# Is Postscript a certified Shopify Plus technology partner, and does that matter when vetting an SMS vendor?

Reviewed by Martin Dejnicki, Director of SEO & AI Search · facts verified October 11, 2026 · canonical: https://deploi.ca/shopify/faq/postscript-shopify-plus-certified-partner

## Short answer

Postscript is a certified Shopify technology partner for Plus merchants, listed under "Messaging and notifications" ([Shopify's partner list](https://www.shopify.com/partners/blog/shopify-plus-apps), October 2026). For vetting an SMS (text message) vendor the badge is a floor, not a tiebreaker, because Attentive holds it too. The badge's value is Shopify's published bar: a 30-minute first response to critical requests ([Shopify Help Center](https://help.shopify.com/en/partners/partner-program/how-to-qualify), October 2026).

- **Postscript's Shopify certification:** Certified Technology Partner. Shopify's list, published 5 January 2026, names Postscript under "Messaging and notifications" with Attentive and Octane AI; its app sits in the App Store's certified collection (October 2026) ([Shopify, Shopify Certified Technology Partner Program](https://www.shopify.com/partners/blog/shopify-plus-apps); [Shopify App Store, Certified Technology Partners](https://apps.shopify.com/collections/certified-technology-partners))
- **Critical support first response:** Within 30 minutes. For outages hitting several customers and security reports; high priority within 12 hours, low priority within 3 days, and 24/7 support worldwide (Shopify criteria, October 2026) ([Shopify Help Center, How to qualify as a Certified Technology Partner](https://help.shopify.com/en/partners/partner-program/how-to-qualify))
- **Uptime and security bar:** 99.9% uptime objective, annual penetration test. Shopify also wants a status page and notice to Shopify within 24 hours of a confirmed breach; each binds the vendor to Shopify, not to you (October 2026) ([Shopify Help Center, How to qualify as a Certified Technology Partner](https://help.shopify.com/en/partners/partner-program/how-to-qualify))
- **"Shopify Plus Certified App" badge:** Sunset in December 2025. Shopify retired the Plus Certified App Program brand for the Certified Technology Partner Program and says sunset brands "should not be used beyond the sunset dates" (October 2026) ([Shopify Help Center, About the Shopify Partner Program](https://help.shopify.com/en/partners/partner-program/about))

## Deploi's call

Postscript is certified, and Shopify's certification is a floor for vetting an SMS (text message) vendor, so use it as one. We treat it as a disqualifier for uncertified vendors on a mid-market shortlist, and as worth zero points between certified ones. Its real value is that Shopify published concrete numbers you can put into your own vendor questionnaire.

**BUY: Keep an SMS vendor on the shortlist when**

- It appears on Shopify's current Certified Technology Partner list, as Postscript and Attentive do under "Messaging and notifications" ([Shopify](https://www.shopify.com/partners/blog/shopify-plus-apps), October 2026).
- It shows you its status page or dashboard and the date of its last independent penetration test, both of which Shopify's criteria require it to have ([Shopify Help Center](https://help.shopify.com/en/partners/partner-program/how-to-qualify), October 2026).
- It will write a critical-incident first-response target into your contract, because Shopify's certification binds the vendor only to Shopify.

**DEPENDS: Choose between certified SMS vendors on**

- Who answers your customers' texts, because [Postscript and Attentive split on who writes the replies](https://deploi.ca/shopify/faq/postscript-vs-attentive-two-way-conversational-sms).
- List size and an SMS owner: Deploi's Postscript vs. Attentive record scores Postscript BUY for self-serve programs and Attentive past roughly 100,000 engaged subscribers ([Deploi Build vs. Buy](https://deploi.ca/shopify/build-vs-buy/postscript-vs-attentive), October 2026).
- Support hours that match your send calendar, since Shopify's criteria fix 24/7 availability but no live chat hours ([Shopify Help Center](https://help.shopify.com/en/partners/partner-program/how-to-qualify), October 2026).

## Is Postscript a certified Shopify Plus technology partner?

Yes: Postscript is a certified Shopify technology partner under the program's current name, the Shopify Certified Technology Partner Program. Shopify's list of current partners names Postscript under "Messaging and notifications", beside Attentive and Octane AI ([Shopify](https://www.shopify.com/partners/blog/shopify-plus-apps), October 2026). Postscript's app also sits in the Shopify App Store's Certified Technology Partners collection, whose members are "reviewed for their ability to work with larger merchants" ([Shopify App Store](https://apps.shopify.com/collections/certified-technology-partners), October 2026).

