Shopify Connector

Setup

Initial Connection

1. Navigate to Integrations from the main menu
2. Click Add Integration → Select Shopify
3. Enter your Shopify store name (e.g., your-store for your-store.myshopify.com)
4. Click Connect with Shopify
5. Authorize ILLIXIS in your Shopify admin panel
6. Confirm the connection is active (green status indicator)

Required Permissions:

• read_content - Pull existing blog articles and pages
• write_content - Publish new articles and pages
• read_products - Sync product catalog
• read_customers - E-commerce automation (optional)
• read_orders - E-commerce automation (optional)

OAuth vs API Key

ILLIXIS uses OAuth 2.0 for secure authentication. You don't need to manually create API keys or manage access tokens. The OAuth flow handles everything automatically.

Why OAuth?

• More secure than static API keys
• Granular permission control
• Easy to revoke access if needed
• No manual token management

Publishing Content to Shopify

Publish Individual Articles

1. Generate or edit an article in ILLIXIS
2. Click Publish in the article editor
3. Select your Shopify connector from the dropdown
4. Choose the target blog (e.g., "News", "Articles")
5. Set publishing status:

• Published - Live immediately
• Draft - Saved but not visible to customers
• Scheduled - Publish at specific date/time (Shopify native scheduling)

6. Click Publish to Shopify

Result: Article appears in your Shopify blog within seconds. Featured images are automatically uploaded. Internal links are preserved.

Scheduled Publishing

Shopify supports native scheduled publishing. ILLIXIS passes the scheduled date to Shopify, which handles the actual publishing.

How to schedule:

1. In the article editor, click Schedule
2. Set your desired publish date and time
3. Publish to Shopify
4. Shopify will automatically make the article live at the scheduled time

Important: Scheduled articles appear in your Shopify admin with status "Scheduled" until the publish time arrives.

Bulk Publishing

Publish multiple articles at once from the Content Hub:

1. Navigate to Content Hub → Published Content
2. Select articles using checkboxes
3. Click Bulk Actions → Publish to Shopify
4. Choose target blog and status
5. Confirm

Processing time: ~5 seconds per article. Progress appears in the notification bell (top right).

Pulling Content from Shopify

Initial Sync

Pull existing blog content from Shopify into ILLIXIS:

1. Go to Integrations → Your Shopify connector
2. Click Sync from Shopify
3. Select content types:

• Articles - Blog posts from all blogs
• Pages - Static pages (About, FAQ, etc.)
• Products - Product catalog (for content planning)

4. Set filters:

• Status: All, Published only, or Drafts only
• Date range: Pull content created/updated within specific dates
• Limit: Max items per content type (default: 100)

5. Click Start Sync

Processing time: ~2 seconds per item. Sync runs in the background.

Sync Modes

• All - Pull everything matching filters
• New only - Only content not already in ILLIXIS
• Updated only - Only content modified since last sync

Use case: Run "Updated only" daily to catch changes made directly in Shopify admin.

What Gets Synced

Articles:

• Title, body content, excerpt
• Featured image
• Author, tags, blog assignment
• Publish date, status
• Handle (URL slug)

Pages:

• Title, body content
• Featured image
• Publish date, status
• Handle

Products:

• Title, description, SKU, price
• Product images
• Variants, inventory levels
• Collections/categories

Content Mapping

ILLIXIS tracks which Shopify articles map to which ILLIXIS content:

• External ID: Shopify article ID
• External URL: Public URL on your Shopify store
• Sync status: synced, pending, or failed
• Last synced: Timestamp of most recent sync

View mappings: Integrations → Your connector → Content Mappings tab

Product Sync for Content Planning

Sync your Shopify product catalog to power content creation:

1. Go to Integrations → Your Shopify connector
2. Click Sync Products
3. Products are imported into your ILLIXIS product catalog
4. Use products in content briefs (e.g., "Write a buying guide featuring {product_name}")

Auto-refresh: Product data refreshes weekly automatically.

