Connect your Shopify store

Getting your store connected is the very first thing we do together — and the good news is it's genuinely one click. Shopify handles the secure part, and I'll walk you through every step so none of it feels like a mystery.

Here's why it matters: until we're connected, I can't see your store yet. Once we are, I can start building and installing content for you. So this is the doorway to everything else.

What you'll need first

Two small things, and that's the whole list:

• Your store's web address — it looks like yourstore.myshopify.com.
• To be signed in to your Shopify admin in the same browser you're using now.

No passwords to hand me, and no code to copy anywhere. You sign in with Shopify, not with me.

The steps, one at a time

1. Open your Dashboard and click Connect Store (it's in the top right).

   

2. Type in your store's web address — the yourstore.myshopify.com one. Don't worry about getting the format perfect; if you drop the https:// or an extra slash, I'll tidy it up for you.
3. Click Connect with Shopify. This hands you over to Shopify's own login screen — you sign in on Shopify's side, which is exactly why I never see your Shopify password.

4. Shopify shows you a permission screen. Read it if you'd like, then click Install. (What those permissions mean is less than it sounds — there's a plain-English rundown a little further down.)

   

5. Shopify sends you back to your Dashboard, now showing your store as connected. That's it — you're in.

What Ollie can and can't touch on your store

This is the part people worry about, so let me be completely clear about it.

I ask Shopify for permission to do three things: read and add blog content (so I can publish the articles I write), read and add theme sections (so your content hub and tools have a home), and read your products (so I can mention your real products by name instead of making things up).

Here's the part that matters most: I only ever add things. I never edit, remove, or touch your existing pages, your theme's design, your orders, your customers, or anything to do with your money. And nothing I write goes live until you've seen it and said yes.

If it doesn't connect right away

If your store doesn't show as connected the moment you come back, don't worry — try these in order:

• Give it a few seconds and refresh the page. It can take a moment to catch up.
• Check that you clicked Install on Shopify's permission screen. Closing that tab early stops the connection halfway through.
• If Shopify says you don't have permission, you might not be the store owner or a staff member with app rights. Ask whoever owns the store to connect it, or to give you app access, and you'll be set.

Still stuck after that? Message me right here and I'll help you through it, or reach a real human any time at matt@runoctopus.com. You won't be left on your own with this.

You're in — what happens next

Now that we're connected, the next step is getting your first content live on your store. Head over to Install your content and I'll take it from there — and remember, I'll show you everything before it publishes, so you're always the one in control.