One of the first decisions I had to make was how redirect tracking would actually work.
Many solutions try to take over storefront URLs or replace existing redirect behavior.
I decided to avoid that approach entirely.
Instead, Redira would extend Shopify redirects rather than replace them.
The app would use a dedicated App Proxy route and keep tracking isolated from storefront routing.
The URLs were slightly less elegant, but the system became far more predictable and reliable.
Other entries in this project’s operating log.
On May 1, 2026 Redira was approved by Shopify and became publicly available through the Shopify App Store. One of the surprising lessons from the project was that the review process took…
On March 19, 2026 I submitted Redira for Shopify App Store review. At this point the app included redirect management, click tracking, statistics, monitoring, support tooling, documentation, and a…
Before submitting the app for review, I wanted visibility into failures. I added Sentry monitoring, Discord alerts, email notifications, internal diagnostics, and support tooling. I also integrated…
The first working version of Redira was completed. By this point the app already supported redirect management, click tracking, aggregated daily statistics, and an embedded Shopify Admin dashboard.…
For a long time I wanted to build a Shopify app, but I always had other projects competing for attention. In early March 2026 I finally decided to stop postponing it and build something myself. The…
Longer-form writing tied to the same project.
The story behind Redira, my first Shopify app, and the problem that convinced me to finally start building in the Shopify ecosystem.
One of the first decisions I had to make was how redirect tracking would actually work.
Many solutions try to take over storefront URLs or replace existing redirect behavior.
I decided to avoid that approach entirely.
Instead, Redira would extend Shopify redirects rather than replace them.
The app would use a dedicated App Proxy route and keep tracking isolated from storefront routing.
The URLs were slightly less elegant, but the system became far more predictable and reliable.
Other entries in this project’s operating log.
On May 1, 2026 Redira was approved by Shopify and became publicly available through the Shopify App Store. One of the surprising lessons from the project was that the review process took…
On March 19, 2026 I submitted Redira for Shopify App Store review. At this point the app included redirect management, click tracking, statistics, monitoring, support tooling, documentation, and a…
Before submitting the app for review, I wanted visibility into failures. I added Sentry monitoring, Discord alerts, email notifications, internal diagnostics, and support tooling. I also integrated…
The first working version of Redira was completed. By this point the app already supported redirect management, click tracking, aggregated daily statistics, and an embedded Shopify Admin dashboard.…
For a long time I wanted to build a Shopify app, but I always had other projects competing for attention. In early March 2026 I finally decided to stop postponing it and build something myself. The…
Longer-form writing tied to the same project.
The story behind Redira, my first Shopify app, and the problem that convinced me to finally start building in the Shopify ecosystem.