Shopify Essentials: Shopify API Integration: Best Practices

Shopify’s APIs power everything from storefront extensions to full custom apps. Whether you’re querying product data or syncing orders to third-party systems, performance and reliability matter.

This guide covers integration fundamentals with best practices for REST and GraphQL.

REST vs GraphQL: Choose Wisely

REST:

• Easier for simple CRUD ops
• Clear, structured endpoints
• Good for webhooks and admin actions

GraphQL:

• More efficient for selective data queries
• One request, multiple datasets
• Ideal for dashboards and reporting

Example GraphQL query:

{
  products(first: 3) {
    edges {
      node {
        id
        title
        variants(first: 2) { edges { node { price } } }
      }
    }
  }
}

Authentication Options

Use the correct method based on your app type:

• Private apps: basic auth or static tokens
• Custom/public apps: OAuth2 with X-Shopify-Access-Token

Never expose tokens on the frontend. Store securely in env vars or secrets managers.

Handle Rate Limiting

Shopify applies rate limits:

• REST: 40 requests per app per store per minute (plus burst bucket)
• GraphQL: cost-based (e.g. 1000 points/minute)

Best Practices:

• Use Retry-After header for REST
• Use X-Shopify-Shop-Api-Call-Limit to monitor
• For GraphQL, check extensions.cost in response

Pagination

Use cursor-based pagination in GraphQL:

products(first: 5, after: "cursor")

REST uses page_info and rel=next headers:

Link: <https://...&page_info=abc>; rel="next"

Never use page=2 - it’s deprecated.

Webhooks Integration

Use webhooks to stay reactive:

• orders/paid
• products/update
• customers/create

Verify requests using HMAC SHA256 with your secret key:

crypto.createHmac("sha256", secret).update(body).digest("base64")

API Retry & Error Strategy

• Retry on 429 Too Many Requests and 5xx errors
• Use exponential backoff (setTimeout(..., delay * 2))
• Log failed attempts with full payload

Secure Your Requests

• Always use HTTPS
• Sanitize all incoming params
• Avoid passing full tokens in URLs

Real-World Example

In a logistics integration for a jewellery brand:

• Orders pushed to third-party warehouse via REST
• Stock synced back via webhook triggers
• GraphQL used for dashboard queries

Related Reading

• Custom App Development for Shopify