes determine whether a user becomes a customer or churns. This is true everywhere. We've learned to:

  • Minimize steps to first value
  • Show, don't tell — use the product, not tutorials
  • Celebrate small wins to build momentum
  • Make the "aha moment" happen as fast as possible

A Shopify merchant installing StoreBlog and a developer signing up for Sentinely both need to see value quickly. The specific UI differs, but the principle holds.

Positioning and Messaging

Clear positioning matters everywhere. Users need to understand in seconds what a product does and why they should care. We've learned to:

  • Lead with the outcome, not the feature
  • Use the customer's language, not ours
  • Be specific about who this is for
  • Address the main objection upfront

Feedback Loops

Every platform has mechanisms for user feedback — support emails, reviews, analytics. The discipline of systematically collecting, categorizing, and acting on feedback applies everywhere.

What Doesn't Transfer

Distribution Strategy

Each platform has fundamentally different discovery mechanics:

  • SaaS: SEO, content marketing, paid ads, Product Hunt, partnerships
  • Shopify: App Store optimization, Shopify partner programs, merchant communities
  • Chrome: Web Store SEO, landing pages, cross-promotion

What works for SaaS distribution might be irrelevant for a Shopify app. We've had to learn each channel independently.

Monetization Models

Pricing strategies vary significantly:

  • SaaS: Monthly/annual subscriptions, usage-based pricing, freemium
  • Shopify: Recurring app subscriptions, usage charges, one-time fees
  • Chrome: One-time purchases (limited), freemium with premium features, donations

Chrome extensions are notoriously hard to monetize. Shopify has clear billing infrastructure. SaaS gives you the most flexibility but requires you to build payment integration.

Technical Architecture

The technical constraints differ dramatically:

  • SaaS: Full control over stack, hosting, and infrastructure
  • Shopify: Must integrate with Shopify APIs, handle webhooks, deal with rate limits
  • Chrome: Runs in browser sandbox, limited permissions, manifest v3 restrictions

Why Multi-Platform is Strategic

Building across platforms isn't just diversification — it's strategic advantage.

Reduced Platform Risk

If Shopify changes their app policies tomorrow, we have SaaS products generating revenue. If Chrome restricts extension capabilities, our Shopify apps are unaffected. No single platform can kill the business.

Faster Learning

Each platform teaches different lessons. Shopify taught us about app store optimization. Chrome taught us about performance in constrained environments. SaaS taught us about full-funnel marketing.

These learnings compound. When we launch a new Shopify app, we apply everything we learned from previous launches. When we build SaaS features, we bring the distribution insights from app stores.

Market Coverage

Different users live on different platforms. Some businesses only look in the Shopify App Store. Some developers only use standalone tools. By being present across platforms, we reach users where they already are.

Practical Advice

If you're considering building across platforms:

Start with one. Master a single platform before expanding. Understand its distribution, monetization, and technical patterns deeply.

Look for transferable skills. When choosing a second platform, consider how much of your existing knowledge applies. Moving from SaaS to Shopify apps is easier than moving to mobile apps.

Expect the learning curve. Each platform has hidden complexity. Shopify's app review process, Chrome's manifest v3 migration, SaaS payment integration — there's always more than you expect.

Reuse infrastructure thoughtfully. Some things can be shared (design systems, documentation processes, support tools). Others should be platform-native (authentication, billing, APIs).

We continue to learn and iterate across all three platforms. Follow along as we share more specific tactics and insights from each ecosystem.