Publishing Connections

Publishing Connections is where you connect external platforms to BestSEOArticles so content can be published manually or through Autopilot-ready workflows.

The connections page supports six destination types: WordPress, Ghost, Webflow CMS, Shopify Blog, Medium, and a custom webhook/API endpoint.

Supported platforms

General connection flow

1. Open Dashboard → Autopilot → Connections.
2. Click + Add Connection.
3. Choose the publishing platform.
4. Enter the required credentials and identifying fields.
5. Run the connection test.
6. Save the connection and attach it to the relevant Autopilot project.

Best flow for Custom API / Webhook projects

If your destination is a separate product such as a Next.js app on Vercel, a Supabase-backed project, a headless CMS, or an internal publishing tool, use the built-in Cursor / Windsurf setup guideinside the connection dialog.

1. Choose Custom API / Webhook in the Add Connection dialog.
2. Click Open Cursor / Windsurf setup guide.
3. Copy the prompt into the AI editor inside the target project, not BestSEOArticles.
4. Let that editor inspect the target stack, create the receiving POST route, wire storage, and add signature verification.
5. Bring the returned values back into BestSEOArticles and paste them into Webhook URL and Signing Secret.
6. Run Test Connection, then save the connection.

What the target project should return

• Webhook URL, the final deployed HTTPS endpoint BestSEOArticles will call.
• Signing secret, the exact shared secret used to verify X-Signature.
• Route file, where the receiving endpoint lives in the target codebase.
• What it saves, the table, CMS model, or post type where incoming articles are stored.
• Image behavior, whether the target project keeps placeholders, replaces them, or only uses the featured image.
• How to test, the manual test steps to verify the connection end-to-end.

Required fields by platform

Platform-specific setup notes

WordPress

1. Log in to WordPress admin.
2. Go to Users → Profile → Application Passwords.
3. Create a new application password for BestSEOArticles.
4. Copy the password immediately and paste it into the connection form.
5. Use the main site URL and the matching username.

Ghost

1. Open the Ghost admin panel.
2. Go to Settings → Integrations.
3. Create a custom integration.
4. Copy the Admin API Key and add your Ghost site URL.

Webflow CMS

1. Open your Webflow workspace settings.
2. Generate an API token with CMS write access.
3. Find the collection ID for the blog collection you want to publish into.
4. Paste the site URL, token, and collection ID into BestSEOArticles.

Shopify Blog

1. Create or use a Shopify custom app with content-writing permissions.
2. Copy the Admin API access token.
3. Find the blog ID from the Shopify admin blog area.
4. Use the shop domain, token, and blog ID in the connection form.

Medium

1. Create an integration token in your Medium account settings.
2. Paste the token into the Medium connection form.
3. Expect draft-oriented workflow behavior rather than fully automated public publishing.

Webhook / Custom API

1. Create an endpoint that accepts POST requests.
2. Configure the webhook URL in BestSEOArticles.
3. Optionally add a signing secret for request verification.
4. Return a JSON response that confirms success and, optionally, a post identifier or URL.

Webhook payload behavior today

• BestSEOArticles sends a POST request with article title, HTML, plain content, slug, excerpt, tags, meta fields, status, and featured_image_url.
• The request can be signed with X-Signature using HMAC-SHA256 and your shared secret.
• The article HTML may still contain image placeholders for inline images.
• BestSEOArticles does not currently send a full inline image array for automatic placeholder replacement in external projects.
• If the receiving project needs inline image replacement, that logic must currently be implemented on the target side or handled manually.

Security and verification

• BestSEOArticles provides a connection test flow so you can verify credentials before relying on them.
• The product UI states that credentials are encrypted at rest.
• Use platform-scoped credentials instead of personal master credentials whenever possible.

Troubleshooting checklist

• Confirm the base URL is correct and includes the proper protocol.
• Re-create credentials if the platform only shows them once.
• Check scopes and API permissions for Webflow, Shopify, and custom apps.
• Run the connection test before enabling Autopilot publishing.