Shopify Integration

Connect your Shopify store to BlogShoot and publish AI-generated blog articles directly to your Shopify blog. Perfect for e-commerce businesses looking to boost SEO and drive organic traffic.

Overview

Shopify integration allows you to:

• Publish BlogShoot articles directly to your Shopify blog
• Automatically upload featured images to Shopify
• Set custom tags, authors, and publishing status
• Update existing articles seamlessly
• Manage multiple blogs from one dashboard

How It Works

BlogShoot generates article → Select Shopify as destination →
Article published to your Shopify blog → Visible on your store

Prerequisites

Before setting up Shopify integration, ensure:

• You have a Shopify store (any plan)
• Admin access to your Shopify dashboard
• At least one blog created in Shopify
• Ability to create custom apps (enabled by default)

Create a Blog First

If you haven’t created a blog yet, go to Shopify Admin → Online Store → Blog posts and create one before proceeding.

Setting Up Shopify Integration

Step 1: Enable Custom App Development

First, enable custom apps in your Shopify store:

1. Log in to your Shopify admin (yourstore.myshopify.com/admin)
2. Go to Settings → Apps and sales channels
3. Click Develop apps for your store
4. If prompted, click Allow custom app development

Note

Some Shopify plans may have custom apps enabled by default. If you see the “Develop apps” option, you’re ready to proceed.

Step 2: Create a Custom App

Create a dedicated app for BlogShoot:

1. Click Create an app
2. Enter app name: BlogShoot (or any name you prefer)
3. Select your developer account or create one
4. Click Create app

Your new app is created but not yet configured.

Step 3: Configure API Scopes

Grant necessary permissions to the app:

1. In your app dashboard, click Configure Admin API scopes
2. Scroll to find and enable these scopes:

Scope	Permission	Purpose
read_content	Read blog articles and pages	View existing content
write_content	Create, update, delete articles	Publish and update articles
read_files	Read files	Access existing images
write_files	Upload files	Upload featured images

3. Click Save in the top right corner

Required Scopes

All four scopes are required. Missing any scope will cause publishing to fail.

Step 4: Install the App

Install the app to your store:

1. After saving scopes, click Install app at the top right
2. Review the permissions
3. Click Install app to confirm

The app is now installed and ready to generate credentials.

Step 5: Get Admin API Access Token

Retrieve your access token:

1. Go to the API credentials tab
2. Under Admin API access token, click Reveal token once
3. Copy the entire token - it looks like: shpat_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Save Your Token Securely

This token will only be shown once! If you lose it, you’ll need to create a new app. Store it in a secure password manager.

Step 6: Connect to BlogShoot

Configure the connection in BlogShoot:

1. Go to BlogShoot Dashboard → Integrations → Shopify
2. Navigate to the Setup tab
3. Fill in the connection details:

Shop URL

yourstore.myshopify.com

• Use your exact Shopify store URL
• Don’t include https:// or trailing slashes
• Example: myawesomestore.myshopify.com

Admin API Access Token

shpat_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

• Paste the token from Step 5
• Ensure no extra spaces

4. Click Test Connection

   • ✅ Success: “Connected to [Your Store Name]”
   • ❌ Failed: See troubleshooting section

5. Click Save Configuration

Your Shopify store is now connected!

Configuring Publishing Settings

Default Settings

Configure how articles are published by default:

1. Go to the Settings tab in Shopify integration
2. Configure the following:

Default Blog

Select which blog to publish articles to:

• Click the refresh icon to load available blogs
• Choose your primary blog from the dropdown
• Articles will be published here unless specified otherwise

Default Article Status

Choose the publishing status:

• Published ✅ - Articles go live immediately
• Hidden 🔒 - Articles saved as hidden (not publicly visible)

Use Hidden for Review

Set to “Hidden” if you want to review articles in Shopify before making them public.

Default Author

Set the author name displayed on articles:

• Default: BlogShoot
• Use your store name, brand, or author name
• This appears in article metadata

Default Tags

Add comma-separated tags automatically:

SEO, Blog, Marketing, E-commerce

• Helps organize articles in Shopify
• Improves internal navigation
• Can be overridden per article

3. Click Save Settings to apply changes

Multiple Blogs

If you have multiple blogs:

1. Refresh the blogs list to see all available blogs
2. Select your primary blog as default
3. When publishing, you can choose a different blog per article

Publishing Articles to Shopify

Publishing Your First Article

1. Create an article in BlogShoot Dashboard
2. Click Publish on the article
3. Select Shopify as the destination
4. Review settings:
   • Blog: Choose target blog (uses default if not changed)
   • Status: Published or Hidden
   • Author: Author name
   • Tags: Add or edit tags
5. Click Publish to Shopify

