PLATFORM
Skuply for BigCommerce
Connected through the BigCommerce Store API, no app in your store. Two things differ here: we can only measure once you have connected, and we make sure a field is named exactly the same everywhere.
CONNECTING TAKES ABOUT HALF AN HOUR ON YOUR SIDE
THE PITFALL
Material, material and Material are three fields.
Custom fields are free name-value pairs. That is their strength and their trap: BigCommerce matches them by name, and a space or a capital makes a second field. Across a thousand products entered by different people over the years, you end up with five variants of the same thing.
Naming that grew
Every colleague typed it slightly differently. In the admin it looks the same, but these are separate fields with nothing connecting them.
Material / material / Material
FIVE FIELDS, ONE MEANING
One name, everywhere
We always write the same key, and migrate existing variants onto that one. Only then is the field usable across the whole catalogue.
material = full-grain leather
ONE FIELD, A THOUSAND PRODUCTS
What we do not do is guess which variant is the right one. We show you the list we find, you pick the name, and only then do we write. Whether a field also shows up as a filter in your store depends on your theme and settings; we work that out on day one and tell you straight.
THE CONNECTION
A token and a store hash.
You create a store-level API account under Settings, API, with Products set to Modify. No app goes into your store. Unlike WooCommerce or Shopify, BigCommerce has no public product list, so we can only start measuring once that key exists.
What we read
Products, variants, categories, brands, images and the existing custom fields.
What we write
Custom fields and image descriptions. Nothing else.
What we cannot reach
Orders, customers, prices and stock. We do not request those scopes.
WHAT FILLS UP INSIDE BIGCOMMERCE
custom_fields
name-value pairs, normalised on name
image.description
alt text from the product title and the colour
brand
read only, never written
categories
read only, for the split by type
upc / gtin
read only, to see what is missing
weight
read only
skuply provenance
source, timestamp and confidence, in our own log
We write custom fields and alt text only. Price, stock and variants we never touch; they are on the never-touch list in the code.
EXPLORE ALL CMS
Skuply runs on the other two as well.
WooCommerce
The difference between a global and a custom attribute, and why your filter stands or falls on it.
READ ON
Shopify
Without a definition a metafield does nothing. We create it before the value exists.
READ ON
Magento
Only an attribute with real options ever reaches layered navigation.
READ ON
Shopware
The filter runs on properties, not on custom fields. We fill the first, even though the second is easier.
READ ON
Another platform
If your shop runs on something else with an API, that is a conversation and not a no. Tell us what it is.
PUT IT TO US
QUESTIONS ABOUT BIGCOMMERCE
What BigCommerce admins always ask.
Why can you only measure us after connecting?
BigCommerce has no public product list the way WooCommerce and Shopify do. We can read your product pages for a first impression, but the real catalogue only arrives with your key.
Will those fields show up as filters?
That depends on your theme and your filtering settings. We promise the field is filled and consistent; whether your store turns it into a filter is something we work out with you on day one.
We already have custom fields with our own names.
We leave those alone. We first show which variants of the same name are floating around, and you choose which one is right.
Does an app get installed in our store?
No. We use a store-level API account. Nothing is installed and nothing runs inside your storefront.
What happens if we revoke the key?
The next round stops with an error and we write nothing further. What is already there stays, and the rollback button keeps working for as long as you allow us in.