DIY Developer Guide: Building Custom Integrations for Gorgias
Overview
Gorgias is a customer service helpdesk platform designed for eCommerce brands, enabling seamless management of customer support tickets, live chat, social media messaging, and automation. This DIY Developer Guide for Gorgias provides a clear framework for building secure, scalable, and efficient custom integrations with eCommerce platforms, CRM systems, and fulfillment solutions.
Prerequisites for Gorgias Integrations
- Gorgias API access credentials (API Key)
- Familiarity with:
- RESTful APIs
- Basic Authentication
- JSON data formatting
- Tools: Postman, Gorgias API Documentation, SDKs (Python, Node.js)
Step 1: Authentication for Gorgias Integrations
Gorgias APIs use Basic Authentication with the API Key.
Authentication Example:
Authorization: Basic BASE64(API_KEY:)
All requests must be made over HTTPS.
Step 2: Endpoint Discovery and Data Mapping
Common API Resources:
- Tickets
- Customers
- Users
- Messages
- Macros (Automation)
Process:
- Review Gorgias API documentation.
- Map CRM, eCommerce, or ERP fields (e.g., customer email, order ID) to Gorgias data models.
Important considerations:
- Consistent customer ID and order ID mapping
- Proper ticket tagging for automation workflows
- Maintaining GDPR compliance for customer data
Step 3: Building Integration Workflows
Integration Patterns:
- Inbound (to Gorgias): Create new tickets, update customer profiles, push order information.
- Outbound (from Gorgias): Retrieve ticket statuses, customer data, and conversation histories.
Example: Creating a New Ticket
POST /api/tickets
{
"subject": "Order Inquiry",
"customer": {
"email": "customer@example.com"
},
"messages": [
{
"channel": "email",
"from_agent": false,
"body_text": "Where is my order?"
}
]
}
Example: Retrieving a Customer Profile
GET /api/customers/{customer_id}
Authorization: Basic BASE64(API_KEY:)
Step 4: Error Handling and Pagination
Error Handling:
- Capture HTTP status codes and Gorgias-specific error messages.
- Implement retry logic for 429 (rate limits) and 5xx server errors.
Pagination:
- Use
page
andper_page
parameters when retrieving large datasets.
Example:
GET /api/tickets?page=2&per_page=50
Step 5: Testing and Validation
- Test workflows using Postman or Gorgias sandbox environment.
- Validate ticket creation, customer syncing, and message updates.
- Perform load testing for bulk ticket and customer operations.
Step 6: Deployment and Security
- Deploy integrations on secure cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP).
- Use secret managers for storing API Keys.
- Enforce HTTPS/TLS for all API communications.
- Implement real-time monitoring, logging, and error alerting.
Step 7: Maintenance and Monitoring
- Monitor Gorgias API version updates and changes.
- Set up real-time alerts for authentication failures and API errors.
- Track KPIs such as ticket resolution time, customer satisfaction rates, and message response times.
Optional Enhancements
- Middleware integration (Celigo, Boomi, MuleSoft) for multi-platform automation
- Admin dashboards for real-time support performance monitoring
- Webhooks for real-time updates on new tickets and customer interactions
Summary
Building custom Gorgias integrations empowers businesses to automate customer support, streamline ticket management, and deliver personalized experiences. This DIY Developer Guide for Gorgias provides a secure, scalable, and structured roadmap for high-performance integration development.
Apiworx is dedicated to helping eCommerce businesses scale faster than ever possible before by streamlining and managing complex OmniChannel data flows, we save our customers time and money, allowing them to scale their businesses faster and more effectively. We focus on automation and integration of often-overlooked back-office systems and processes such as order and inventory management. We work with major partners in the industry and build best-in-breed automation and integration solutions.