BlogShoot will:

• ✅ Create the article in Shopify
• ✅ Upload featured image
• ✅ Set metadata and tags
• ✅ Apply your chosen status

Viewing Published Articles

After publishing:

1. In BlogShoot: Article shows ✅ Published status with Shopify icon
2. View on Store: Click the article URL to see it live
3. View in Admin: Click “View in Shopify” to manage in admin

Updating Articles

To update an already published article:

1. Edit the article in BlogShoot
2. Click Publish → Shopify
3. BlogShoot detects it’s an update
4. Changes sync to existing Shopify article

Automatic Updates

BlogShoot tracks which articles are published where, so updates automatically modify the correct Shopify article instead of creating duplicates.

Publishing Settings Override

You can override default settings per article:

• Blog: Choose a different blog
• Status: Change from Published to Hidden or vice versa
• Author: Use a different author name
• Tags: Add article-specific tags

These overrides only apply to this specific article.

Understanding Article Structure

Content Format

BlogShoot converts articles to Shopify’s format:

• Title: Article headline (SEO-optimized)
• Body: Full HTML content with formatting
• Summary: Optional excerpt (if provided)
• Featured Image: Uploaded to Shopify Files

Metadata

BlogShoot stores tracking information:

• Namespace: blogshoot
• Key: article_id
• Value: BlogShoot’s internal article ID

This allows seamless updates and prevents duplicates.

URLs

Published articles get two URLs:

Public URL

https://yourstore.myshopify.com/blogs/news/article-title

• Customer-facing URL
• Share on social media or email

Admin URL

https://yourstore.myshopify.com/admin/articles/123456

• Shopify admin dashboard
• Edit, manage, or delete

Managing Multiple Stores

Connect multiple Shopify stores:

1. Go to Integrations → Shopify
2. Click Add Another Store
3. Follow setup steps for the new store
4. Each store has independent settings

Use Cases

• Multi-brand: Different stores for different brands
• Multi-region: Stores for different countries
• Staging & Production: Test before publishing live

When publishing, select which store to publish to.

Advanced Features

Image Handling

Featured images are automatically:

1. Uploaded to Shopify - Stored in your Files section
2. Attached to article - Set as featured image
3. Optimized - Proper dimensions and formats

BlogShoot handles all image upload complexity.

Tag Management

Tags in Shopify:

• Auto-applied: Default tags from settings
• Manual addition: Add per article
• Comma-separated: tag1, tag2, tag3
• Case-insensitive: Shopify normalizes tags

SEO Optimization

BlogShoot articles include:

• SEO-friendly titles - Optimized for search
• Meta descriptions - From article excerpt
• Structured content - Proper HTML hierarchy
• Alt text for images - Improves accessibility

Troubleshooting

Connection Test Failed

Error: “Access Token invalid or insufficient permissions”

Solution:

1. Verify token is copied correctly (no spaces)
2. Check app has all 4 required scopes
3. Ensure app is installed and active
4. Try generating a new token

Error: “Shop URL does not exist”

Solution:

1. Use exact format: yourstore.myshopify.com
2. Don’t include https:// or www
3. Verify store URL in Shopify settings
4. Check for typos

Error: “Connection timeout”

Solution:

1. Check your internet connection
2. Verify Shopify isn’t experiencing downtime
3. Try again in a few minutes

No Blogs Found

If blog dropdown is empty:

1. Create a blog in Shopify:

   • Go to Shopify Admin → Online Store → Blog posts
   • Click Manage blogs
   • Click Add blog
   • Give it a title and save

2. Refresh blogs list:

   • Click the refresh icon in Settings tab
   • Blogs should now appear

3. Check app permissions:

   • Verify read_content scope is enabled
   • Reinstall the app if needed

Articles Not Publishing

Error: “Failed to publish article”

Common causes:

1. Connection expired:

   • Test connection in Setup tab
   • Reconnect if needed

2. No blog selected:

   • Set default blog in Settings tab
   • Or select blog when publishing

3. Missing permissions:

   • Verify all 4 API scopes enabled
   • Check app is still installed

4. Invalid content:

   • Ensure article has title and content
   • Check for special characters

Error: “Image upload failed”

Solutions:

• Verify write_files scope enabled
• Check Shopify storage limits
• Try without featured image first

Duplicate Articles

If articles appear multiple times:

