How Apex detects your store
What the onboarding store scan reads, how platform detection works, and what the detected storefront tools mean.
The first onboarding step scans your storefront so Apex can pick the right connection path before you touch any code. You enter your store URL and brand name, and Apex reads the public storefront to detect the commerce platform and any storefront tools it can see. Nothing is installed during the scan. It only reads publicly available storefront signals to recommend how to connect Apex.
What the scan reads
- Platform signals: markup, scripts, and globals that identify Shopify, Shopify Hydrogen, Shopware, or a custom storefront.
- Commerce setup: product and checkout structure used to prepare your brand profile.
- Storefront tools: analytics, review, and marketing scripts that are detectable from the public page.
Platform detection and confidence
Apex reports a detected platform with a confidence level. When detection is confident and the platform has a native Apex integration, the step recommends a one-click connect path. When detection is ambiguous or the store is custom, you can choose the platform yourself and Apex switches to a script-based connection. You can always correct the detected platform before continuing.
Detected storefront tools
Detected tools are shown only when Apex sees matching storefront scripts or browser globals. If a detected tool has a native Apex integration, the step highlights a one-click connect action for it. An empty tools list is normal — it only means no analytics, review, or marketing tools were confidently detected from the storefront.
Next step
After you confirm the platform, Apex prepares your brand profile and moves you to the connection step, where you install the app or add the script for your platform.