Shopify dropped "Plus" from the name, but the program still serves Plus merchants, because Shopify wrote its criteria "to provide the best Shopify Plus merchant experience" ([Shopify Help Center](https://help.shopify.com/en/partners/partner-program/how-to-qualify), October 2026). The badge feeds [the Postscript and Attentive choice for two-way texting](https://deploi.ca/shopify/faq/postscript-vs-attentive-two-way-conversational-sms); it does not make that choice.

## Is a "Shopify Plus Certified App" badge still valid?

No: a "Shopify Plus Certified App" badge is a retired brand, not just a dated one. Shopify sunset the Plus Certified App Program and the Technology Track tier brands (Plus, Premier and Platinum) in December 2025 "in favor of the new Certified Technology Partner Program". Shopify says those brands "should not be used beyond the sunset dates" ([Shopify Help Center](https://help.shopify.com/en/partners/partner-program/about), October 2026). So there is nothing to renew. Certified partners now get "an exclusive program badge" for the new program ([Shopify](https://www.shopify.com/partners/blog/shopify-plus-apps), October 2026).

A deck that still shows the old badge needs one check: find the vendor's app in the Shopify App Store's Certified Technology Partners collection ([Shopify App Store](https://apps.shopify.com/collections/certified-technology-partners), October 2026). Shopify's partner list dates from 5 January 2026 and still names SMSBump, whose App Store listing is gone, so check the collection first. If the vendor is there, the deck is out of date; if not, the vendor is not certified today. Agencies need a different check, because Shopify's branding rules still give "Shopify Plus Partner" as an example of an agency tier logo ([Shopify's branding rules](https://help.shopify.com/en/partners/partner-program/shopify-branding), October 2026). [What an agency's "Shopify Plus Partner" badge means in 2026](https://deploi.ca/shopify/faq/deploi-shopify-plus-partner-status) is a separate answer.

## What does Shopify require of a Certified Technology Partner?

Shopify requires a Certified Technology Partner to meet published support, status, uptime and security criteria. Shopify holds partners to them "for as long as they are in the program" ([Shopify Help Center](https://help.shopify.com/en/partners/partner-program/how-to-qualify), October 2026):

**Shopify's bar for a Certified Technology Partner covers support speed, status, uptime, security and ratings**

| Area | Shopify's criterion |
| --- | --- |
| Critical support | First response within 30 minutes to outages hitting several customers or security reports |
| Other support | High priority within 12 hours, low priority within 3 days, 24/7 support worldwide |
| Status | A dashboard or status page, an on-call team and notice of planned downtime |
| Uptime | A 99.9% uptime service level objective (SLO) |
| Security | An annual independent penetration test, and Shopify told of a confirmed breach within 24 hours |
| Rating | Above 4.0 after at least 5 reviews |

Sources: [Shopify Help Center, How to qualify as a Certified Technology Partner](https://help.shopify.com/en/partners/partner-program/how-to-qualify). Verified October 9, 2026.

Meeting the criteria "doesn't guarantee acceptance", and Shopify "can reject or remove an app at its discretion" ([Shopify's criteria page](https://help.shopify.com/en/partners/partner-program/how-to-qualify), October 2026). So the badge means a vendor passed Shopify's review and stays answerable to Shopify.

## Why doesn't certification separate Postscript from Attentive or Klaviyo?

Certification doesn't separate Postscript from Attentive or Klaviyo, because all three are Shopify Certified Technology Partners. Shopify lists Postscript and Attentive under "Messaging and notifications" and Klaviyo under "Marketing automation", beside dotdigital, Listrak, Mailchimp and Omnisend ([Shopify](https://www.shopify.com/partners/blog/shopify-plus-apps), October 2026). Klaviyo's certified app is "Klaviyo: Email Marketing & SMS" ([Shopify App Store](https://apps.shopify.com/collections/certified-technology-partners), October 2026), so an SMS (text message) shortlist with Klaviyo on it clears the same bar from another category.

So the badge tells you a vendor is a real company with a security program and a support desk. It does not tell you which certified vendor to buy, and treating it as a tiebreaker is the mistake. [The Shopify-only case for Postscript over Attentive](https://deploi.ca/shopify/faq/postscript-over-attentive-shopify-only-stack) shows that Shopify's other signals tie as well.