Use cases:

• Product comparison articles
• Buying guides
• Seasonal product roundups
• New arrival announcements

Webhooks for E-Commerce Automation

Shopify can notify ILLIXIS when events happen (new order, customer signup, etc.). This powers e-commerce email automation.

Available Webhooks

| Event | URL Pattern | Triggers |
|-------|-------------|----------|
| Order created | /connectors/shopify/webhook/{source_id}/orders/create/ | Post-purchase email sequence |
| Order fulfilled | /connectors/shopify/webhook/{source_id}/orders/fulfilled/ | Shipping confirmation, review request |
| Customer created | /connectors/shopify/webhook/{source_id}/customers/create/ | Welcome sequence |

Setup in Shopify Admin

1. Go to Settings → Notifications → Webhooks
2. Click Create webhook
3. Select event (e.g., "Order creation")
4. Set URL: https://app.illixis.io/connectors/shopify/webhook/{your_source_id}/orders/create/
5. Format: JSON
6. API version: 2024-01 (or latest)
7. Save

Finding your source_id: Integrations → Your Shopify connector → "Webhook URLs" section (displays all configured URLs).

Testing Webhooks

1. Create a test order in Shopify
2. Check ILLIXIS Email Automation → Sequences
3. Verify the trigger fired (check logs in Sequence dashboard)

Troubleshooting: If webhook doesn't fire, check Shopify webhook delivery logs (Settings → Notifications → Webhooks → Click webhook → Delivery history).

GraphQL API vs REST API

ILLIXIS uses REST API for content operations. Shopify's REST API is simpler for blog publishing and covers all necessary operations.

GraphQL is used for complex product queries (bulk variant updates, metafield management). Currently not used in ILLIXIS Shopify connector.

Why REST?

• Simpler authentication
• Better rate limit predictability (2 requests/second, 40 burst)
• Sufficient for blog publishing use case
• More documentation/examples

Rate Limiting

Shopify enforces API rate limits:

• REST API: 2 requests/second, 40 burst/minute
• GraphQL API: Points-based (not used by ILLIXIS)

How ILLIXIS handles limits:

• Built-in rate limiter respects 2 req/sec
• Burst capacity for short spikes
• Automatic retry with exponential backoff

If you hit limits:

• Reduce bulk publish batch sizes
• Space out sync operations
• Upgrade Shopify plan (higher tiers have higher limits)

Multi-Blog Support

Shopify stores can have multiple blogs (e.g., "News", "Guides", "Company Updates"). ILLIXIS supports publishing to any blog.

How to target a specific blog:

1. When publishing, the blog selector shows all available blogs
2. Choose target blog from dropdown
3. ILLIXIS remembers your last selection

Default blog: If no blog is selected, ILLIXIS uses the first blog found in your Shopify store.

Creating blogs: Go to Shopify Admin → Online Store → Blog posts → Manage blogs → Add blog.

Public Domain vs Shop Domain

Shopify stores have two domains:

• Shop domain: your-store.myshopify.com (admin access)
• Public domain: yourdomain.com (customer-facing)

ILLIXIS uses the public domain for generating article URLs when available.

Setting public domain:

1. Go to Integrations → Your Shopify connector → Edit
2. Scroll to "Sync Settings"
3. Enter public domain (e.g., yourdomain.com)
4. Save

Why it matters: Article URLs shown in ILLIXIS use the public domain, making them shareable and SEO-friendly.

Troubleshooting

Connection Fails After OAuth

Symptoms: OAuth completes but connector shows "Disconnected" status.

Cause: The connector record was not created after the OAuth flow completed.

Fix: Contact support to resolve the connection. You may also try disconnecting and reconnecting your Shopify store.

