Episode 053 - Roberto Senabre with Orbe
Liquid Weekly Podcast: Shopify Developers Talking Shopify DevelopmentShow Notes
In this episode of the Liquid Weekly Podcast, hosts Karl Meisterheim and Taylor Page welcome Roberto Senabre, co-founder of the Shopify app Orbe, to discuss the complexities of Shopify Markets and internationalization.
Roberto shares his journey from starting a plant-based leather brand on WooCommerce to becoming a "Shopify Markets fanboy" after realizing the struggles of managing localized experiences. He explains how Orbe solves the critical issue of directing international shoppers to the correct localized storefront without negatively impacting SEO or UX.
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Find Roberto Senabre Online - Orbe: https://apps.shopify.com/orbe - Twitter (X): https://x.com/robertosenabre - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/senabre/
Timestamps - 00:00 Introduction and Hookdeck Sponsor Ad - 02:40 Welcome and Introduction of Roberto Senabre from Orbe - 05:25 Roberto’s Background: From 12-year-old Coder to Merchant - 08:30 The Birth of Orbe and Discovering Shopify Markets - 11:20 The Vision of Shopify Markets: Beyond Just Countries - 13:45 The Pain of "Expansion Stores" vs. Single Store Markets - 19:00 Technical Pitfall 1: Not Using Proper Liquid/JS Routes Objects - 22:45 Technical Pitfall 2: Confusing Markets with Storefronts (The "Rest of World" Mistake) - 26:30 Technical Pitfall 3: Hard-Coding Full URLs in Content - 30:30 Technical Pitfall 4: Manually Editing Hreflang Tags (Don't do it!) - 32:30 Technical Pitfall 5: Using Visual-Only Currency Converter Apps - 33:40 Technical Pitfall 6: Automatic Redirection vs. SEO Crawlers - 35:50 When to Use Expansion Stores vs. Markets - 38:00 Orbe’s Tech Stack: PHP, Vanilla JS, and Web Components - 44:50 Dev Changelog Highlights - 50:40 Picks of the Week
Resources - Orbe Geolocation: https://orbe.app/install/liquidweekly - Orbe Affiliate Program: http://orbe.app/affiliates/liquidweekly - Hookdeck: https://hookdeck.com/ - Common issues on Markets: https://orbe.app/blogs/blog/shopify-markets-mistakes - Expansion stores vs one single store: https://orbe.app/blogs/blog/shopify-expansion-stores-vs-shopify-markets
Dev Changelog - New: Unlisted Product Status - https://shopify.dev/changelog/new-unlisted-product-status - Improved concurrency handling in the Cart AJAX API and Storefront Cart -GraphQL API - https://shopify.dev/changelog/improved-concurrency-handling-in-the-cart-ajax-api-and-storefront-cart-graphql-api - Updated online store promotion app store requirement - https://shopify.dev/changelog/updated-online-store-promotion-app-store-requirement - Increased limits in metafield and metaobject definitions - https://shopify.dev/changelog/increased-limits-for-metafields-and-metaobjects - [action required] Bulk operations group objects default changed to false - https://shopify.dev/changelog/bulk-operations-group-objects-default-changed-to-false - Built for Shopify apps get priority visibility across the Shopify App Store - https://shopify.dev/changelog/built-for-shopify-apps-get-priority-visibility-across-the-shopify-app-store - The cartDiscountCodeUpdate mutation now requires the discountCodes field - https://shopify.dev/changelog/the-cartdiscountcodeupdate-mutation-now-requires-the-discountcodes-field
Picks of the Week - Karl: Chronometer - A free nutrition, calorie, and macro tracking app with a great food library and barcode scanner. https://cronometer.com/ - Roberto: RFC for Shopify Storefront Standard events: https://x.com/benjaminsehl/status/1982862575298838983 - Taylor: Ashland High School Football - Celebrating local team making it to the first round of the playoffs.
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