Sanity + Shopify integration

What Sanity is

Sanity is a content platform with a customisable editing studio. Brands use it for rich product storytelling, editorial and campaign content.

How we would approach Sanity with Shopify

Sanity Connect syncs Shopify products, variants and collections into Sanity, and can send Sanity content back to Shopify as metafields and metaobjects, which means a Liquid theme can show it too. So the first question is whether you need a headless front end or just better content in the theme. We test on a non-production dataset first, as Sanity recommends.

What the work involves

• A decision on theme plus Sanity, or headless
• Sanity Connect set up and tested on a non-production dataset
• Content models shaped around how editors work
• Content synced back to Shopify for the theme where needed

Ways to connect Sanity and Shopify

• Existing app

  Sanity Connect for Shopify

  Sanity's Shopify app. Direct sync creates a Sanity document for every product, variant and collection; custom sync sends updates to your own endpoint instead.

• Built in

  Sync back as metafields and metaobjects

  Sanity Connect can write custom Sanity fields and document types back to Shopify, so a Liquid theme can display them.

• Custom build

  Headless storefront

  A custom front end, such as Hydrogen, that renders Sanity content and Shopify data together.

Where these projects go wrong

• Synced documents count towards Sanity's document limits on large catalogues.
• Descriptions synced to metafields, while other apps still read Shopify's standard description field.
• Going headless when syncing content back to the theme would have been enough.

Questions

Do we need a headless storefront to use Sanity?

No. Sanity Connect can send content back to Shopify as metafields and metaobjects, so the theme can display it.

Will product data be duplicated in Sanity?

With direct sync, yes: one Sanity document per product, variant and collection. Shopify stays the source of truth for prices and stock.

Before we scope the work

• Which data or customer journey needs to connect, and which system owns it?
• What access, plan features or API permissions are available?
• Does an existing connector cover the requirement, including failures and updates?
• Who will maintain the connection, and how will you know it is working?

Send your current setup and one real example of the flow you need. We'll tell you whether it can be done and what it would take.