Before you begin
The eight things your store and your inbox need to have in place before you connect them to Uruvak — and what breaks if one is missing.
Most failed connections are not Uruvak's fault and not yours either — they are a store that Uruvak's servers cannot reach, or a WordPress setting nobody has touched in years. Ten minutes on this page saves an afternoon on When the connection breaks. Work down it before you install anything.
On your store#
A live store on its own domain, reachable from the internet#
Uruvak's servers call your store directly: once to check the connection is healthy, and again every time you publish. Your shop has to answer those calls from the outside world.
That rules out a store on localhost, a site on your laptop, a staging site behind a password, a shop in "Coming soon" or maintenance mode, anything behind HTTP basic auth, and anything behind a firewall or a bot-protection rule that challenges non-browser traffic. Any of those and Uruvak will show Not connected even though wp-admin says the store is connected — because those two things are checked in different ways.
WordPress 6.0 or newer, and PHP 8.1 or newer#
The Uruvak Bridge plugin needs both. Nothing warns you if you are below them — WordPress will let you activate the plugin and then the site errors out. Check Tools › Site Health › Info in wp-admin, which lists both versions. If your PHP is 8.0 or older, ask your host to move you up before installing anything.
WooCommerce installed and active#
Uruvak is a WooCommerce app builder, so this one is obvious — but the failure is not. The Bridge plugin activates perfectly happily on a site with no WooCommerce and still reports itself as connected. You only find out later, when the app opens to an empty shop, because every catalog and checkout request comes back "WooCommerce is not active".
Permalinks set to anything except "Plain"#
Open Settings › Permalinks. If it says Plain, change it — "Post name" is the usual choice — and save. Uruvak reaches your store at addresses beginning /wp-json/, and on Plain permalinks those addresses do not exist. The connection will never verify and no publish will ever arrive.
Your server allowed to make outbound calls#
The last step of connecting runs in reverse: your WordPress server calls Uruvak to finish the handshake. Hosts that block outbound connections, or a site with WP_HTTP_BLOCK_EXTERNAL set in wp-config.php, stop that dead. You will see "Could not connect." in wp-admin with your host's own error text underneath. Ask your host to allow outbound HTTPS.
A server clock that is roughly right#
Every message between Uruvak and your store is signed and time-stamped, and anything more than five minutes out is rejected. A drifting clock on a badly configured server shows up as a store that will not verify and publishes that fail for no visible reason. Most hosts get this right; if yours does not, ask them to enable time synchronization.
Products published, with prices and images#
The app shows exactly what your storefront shows. Draft or private products do not appear. Products with no image show a blank tile in the app, and the home screen you design in the Studio will look far better with real photos in it than with placeholders. If you are still building the catalog, connect anyway — just expect the previews to look thin until products go live.
On your side#
WordPress administrator access#
The Uruvak Bridge menu in wp-admin is only visible to full administrators. A shop manager or editor account cannot see it and cannot start a connection. If someone else runs your WordPress, you will need them for about two minutes at the connecting step.
An email address you can actually receive mail at#
Uruvak emails you a 6-digit code to create your account, and again any time you sign in without a password. Codes expire after 10 minutes, so you need the inbox open, not one you check on Fridays.
Mail comes from Uruvak <no-reply@uruvak.com> with the subject "Confirm your Uruvak email" or "Your Uruvak sign-in code". It carries no logo or branding, which makes spam filters suspicious — check the spam and promotions folders the first time.
Only when you are ready for Google Play#
A Google Play developer account#
You need this to publish your app on Google Play, and only then. You can create your Uruvak account, connect your store, design the whole app and take a release without it.
It costs $25, once, for life, and you pay Google directly at the Play Console — it is not bought through Uruvak, it is not part of any Uruvak plan, and Uruvak never sees it. Registration takes a little time: Google verifies your identity, and for a business account your organization's details too. Start it early if you have a launch date in mind. Get your app onto Google Play walks through what to expect.
What you do not need#
- A Uruvak plan. The Free plan costs nothing, needs no card, and lets you connect one store and publish live 5 times. See Plans and limits.
- Your store URL, typed anywhere. Connecting starts inside wp-admin and Uruvak picks the address up from WordPress itself. There is no field for it in the dashboard, so if you are hunting for one, you are on the wrong page.
- Developer tools. No terminal, no Android Studio, no keystores, no code.
When every box above is ticked, Quickstart: from store to app takes you the whole way in one sitting. If you would rather go a step at a time, start with Create your Uruvak account.