Getting started
What is Champ?
Champ is a Shopify app that adds a community forum to your store. A forum is a place on your website where customers post questions and replies that everyone can read. The forum uses your store’s design, and customers sign in with the account they already have at your store.
Where does the forum appear on my store?
On your store’s own website, at yourstore.com/community/champ. You can change the /community/champ part in the Champ dashboard. To help customers find the forum, add a link to it in your store’s menu, the same way you add any other page. The installation guide shows you how.
Do my customers need a new account?
No. If a customer is signed in to your store, they are signed in to the forum. You can also let visitors post without signing in, or make everyone sign in before they can read.
How long does setup take?
Installing takes about a minute. Most stores have a working forum, with a few forums set up, colours matched to the store and a link in the menu, in under an hour. See the installation guide.
Will it match my store’s design?
Yes. The forum appears inside your store’s theme, with your header and footer. You choose the colours, font and logo in the Champ dashboard. If you or a developer know CSS, you can add your own styles too.
Do I need to know how to code?
No. Everything is set up with buttons and forms in the Champ dashboard. The coding features (custom CSS, webhooks and the API) are optional extras for developers.
Running your forum
Can I make a forum only some customers can see?
Yes. In your Shopify admin, add a tag to the customers who should get in, for example vip or wholesale. Then, in Champ, limit the forum to that tag. Only customers with the tag can see it. See the users guide.
How do I stop spam?
Champ checks every post for spam automatically, with nothing to set up. If spam still gets through, you can make new posts wait for your approval, slow down how often people can post, or connect Akismet, an extra spam filter. The anti-spam guide explains what to turn on and when.
Can I add moderators?
Yes. In your Shopify admin, add the tag champ-moderator to the customer. They can then approve, edit, hide, lock, move and delete posts right on the forum. They do not get access to your Shopify admin. See the users guide.
Can members send each other private messages?
Yes, if you switch it on. Messages appear in a chat window on the forum pages.
Can members post photos?
Yes, once you connect a Cloudinary account. Cloudinary is a separate service (with a free plan) that stores the photos. You also set the maximum file size. See image uploads.
Can forum emails come from my own email address?
Yes. Enter your email provider’s sending settings (called SMTP settings) in the Champ dashboard, and forum emails are sent from your address. If you skip this, emails are sent from Champ. See the email guide.
What emails do members get?
An email when there are new posts in a topic or forum they follow, and an email when someone @mentions them. You can switch these off and change the wording.
Your content and developers
Can I download my forum content?
Yes. In the Champ dashboard, open Data and request an export. You get a file (in JSON format) with your forums, topics, posts and members. It does not include uploaded profile pictures, or who upvoted what, but it does include how many upvotes each post has.
Is there an API?
Yes, for developers. An API lets other software connect to your forum. With Champ’s API, a developer can read your forums, and read, create and update topics and posts. There are also webhooks, which send a message to another tool (such as Slack) each time someone posts. Most stores never need either. See the API guide.
Will the forum help my store show up on Google?
It can. The forum is on your store’s own website, not a separate one, so every topic is a page on your site that Google can find. Champ also creates a sitemap (a list of all forum pages for Google) and a description for each topic.
What happens to my content if I uninstall?
The forum disappears from your store and your subscription ends. Your content is kept, so if you reinstall, it comes back. If you want it deleted for good, email us and we will delete it. See the GDPR page.
Billing
How much does Champ cost?
Free for 14 days, then $29 a month. There is one plan with every feature, and no limits on members or posts. You pay on your normal Shopify bill.
How does the free trial work?
When you subscribe in the Champ dashboard, Shopify asks you to approve the plan. Your 14-day free trial starts then. You are not charged during the trial. If you cancel before it ends, you pay nothing. If you keep Champ, the first $29 charge is made when the trial ends.
Can I cancel any time?
Yes. In the Champ dashboard, open Billing and unsubscribe. After the trial, you pay at the start of each month. If you cancel partway through a month, the forum keeps working until that month ends, and you do not get a partial refund.
Why was I charged after I uninstalled?
Your Champ month and your Shopify bill may start on different days, so a charge from before you uninstalled can appear on a later Shopify bill. If a charge looks wrong, email us and we will sort it out.
Try Champ free for 14 days
The guides explain every setting step by step.