## How do you turn Shopify's criteria into SMS vendor questions?

Turn Shopify's criteria into SMS (text message) vendor questions by asking each finalist to evidence them in writing, because the criteria bind the vendor to Shopify, not to you. Ask for:

1. **The public status page and twelve months of incidents.** Postscript claims "over 99.99% uptime" ([Postscript](https://postscript.io/customer-service), October 2026); the history should show it.
1. **The latest independent penetration test and load test.** Shopify has partners refresh load tests "during each annual certification cycle" ([Shopify Help Center](https://help.shopify.com/en/partners/partner-program/how-to-qualify), October 2026).
1. **A critical-incident first-response target in your contract.** Shopify's 30-minute criterion is owed to Shopify.
1. **The route to a person outside live chat hours.** Shopify requires 24/7 support by phone, chat or email, while Postscript publishes live chat Monday to Friday, 6am to 5pm Pacific ([Postscript](https://postscript.io/customer-service), October 2026).
1. **Your breach-notice terms.** Shopify's 24-hour notice goes to Shopify, not to you.

A certified vendor should answer all five in a day. Each vendor's published response targets are in [the Postscript and Klaviyo support comparison](https://deploi.ca/shopify/faq/postscript-vs-klaviyo-support-response-time).

## When should certification not weigh in an SMS vendor decision?

Certification should not weigh in an SMS (text message) vendor decision once it has done its job as a floor, which is most of the time.

> **When not to do this**
> - **When both finalists are certified.** Postscript, Attentive and Klaviyo are all on Shopify's Certified Technology Partner list ([Shopify](https://www.shopify.com/partners/blog/shopify-plus-apps), October 2026), so move on to the operating model.
> - **When the badge is the only differentiator in the deck.** A badge is a sales artifact, not evidence, and Shopify sunset the "Shopify Plus Certified App" brand in December 2025 ([Shopify Help Center](https://help.shopify.com/en/partners/partner-program/about), October 2026).
> - **When you need a contractual service level agreement (SLA).** Certification is Shopify's requirement of the vendor, not the vendor's promise to you, so get the number into your agreement.

## Deploi's point of view

**Where we disagree.** Vendor marketing presents certification as a competitive advantage and buyers accept it, largely because the criteria are rarely read. Once you read them you discover the whole shortlist clears the same bar, and the badge stops being an argument and becomes a checkbox.

**What this page adds.** The parent notes that Shopify certifies both Postscript and Attentive; this page sets out what Shopify requires of a Certified Technology Partner, why a "Shopify Plus Certified App" badge has been a retired brand since December 2025, where Klaviyo sits on the same list, and how to turn Shopify's criteria into vendor questions.

## When this answer changes

- Shopify adds, removes or moves Postscript, Attentive or Klaviyo on its Certified Technology Partner list.
- Shopify changes a certification criterion, such as the 30-minute critical first response or the 99.9% uptime objective.
- Shopify renames the Certified Technology Partner Program or its badge, or brings back a Plus-branded app badge.
- Postscript changes its published live chat hours or adds weekend coverage.
- Deploi re-scores its Postscript vs. Attentive record or moves its line of roughly 100,000 engaged subscribers.

## Sources

1. [Shopify, Shopify Certified Technology Partner Program](https://www.shopify.com/partners/blog/shopify-plus-apps), checked October 11, 2026
2. [Shopify Help Center, How to qualify as a Certified Technology Partner](https://help.shopify.com/en/partners/partner-program/how-to-qualify), checked October 11, 2026
3. [Shopify App Store, Certified Technology Partners](https://apps.shopify.com/collections/certified-technology-partners), checked October 11, 2026
4. [Shopify Help Center, About the Shopify Partner Program](https://help.shopify.com/en/partners/partner-program/about), checked October 11, 2026
5. [Postscript, Customer Service](https://postscript.io/customer-service), checked October 9, 2026
6. [Shopify Help Center, Shopify branding](https://help.shopify.com/en/partners/partner-program/shopify-branding), checked October 9, 2026
7. [Deploi Build vs. Buy, Postscript vs. Attentive: Which SMS Platform Fits Shopify?](https://deploi.ca/shopify/build-vs-buy/postscript-vs-attentive), checked October 9, 2026, Deploi research