Published Article Not Visible on Store

Possible causes:

1. Article published as draft - Check status in Shopify admin
2. Blog not enabled on storefront - Shopify Admin → Online Store → Navigation → Add blog
3. Theme doesn't display blog - Check theme settings

Sync Returns "No blogs found"

Cause: Shopify store has no blogs created.

Fix:

1. Go to Shopify Admin → Online Store → Blog posts
2. Click "Manage blogs"
3. Create at least one blog (e.g., "News")
4. Retry sync

Rate Limit Errors

Symptoms: 429 Too Many Requests errors during sync.

Fix:

• Reduce sync batch size (set lower limit)
• Wait 60 seconds, then retry
• Check Shopify API health status

Featured Images Not Uploading

Cause: Image URL not accessible or wrong format.

Fix:

• Verify image URL is public (not behind auth)
• Supported formats: JPG, PNG, GIF, WebP
• Max size: 20 MB per image
• Check image CDN is not blocking Shopify IPs

Best Practices

Content Workflow

Recommended flow:

1. Create brief in ILLIXIS (Keyword/Trend/Custom)
2. Generate article
3. Review and revise in ILLIXIS editor
4. Publish to Shopify
5. Monitor performance in ILLIXIS Analytics

Why this works: Content stays in ILLIXIS as source of truth. Shopify becomes distribution channel. Analytics stay unified.

Scheduling Strategy

Post consistently:

• Schedule posts 7+ days in advance
• Publish at consistent times (e.g., every Tuesday 10am)
• Use Distribution Planner to visualize schedule

Peak times: Test your audience, but generally:

• B2C: Tuesday-Thursday, 10am-2pm
• B2B: Tuesday-Wednesday, morning

Product Content Strategy

Sync products weekly:

• Keep product descriptions fresh
• Use in comparison articles
• Reference in email campaigns

Product content ideas:

• "Top 10 [category] for [season]"
• "[Product] vs [Product]: Which is better?"
• "How to choose the right [category]"

Maintenance

Weekly:

• Pull updated content from Shopify ("Updated only" mode)
• Check sync logs for failures

Monthly:

• Review content mappings (ensure no orphaned entries)
• Verify webhook deliveries (Shopify admin)
• Rotate OAuth token (automatic, but verify connection)

FAQ

Can I edit articles in Shopify after publishing from ILLIXIS?

Yes, but changes won't sync back to ILLIXIS automatically. If you edit in Shopify, use "Pull from Shopify" (Updated only mode) to bring changes back.

What happens if I delete an article in Shopify?

The content remains in ILLIXIS. The ContentMapping will show "failed" status on next sync. You can republish from ILLIXIS to restore it.

Can I use this with Shopify Plus?

Yes. Shopify Plus accounts have higher API rate limits, so bulk operations are faster.

Does this work with headless Shopify?

Yes. Content is published via API regardless of frontend. If you use a headless frontend, ensure it's configured to fetch blog posts from Shopify's API.

Can I publish to multiple Shopify stores?

Yes. Add multiple Shopify connectors (one per store). When publishing, select which store to target.

What about Shopify Liquid templates?

ILLIXIS publishes raw HTML content. Your Shopify theme's Liquid templates control the presentation. The connector doesn't modify theme files.

Is there a limit to how many articles I can sync?

No hard limit from ILLIXIS. Shopify's API rate limits apply (2 req/sec), so large syncs take time. Typical sync: 100 articles = ~3 minutes.

Related Features

• Distribution Planner: Schedule content across multiple channels (Shopify, WordPress, social)
• E-Commerce Email Flows: Automate post-purchase sequences triggered by Shopify webhooks
• Content Inventory: Track all published Shopify content in one unified view
• Cross-Channel Analytics: See Shopify blog performance alongside other channels

Integration Details

Shopify API Version: 2024-01 Authentication: OAuth 2.0

ILLIXIS uses the Shopify REST API for all content operations including listing blogs, publishing and updating articles, pulling pages, and syncing products.