Connecting Shopify inventory with WooCommerce.

The challenge

Two commerce systems can create duplicated stock work and inconsistent product availability.

When Shopify acts as the inventory source and WooCommerce presents matching products, manual updates add delay and create another opportunity for human error. The integration needed a clear ownership model so that one system remained authoritative.

Matching also had to be explicit. An integration should not update unrelated products simply because a name looks similar. The workflow therefore centres on predictable product identification and controlled updates.

The approach

The plugin keeps the workflow narrow: retrieve inventory, identify the matching WooCommerce product and update stock.

Shopify’s REST API provides the remote inventory data. The WordPress plugin translates that response into the fields WooCommerce expects. Authentication, request handling and the update path remain separated so problems are easier to identify.

The implementation is AI-assisted, with Thomas retaining responsibility for the architecture, code review, testing and final behaviour. The public GitHub repository makes the integration approach inspectable.

What was delivered

The result is a custom WordPress plugin for one inventory source and two storefronts.

The plugin provides the connection between Shopify and WooCommerce without requiring a broad middleware platform. It focuses on the actual operational need and fits inside the existing WordPress environment.

This project demonstrates practical API integration: deciding which system owns the data, mapping records carefully, handling remote communication and keeping the update behaviour understandable to the store operator.

• Custom WordPress plugin
• Shopify REST API communication
• WooCommerce product stock updates
• Predictable matching workflow
• Public source repository and documentation

What the project demonstrates

Useful integration work begins with data ownership and observable behaviour.

The visible feature may be a stock number changing, but reliability depends on the path behind it. Clear mapping, error reporting and controlled updates matter more than the number of systems connected.

The same principle applies to broader automation projects: establish a source of truth, keep each transformation explicit and make failures visible before expanding scope.