Considerations

The time required for connector setup may vary depending on several factors:

  • The selected Shopify plan
  • The complexity of the e-commerce setup and customization
  • The implementer’s experience, both with the e-commerce platform and Sales Layer
 

Before starting a testing connection between Shopify and Sales Layer:

 

It is recommended to have:

  1. An accessible Shopify staging or testing store capable of replicating the main processes and configurations of the production store.
  2. Properly configured API development permissions in the staging store.
    • The permissions required for the correct operation of the connector (read and write access for products, categories, stock, metafields, markets, etc.).
  3. A representative catalog in the staging store:
    • Ideally, a copy of the production catalog or a representative subset.
    • Including products with variants, images, stock, markets, pricing rules, etc.
  4. An equivalent configuration to the production store:
    It is recommended that the staging store include the same third-party applications and configurations as the production environment.

Additional recommendations (highly recommended):

  • Clone shipping rules, markets, and checkout conditions.
  • Replicate catalog automation or third-party apps related to the catalog.
  • Validate that URLs and navigation structures are equivalent.
  • Perform the first imports with a small sample of data.

Find more information on how to configure a staging environment here.

Note: If your Shopify store already exists before configuring the channel, it is advisable to create a backup or export all products to preserve the original data.

 

Technical Considerations

 
  • Once the connector is fully implemented, it is recommended to manage all product information from Sales Layer and avoid doing so directly from Shopify. Changes made in Shopify are not reflected in the Sales Layer catalog, which could cause inconsistencies in product information.
  • The only exception is stock updates, which we recommend sending directly to the e-commerce platform.
  • All changes made in Sales Layer will be sent to the e-commerce channel.
  • This connection is designed to adapt to the generic data structure of Shopify’s database tables. Any third-party plugin that modifies that structure could cause synchronization issues or data loss.
 

General Performance Considerations

 

Several factors can impact synchronization performance:

  • The total volume of catalog items, combined with the number and complexity of attributes and metafields. This includes fields with complex data types such as images, lists, markets, related products, among others.
  • The frequency and volume of updates, especially when large batches of items are modified simultaneously.
  • A large number of variants per product, particularly when they are frequently updated.
  • Concurrent use of the native Sales Layer connector and third-party plugins to synchronize or modify catalog data in the Shopify store, which can cause data conflicts and negatively affect performance.
  • Frequent changes in the data model, including adding new metafields or modifying existing field definitions.
  • Real-time inventory management expectations — the connector is not designed to support high-frequency real-time stock updates.
  • Limitations imposed by the Shopify account plan, which may restrict API usage, request limits (rate limits), or available functionalities.
Requirements
Supported and unsupported features