Shopify
Connect Shopify to Citeca and publish articles automatically.
Connect Shopify and Citeca publishes finished articles straight into it — live, or as drafts for you to review first.
Setup time
About 5 minutes
Access needed
Admin on the site or store
What we touch
Blog posts only
Note
This connection can only read and publish blog posts. Your theme, products and settings are never modified.
What you need#
- Store owner access, or a staff account that can create apps
- Your
.myshopify.comstore address - A blog on the store for articles to publish into
Note
Shopify is the longest setup of the supported platforms — about five minutes — because it wants a custom app created and installed before it will hand over API access. The steps below are exactly what the in-app wizard walks you through.
Connecting Shopify#
Open Settings → Publishing, find Shopify and press Connect. The wizard walks you through the steps below.
- 1
Before you start
One quick check, then every step below has a button that takes you straight to the right Shopify page.
- Confirm: I can sign in to Shopify as the store owner (or my account is allowed to create apps)
Note
Most people finish in about 5 minutes. This connection can only read and publish blog posts. Your theme, products, and settings are never touched.
- 2
Find your store name
Every Shopify store has its own .myshopify.com address. Paste it below and the buttons in the next steps open your own store.
- In Shopify, go to Settings → Domains. Your address ending in .myshopify.com is listed there (it’s also in the address bar of your Shopify admin: admin.shopify.com/store/your-store-name).
- Store name — Paste the whole address if you like (e.g. na70yq-bn.myshopify.com or the admin URL). We’ll trim it for you.
- 3
Create the app
The connection works through a small private app you create once in Shopify’s Dev Dashboard. No coding.
- Click Create an app (the + on the Home page, or Create app under Apps), then choose Start from Dev Dashboard.
- Name it. Copy ours and paste it, then click Create:
Heads up
Sign in with the same account that owns your-store.myshopify.com, so the app and the store are in the same Shopify organization.
- 4
Allow blog posts, then release
Shopify opens the app’s first version. Give it blog permissions and release it. Nothing changes on your store yet.
- Under API access, paste this into the Scopes box. The box takes a comma-separated list, so pasting is faster than ticking boxes:
- Only if the App URL box is empty, paste:
- Click Release at the bottom of the page. The version name can stay empty: click Release again to confirm.
Note
The form opens right after you click Create. If it doesn’t, open your app, click Versions in the left menu, then New version.
- 5
Install the app on your store
You’re now on the app’s Overview page. Install it so it’s allowed to publish to your-store.myshopify.com.
- On the app’s Overview page, in the Installs card (top right), click Install app.
- Pick your-store.myshopify.com, then click Install on the Install app screen.
- Lost the page? Open the Dev Dashboard, click Apps, then Citeca Blog Publisher.
Note
Seeing “This app hasn’t been reviewed”? That’s expected for a private app you created yourself. It’s safe to click Install.
- 6
Paste your credentials
Back on the app’s Overview page in the Dev Dashboard, the Credentials card has both values. Click the copy button next to each, then paste them here. We check them with Shopify straight away.
- Client ID
- Client secret — Use the copy button next to Client secret. It copies the full value, so there’s no need to reveal it first.
Note
After installing, Shopify leaves you in your store admin. Switch back to the Dev Dashboard tab (or use the button), open Citeca Blog Publisher, and you’ll see Credentials on the right. Both values must come from this same app.
- 7
Choose where and how to publish
Last details: pick the blog we publish to and how new articles should appear.
- Blog — Most stores publish to “News” (Shopify’s default blog). If your store only has one blog, we’ll use it automatically.
- Author name
- Publish immediately — Articles go live on your Shopify blog as soon as they’re published here.
- Save as draft — Articles arrive as drafts in Shopify, so you review and publish them yourself.
Note
Store still password-protected? Articles will publish, but visitors and AI engines can’t read them until the password is off. You’ll find it under Online Store → Preferences.
You’re all set — articles are on the way
Your Shopify store is connected. We’re preparing your first articles — they’ll publish automatically when ready.
Check it worked#
Verify it’s working
4 checks
- The Shopify card shows Connected, naming the blog.
- The article appears under Content → Blog posts in Shopify admin.
- Its author matches the one you chose during setup.
- Visible articles appear on your storefront blog.
To test without waiting for a scheduled article, open any finished article in Blog content and press Publish. You get a result per destination immediately, including the exact error if something is wrong.
Managing the connection#
Once connected, the Shopify card shows a green Connected dot and a Manage button. Everything about the connection is changed from there — there are three controls.
- Test connection — checks the credentials against Shopify right now. If they fail you get the platform’s own response, not a generic message.
- Reconnect — walks through the setup again. This is how you paste a rotated token, publish somewhere else, or change whether articles go live or wait as drafts. It replaces what is stored rather than adding a second connection.
- Disconnect — deletes the stored credentials and stops publishing. Articles already published stay on your site untouched, and your drafts and schedule in Citeca are kept.
Note
When something fails you get a plain explanation and the steps to fix it. The platform’s own response — status code, endpoint and response body — is folded away under Details for support; “Copy error report” puts all of it in one paste for a support message.
TroubleshootingQuestions#
Why does Shopify need a custom app?
It is the only way Shopify grants write access to blog content for a private integration. The app is yours, lives in your admin, and can be uninstalled at any time — it exists purely to issue the credentials.
My credentials were rejected.
Almost always the app was created but never installed — the client secret exists before the app has any access. Install it on the store, then paste the credentials again.
Which blog do articles go into?
The one you chose during setup. Shopify stores can have several — News is the default that ships with new stores. Run Manage → Reconnect to move to a different one.
Articles publish but do not appear on the storefront.
Check the article is Visible rather than hidden in Shopify admin, and that your theme actually has a blog page with a link to it. A hidden blog template is the usual cause.
Where do I change whether articles go live or stay as drafts?
Press Manage on the connection’s card in Settings → Publishing, then Reconnect, and answer the live-or-draft step differently. It applies to that connection only, so your other destinations are unaffected.
What happens if I regenerate the credentials?
The old ones stop working immediately and publishing fails with an authentication error. Press Manage on the card, then Reconnect, and paste the new ones — that replaces the old credentials rather than adding a second connection.
Can I disconnect without losing published articles?
Yes. Disconnecting only deletes the credentials we stored. Everything already published stays exactly where it is, because those are posts in your own CMS.
Will publishing the same article twice create a duplicate?
No. Articles are matched on their slug, so republishing updates the existing post rather than adding a second one.
Something missing or wrong here? Tell us and we will fix it.