Find answers to common questions related to embedding your app to meet Built for Shopify well integrated standards.
Watch the Built for Shopify: How to embed your app webinar to learn. In this session, we cover practical strategies and share real-life app demos to help you seamlessly integrate your app, no matter the size.
FAQ
Q1: I have highly detailed and interactive reporting. How do I know what counts as ‘simplified’ monitoring & reporting?
A: Simplified monitoring and reporting should answer all the following questions for a merchant: Is it on? Is it working? If not, what are the errors I need to fix? What is the status? Is it going well? Is it not? If so, what is going well and what is not going well? How can I learn more and take action?
Q2: If we’re planning on deprecating a certain feature or workflow within the next few months, do we need to embed that functionality to pass?
A: All primary workflows must be embedded when you apply for Built for Shopify status. We recommend waiting to apply for status until that workflow is deprecated or deprioritized from your primary workflows.
Q3: What is the best approach to embed a WYSIWYG code editor and journey builder?
A: Large format screens, such as editors or configuration, that require a large amount of screen real estate should use the App Bridge Modal in a max variant, which gives you the most amount of space for your UX.
Q4: Does a popup OAuth window for auth work for seamless signup?
A: Authenticating into an external service (such as a Pinterest ad account) is a separate flow than seamless signup. Seamless signup requires a merchant profile be provisioned for the embedded app.
Q5: We’d like users to be aware that low-priority or low-usage pages can be accessed on a browser. To do this, we’ve placed a link to our external dashboard in the embedded app. Is that ok?
A: No, all pages need to be embedded
Q6: For the theme editor, our developer tested implementing the fullscreen bar component using App-bridge but it converted the page into a Max Modal. Is it okay for the theme editor to be in a Max Modal? If OK, how do we handle unsaved changes (user tries to navigate away before saving changes)?
A: Yes, editors should use the App Bridge modal in a max variant. The FullScreenBar and App Bridge fullscreen mode is deprecated. When using max modal you should use the app bridge save bar api, which will prevent merchants from navigating away from the page when they have unsaved changes.
Q7: Only 95% of our customers are present on Shopify. Given this, syncing customers might be considered a non-core workflow. If so, would it still be needed for BFS certification?
A: Apps should sync all customer data to Shopify so merchants can have a singular view
Q8: What are some examples of key use cases for action and block extensions?
A: Admin action extensions and block extensions are most useful for supplementing shopify core resources with extra information from your app, so merchants do not have to visit multiple pages to understand the status of their store. For example, if your app collects reviews for a product or has specific information about an order’s fulfillment status that, merchants will find it useful to be able to see that information in a block extension on the relevant product or order.
As a rule of thumb, if your app contains pages that are one-to-one related with a Shopify resource like an order, product, or customer, then you should show a summary of the information on that page in a block extension on the resource and give a link back to the page in your app. (Or, even better, show all of the information in the block.)
If your app has quick actions that can be completed with a modal, then you should use an action extension to make those actions available on the resource page, or as bulk action when selecting multiple resources at the same time on the list of resources.
Q11:Can I serve a terms and conditions acceptance screen as part of onboarding and still meet seamless signup?
A: Apps may serve terms of service as part of onboarding and require they be accepted before a merchant uses the app. This will not affect seamless signup
Q12: I have auto-save functionality build-in. Do I still need to use Contextual Save Bar?
A: Yes, all apps need to use contextual save bar to comply with App Design Guidelines. Continuous data validation or auto-save for forms is incongruous with the standard Shopify admin save UX.
Q13: Do I need to embed one-time configuration options and infrequently-used profile options? E.g. change my name, password, generate API keys
A: Default to yes, all pages should be embedded
Q14: Can you clarify the importance of Polaris and if we really do need to build with it?
A: Polaris is not a requirement to meet Built for Shopify. However, we do highly recommend it – this is because it’s easy to use, it’s responsive to mobile right out of the box, and will help you get BFS certified way faster. Our recommendation is to start at a place where 100% of components are Polaris and only deviate from it where your UI is custom enough that Polaris doesn’t come with prebuilt components.
Q15: I work primarily on Vuejs related frameworks but Polaris and App Bridge are built on React. How can we integrate these libraries with Vuejs?
A: While Polaris is built on React, we’re working hard to make it more accessible to all developers, regardless of the framework they work with. App Bridge has already been updated to follow web standards, meaning it can now be integrated into Vue.js (or other frameworks) without requiring React. As we continue to evolve Polaris, our goal is to ensure that you can use these tools seamlessly, whether you prefer React or Vue.js.
Q16: How would seamless sign-up/login work if the user already has an account with the app, and is not signing-up through Shopify?
A: To allow existing merchants to sign in, ensure the partner can connect to the merchant’s existing account in their settings.