BigCommerce Search Integration

Overview

ExpertRec replaces BigCommerce’s default search with an AI-powered experience featuring autocomplete, faceted filtering, semantic search, and visual merchandising. This guide walks you through the complete setup.

Prerequisites

• Active ExpertRec account (sign up at expertrec.com)
• BigCommerce store with admin access
• BigCommerce API credentials (created in the steps below)

Step 1: Create BigCommerce API Credentials

1. Log in to your BigCommerce Admin panel
2. Go to Advanced Settings > API Accounts > Create API Account
3. Give it a name (e.g., “ExpertRec Search”)
4. Set the following OAuth scopes to Read-Only: Products, Categories, Orders, Customers
5. Click Save and copy the Client ID, Client Secret, and Access Token

Step 2: Connect to ExpertRec

1. In your ExpertRec dashboard, select BigCommerce as your platform
2. Enter your BigCommerce store URL (e.g., https://store-abc123.mybigcommerce.com)
3. Enter the Client ID, Client Secret, and Access Token from Step 1
4. Click Connect — an initial product sync will begin automatically

Step 3: Configure Product Sync

• Initial full sync: Imports all products automatically after connecting
• Real-time updates: Configured via BigCommerce webhooks (see below)
• Scheduled full re-sync: Configure frequency in Dashboard > Data Source
• Category mapping: BigCommerce categories are automatically mapped to ExpertRec facets

Step 4: Configure Webhooks for Real-Time Updates

1. In BigCommerce Admin, go to Advanced Settings > Webhooks
2. Create webhooks for the following events, pointing to your ExpertRec webhook URL (found in Dashboard > Data Source):
   • store/product/created
   • store/product/updated
   • store/product/deleted
   • store/category/created
   • store/category/updated

Step 5: Install the Search Widget

1. In BigCommerce Admin, go to Storefront > Script Manager > Create a Script
2. Set Name: ExpertRec Search
3. Set Location: Footer
4. Set Pages: All Pages
5. Paste the ExpertRec embed code from your dashboard (Dashboard > Install Settings)
6. Click Save

Troubleshooting

• Products not syncing: Verify API credentials have the correct scopes and are not expired
• Search not appearing: Check Script Manager to confirm the script is active; check browser console for errors
• Stale results: Trigger a manual re-sync from Dashboard > Data Source > Re-sync Now
• Webhook failures: Check BigCommerce > Advanced Settings > Webhooks for delivery status