Zapier
• What is Zapier?
• Requesting access to the ShopWired app
• An explanation of zaps
• Creating a zap
• Data frequency
What is Zapier?
Zapier is a platform that enables connections (known as Zaps) to be built between two, or more, systems/services where no direct connection exists between them.
For example, no direct connection exists between our platform and Zoho's accountancy software, Zoho Books. In this instance you can use Zapier to connect the two systems together to create invoices on Zoho Books when a new order is placed on your website.
Zapier has a free plan available which allows you to connect two platforms together, but also offers a paid plan which allows you to connect more than two platforms together (i.e. Zaps with 3 or more steps).
Some apps on Zapier are only available on their paid plan, but most (including ours) are available on the free plan.
You can find more information about Zapier on their website at https://zapier.com.
To get started with Zapier you will first need to create an account with them.
Requesting access to the ShopWired app
Once you have a Zapier account you can gain access to the ShopWired app. The app is currently in beta which means it is not publicly available, so you will need to request access to the app which you can do by clicking here.
On the page that opens confirm your request by clicking Accept Invite & Build a Zap:
Access will be granted automatically, so you can get started building apps immediately.
An explanation of zaps
A zap is a connection between two (or more) systems/services that are available on Zapier. When something happens (known as a trigger) on System A you can then make something happen (known as an action) on System B.
The ShopWired app on Zapier allows for both triggers and actions:
Allowed actions: Create Customer, Create Product, Create Order
Allowed triggers: Customer Created, Product Created, Order Created
The following instructions are an example of creating an action on a third party app based on a trigger happening on ShopWired.
Creating a zap
Please note!
The following instructions offer a brief outline of the steps needed to create a zap with Zapier. More detailed information is available in the Zapier help guides and from the Zapier support team. The ShopWired support team cannot provide support on using the Zapier service.
To create a zap select the MAKE A ZAP button:
Creating the trigger
You’ll then be asked to select your trigger app (which is the app in which something would happen to start your zap). Search for the ShopWired app in the search box:
Once you’ve selected ShopWired choose your trigger event from the drop-down list:
Once you have chosen the event select Continue.
Then click to sign in to your ShopWired account:
In the pop-up window that appears you will need to enter your account’s API credentials:
You can obtain your account’s API credentials by selecting Yes, Continue.
from the menu. Scroll to the ‘API Access’ section to obtain your API Key and API Secret. Enter the API key in the ‘API Username’ field, and enter the API secret in the ‘API Password’ field. Then selectYour account will then be linked and you can select Continue. Next, test your trigger:
Once you’ve selected to test your trigger, if the account API credentials were entered correctly you will see a success message:
This completes the setup of your trigger.
Creating the action
After setting up the trigger you will set up the action by first selecting your action app (or the app on which the event you select will occur when the trigger has happened):
Zapier has hundreds of apps for you to choose from to help you produce actions which are helpful to the running of your ecommerce store. For example, you can use the 'SMS by Zapier' app to set up an action where you would receive a text message when an order is created on your website.
Once you have selected your app choose your action event for it:
You will then be prompted to connect to the app you have chosen. The action events available for an app and how you will connect the app to zapier will depend on the app you choose.
Once you’ve connected the app you will then be prompted to configure what happens when the trigger occurs. For example, if you’re building a zap that sends you a text message when a new order is created, you will need to create the message content. This can include details about the order that you’ve received by selecting the available data, as shown in this example:
Once you’ve configured your action select Continue, and you’ll then be able to test your zap.
Data frequency
ShopWired sends new data to Zapier approximately every 15 minutes. While this means data is not being sent in ‘real time’ most users will find this data frequency sufficient for their needs. Unfortunately, it is not currently possible to update Zapier more frequently.