• BlogShoot uses metafields to track articles
• If metafield is removed, updates create new articles
• Solution: Delete duplicates in Shopify admin

App Uninstalled Accidentally

If you uninstalled the custom app:

1. Previously published articles remain in Shopify
2. Create a new custom app (Steps 2-5)
3. Reconfigure connection in BlogShoot
4. Future articles will publish normally
5. Updates to old articles may create new ones

Security Best Practices

Access Token Security

Do:

• Store token securely (password manager)
• Never share publicly or commit to Git
• Rotate tokens every 6-12 months
• Use one token per integration

Don’t:

• Share tokens with unauthorized users
• Post tokens in support tickets
• Store in plain text files
• Reuse tokens across apps

Permission Management

• Only grant necessary API scopes
• Review app permissions regularly
• Remove unused custom apps
• Monitor API activity in Shopify logs

Monitoring

• Check published articles regularly
• Review Shopify admin activity log
• Set up Shopify notifications for changes
• Monitor for suspicious activity

API Rate Limits

Shopify enforces rate limits on API requests:

Default Limits

• Bucket size: 40 requests
• Leak rate: 2 requests per second
• Burst: Up to 40 requests instantly

BlogShoot Behavior

BlogShoot automatically:

• Respects rate limits
• Retries failed requests
• Queues multiple articles
• Spreads requests over time

For bulk publishing (10+ articles), expect:

• ~5 seconds per article
• Automatic pacing
• No manual intervention needed

Disconnecting Shopify

To remove Shopify integration:

1. Go to Integrations → Shopify
2. Navigate to Setup tab
3. Click Disconnect at bottom
4. Confirm disconnection

Articles Remain in Shopify

Disconnecting doesn’t delete published articles from Shopify. They remain accessible in your store. You’ll need to manually delete them in Shopify if desired.

Limitations

Current limitations:

• One connection per workspace (contact support for multiple)
• No automatic deletion - Delete articles manually in Shopify
• No comment sync - Comments managed only in Shopify
• No scheduling - Use Shopify’s publishing schedule for future dates

Best Practices

Content Strategy

1. Create blog first - Set up your blog structure before publishing
2. Use consistent tags - Helps with organization and SEO
3. Set descriptive author - Use real name or brand name
4. Review before publishing - Use “Hidden” status for review
5. Update regularly - Fresh content improves SEO

SEO Optimization

1. Optimize titles - Include target keywords
2. Write summaries - Appears in blog listings
3. Use featured images - Improves click-through rates
4. Add internal links - Link to products or other articles
5. Tag strategically - Use relevant, searchable tags

Store Performance

1. Regular publishing - Aim for 1-2 articles per week
2. Quality over quantity - Well-researched articles rank better
3. Track analytics - Monitor traffic in Shopify Analytics
4. Cross-promote - Share articles on social media
5. Link to products - Drive traffic from blog to products

Comparing Shopify vs WordPress

Feature	Shopify	WordPress
Setup complexity	Easy	Moderate
App required	Custom App	Plugin
Authentication	Access Token	Application Password
Featured images	✅ Automatic	✅ Automatic
Multiple sites	Limited	Unlimited
SEO plugins	Built-in	External (Yoast, etc.)
Best for	E-commerce	Content-focused

Next Steps

Now that you’re connected:

• Publishing Articles
• Creating Great Content
• SEO Best Practices
• Managing Workspaces

FAQs

Q: Can I publish to multiple Shopify stores? A: Each workspace supports one Shopify connection. Contact support for multi-store needs.

Q: Will old articles be overwritten? A: No. BlogShoot tracks each article and only updates the correct one.

Q: Can I edit articles in Shopify after publishing? A: Yes! Edit freely in Shopify. Re-publishing from BlogShoot will overwrite changes.

Q: What happens if I delete an article in Shopify? A: BlogShoot won’t know it’s deleted. Re-publishing creates a new article.

Q: Can I schedule articles for future publication? A: Publish as “Hidden” first, then schedule in Shopify admin.

Q: Does this work with Shopify Plus? A: Yes! Works with all Shopify plans including Shopify Plus.

Q: Are metafields visible to customers? A: No. BlogShoot metafields are for internal tracking only.

Q: Can I publish to Shopify pages instead of blogs? A: Currently only blog articles are supported. Pages may be added in future.

Need Help?

• Check Frequently Asked Questions
• View Troubleshooting Guide
• Email support: [email protected]
• Visit BlogShoot Documentation

Resources

• Shopify Custom Apps Documentation
• Shopify Admin API Reference
• BlogShoot API Documentation