SHOPIFY API DEVELOPMENT
Admin API, Storefront API, and webhooks for connecting Shopify to the systems a business already runs on.
THE SHOPIFY APIS
The Admin API reads and writes store data such as products, orders, customers, inventory, and fulfilment. It is where most integration work happens and GraphQL is the current standard. The Storefront API provides customer-facing data for headless builds and custom storefronts.
Webhooks notify your system when something happens instead of requiring constant polling. Most integrations use the Admin API and webhooks together: an event signals a change, the API gets the detail, and the connected system receives the update.
THE PATTERN
Webhooks tell you a change happened. The Admin API provides the data to act on it.
WHAT I BUILD
Store data synchronised with the systems responsible for stock, fulfilment, finance, reporting, and customer experience.
Orders, inventory, and customers synchronised between Shopify and the ERP.
Orders sent out, tracking and stock levels returned reliably.
Multiple sales channels kept accurate without manual reconciliation.
Orders and refunds delivered to financial systems without duplicate entry.
Store data pulled into dashboards beyond native Shopify reporting.
Large product updates, migrations, and custom Storefront API builds.
WORKING WITH LIMITS
Shopify API limits are planned around from the start, not discovered during the next sales surge.
Data requests shaped around the rate limits Shopify actually enforces.
Large datasets handled without thousands of individual API calls.
Limit responses and transient failures handled without broken sync.
Volume is processed safely without overwhelming the API.
Events are received as they happen instead of wasting capacity on polling.
The team knows what has failed and how the sync is designed to recover.
SYNC RELIABILITY
Two systems holding the same data will drift eventually. The design defines a source of truth per field, uses idempotency so a repeated webhook cannot duplicate an order, and adds retry and dead-letter handling for persistent failures.
Reconciliation catches drift before it becomes an operational problem, while alerts identify the failed process. That is the difference between a useful integration and orders that never reach the warehouse.
“The highest risk is not an error message. It is a failed order nobody sees.”
COMMON QUESTIONS
The practical questions around connecting a Shopify store to another system.
Usually. The ERP API documentation is reviewed before a quote is given.
GraphQL. It is the current standard and handles rate limits more efficiently.
Yes, with conflict handling designed rather than assumed.
It can sometimes work through file exchange or scheduled imports. The limitations are made clear.
Usually, after reviewing its implementation and failure paths.
Yes, where headless is justified for the store rather than proposed by default.
Tell me what needs to sync and send the other system documentation if you have it. The integration is reviewed before it is quoted.