Shopify + CMS architecture: CDN path routing on one domain

CDN path routing puts Shopify commerce and an independent content system on the same domain. We define which system owns each path, how pages are cached and published in each language, how releases are tested and how to roll back.

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Define which system owns each path

Path example	Owner	Acceptance
/products/example	Shopify storefront	Product, cart and checkout remain usable
/guides/example	Content system, only if approved	200, intended content and self-referencing canonical
A missing content URL	Content system	Real 404; no successful homepage fallback
A localized equivalent	Explicitly assigned owner	Correct language, equivalent task and reciprocal hreflang

Path rules need exact patterns: a rule such as /blog* also captures Shopify’s own /blogs/. See Shopify blog in a subfolder for folder naming, the routing rules we run and eight launch checks, and headless versus a separate content system if a full storefront rebuild is also on the table.

These are illustrative paths, not instructions to migrate your existing URLs. Inventory reserved Shopify routes and integrations before introducing any routing rule.

Test the request and cache boundaries

Routing: Record host, path patterns, route precedence and origin. Keep a known-good configuration and test unmatched paths.
Caching: Separate public content from authenticated or personalized responses. Do not cache member sessions, CSRF tokens or form receipts as public content.
Origin access: Confirm TLS, origin headers, crawl access, redirects and timeout behavior. Protect private administration separately from public content.
Publishing: Validate visible text, status, canonical, language links and sitemap together. A successful upload is not an indexing confirmation.

Failure recovery is part of the design

Test an unavailable CMS and a routing error in a safe environment. Record whether commerce remains reachable, what content users see, and how to restore the previous route. A distributed diagram does not prove the absence of a single point of failure.

Capacity and availability claims require measurements under defined traffic and dependency conditions. Compliance requires an actual privacy and security review; HTTPS alone does not establish legal compliance.

Release checklist

Before release

Back up the exact files and configuration
Pick sample URLs: product, collection, content, language
Include a missing URL and an authenticated page

After release

Recheck public responses
Mobile navigation and account access
Form storage
The affected cart and checkout flow

Assign one owner and a rollback trigger before you start.

Use the technical checklist to preserve evidence. Review international SEO before adding language routes.

Define maintenance and release boundaries before integration

Path ownership: Inventory product, collection, article, language, login and API paths. Specify the serving system and exceptions for each path rather than applying a broad proxy rule to every request.
Authoritative data: Agree authoritative sources for Shopify commerce data, CMS content, page metadata and language relationships. An imported snapshot is for comparison; it does not grant permission to overwrite the source site.
Release contents: Record the content, translations, metadata, templates and shared-component revisions included in a release. Publish the approved scope after preview, then inspect the served pages—not only the job status.
Failure and recovery: Define the owner, affected paths, backup revision and recovery criteria in advance. Assess routing, content and commerce separately; repairing a content page is not permission to alter payment or order workflows.

These are project design and acceptance requirements, not a claim that every capability exists in every current installation. Verify them against the actual environment before integration.

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