Testing your app

Testing your app before submitting

Before you submit your app for review, you need to test it on a development store to check for any bugs or errors. Many Shoplazza merchants depend on apps, so it's important that you make sure your app doesn't include any errors that could negatively impact merchants’ businesses.

The app review team will only review production-ready apps. If you submit an app that is incomplete, is in beta, or has errors that prevent us from reviewing its features, then it will be rejected.

After you've tested your app and made sure that it has met all of our app requirements, you can submit your app for approval.

Best practices for testing your app

When testing your app, think about what it might look like through the eyes of Shoplazza merchants of varying skill levels. You should make sure you have accounted for any issues that might occur when a merchant installs your app on their store. Here are some suggestions of what to look for when you test your app:

  • Make sure that the installation process is easy to understand and execute:

    • If your app requires code changes, then you should use automated installation resource such as script tags, or assets to insert and remove code snippets.

    • If your app requires the setup of an external service to function, then include this within your documentation.

  • Verify that your app can appropriately handle issues like 404s, unexpected inputs, and heavy user traffic.

  • If your app interacts with or adds something to a merchant’s online store, then test your app with several different Shoplazza-made themes.

  • After you’ve installed your app on a development store, make sure you can uninstall and reinstall that app on the same shop.

🚧

Caution

You should thoroughly test your app’s infrastructure and external dependencies to avoid negative impacts to merchant stores.

Installing an app on a development store

When a merchant installs your app, it must first authenticate with the merchant’s shop using OAuth. You can test this by installing your app on a development store. If you don’t have a development store, then you can create one.

Steps:

  • Log into your Partner Dashboard.
  • In your Partner Dashboard, click Apps.
  • Click the name of your app to navigate to the App overview page.
  • Click App testing.
  • Select the development store you want to use.
  • Click Install app.

You should now be directed to the OAuth screen. If you don't see the OAuth screen, then you might need to double check your app’s code, as well as the app URLs and redirects.

Checking your app's URLs and redirects

Before submitting your app, make sure to test your app’s URLs and redirects. Before submitting your app, make sure its App URL and Allowed redirection URL work correctly. If your app does not redirect merchants to the OAuth screen, your app will be rejected.

  • In your Partner Dashboard, click Apps.
  • Click the name of your app.
  • On your app's page, click App settings.
  • Find the URLs section.
  • Review and test the URLs you provided.

For more information about using OAuth to communicate with Shoplazza Store, refer to OAuth.