Release Notes

MerchantSignalsBot Transparency Page

Added a public crawler transparency page documenting MerchantSignalsBot, including crawler purpose, behavior, contact information, and opt-out guidance. This improves transparency and prepares Merchant Signals for future merchant and platform engagement.

• Added official MerchantSignalsBot User-Agent for storefront crawl requests
• Added public /crawler transparency page with purpose, behavior, contact, and opt-out guidance
• Added Crawler footer link and crawler_page_viewed analytics event
• Prepared structure for future crawler verification and IP range documentation

Storefront Review Request Workflow

Added a Storefront Review Request workflow that allows users to submit unsupported or blocked storefronts for future evaluation. The new workflow helps Merchant Signals identify platform coverage gaps, prioritize improvements, and collect feedback from merchants, agencies, and technology partners.

• Added storefront review request CTA on blocked and failed scan outcomes
• Added review request form with email, relationship, and optional context fields
• Added admin Storefront Review Requests queue with status and notes management
• Stored notification email foundation for future platform and crawler improvement updates
• Added storefront review analytics events

Domain Review Queue Expansion

Expanded the existing Non-Ecommerce review workflow into a unified Domain Review Queue capable of managing bot-blocked storefronts, server errors, rate limits, DNS failures, SSL failures, and other scan classifications. Added retry controls, administrative review actions, and smarter scan suppression to reduce unnecessary rescanning of known problem domains.

• Replaced Non-Ecommerce Domains with unified Domain Review Queue
• Added classification types for bot blocks, server errors, rate limits, timeouts, DNS failures, and SSL failures
• Added retry-after windows with admin override for temporary scan suppression
• Added approve, reject, whitelist, retry now, reclassify, and notes admin actions
• Automatically enqueues domains on scan failures with type-specific user messaging
• Migrated existing non-ecommerce entries automatically

Two-Phase Scan Architecture and Technology Detection Mode

Merchant Signals now separates lightweight technology detection from full readiness auditing, allowing users to see platform detection results even when deeper storefront crawling is blocked, rate-limited, or interrupted. This improves scan resilience, user guidance, and platform detection transparency without exposing internal detection mechanics.

• Added lightweight Technology Detection Mode
• Added two-phase scan architecture
• Added Partial Report experience when full audits cannot complete
• Improved scan failure classification
• Improved platform confidence presentation
• Added analytics events for technology detection and full audit phases
• Prevented partial reports from polluting readiness benchmarks

Detection Accuracy, Scan Reliability, and Report Sharing Foundation

Improved commercetools detection, enhanced scan failure diagnostics, introduced report permalink architecture, strengthened foundations for historical tracking, and added guided recommendations to help users focus on the highest-impact improvements first.

• Improved commercetools detection confidence
• Enhanced scan failure diagnostics
• Improved bot-blocked storefront messaging
• Added shareable report foundation
• Added historical scan foundation
• Added recommended starting point guidance
• Improved executive summary experience

Founder Analytics Exclusion Controls

Added internal testing controls to prevent development and validation activity from impacting analytics data quality. Improved analytics accuracy and reporting reliability while maintaining normal tracking behavior for site visitors.

• Added internal analytics exclusion controls
• Improved analytics data quality
• Improved reporting reliability
• Added testing safeguards for development activity

Shopware Platform Support and Detection Accuracy Improvements

Added first-class Shopware platform detection, improved ecommerce classification accuracy, expanded European commerce platform coverage, and strengthened safeguards against incorrectly classifying ecommerce storefronts as content sites or non-ecommerce domains.

• Added Shopware platform support with weighted storefront, JavaScript, URL, and domain-hint signals
• Improved European ecommerce platform coverage with verified Shopware storefront validation set
• Improved platform confidence detection for Shopware theme bundles, swag plugins, and Storefront web components
• Reduced false classification of Shopware storefronts as non-ecommerce or content sites
• Added Shopware validation test suite and platform coverage documentation
• Added platform_detected analytics event for successful scan platform attribution

Dual Analytics Product Events

Expanded GA4 and PostHog instrumentation with nine unified product events, shared scan context properties, and full analytics documentation.

• Wired scan_started, scan_completed, and scan_failed to both PostHog and GA4 with domain, platform, score, grade, and top_gap properties
• Wired report_shared, fix_prompt_copied, builtwith_clicked, report_downloaded, recent_scan_clicked, and contact_clicked to both PostHog and GA4
• Added unified capture helpers and scan context builders for consistent event payloads across the readiness dashboard
• Renamed share_report and copy_fix_prompt events to report_shared and fix_prompt_copied
• Added analytics.md documenting all tracked events, standard properties, and trigger locations
• Updated /analytics-status diagnostics to reflect GA4 product event delivery

Analytics Foundation and Positioning Refinement

Added GA4 and PostHog instrumentation, product event tracking, session recording support, analytics diagnostics, and updated homepage messaging to better reflect how AI systems discover, evaluate, and transact with merchant storefronts.

• Added GA4 page_view tracking with production-only, privacy-friendly configuration
• Added PostHog product events for scans, platform detection, fix prompts, sharing, feedback, and report views
• Enabled PostHog session recording in production
• Added /analytics-status diagnostics page for GA4 and PostHog configuration checks
• Updated homepage supporting copy for clearer AI commerce positioning

AI Discoverability Foundation

Added robots.txt, sitemap generation, AI crawler directives, RFC8288 link headers, API catalog support, and foundational agent discoverability capabilities for Merchant Signals.

• Added dynamic robots.txt with GPTBot, OAI-SearchBot, Claude-Web, and Google-Extended allowances
• Added Content-Signal preferences for ai-train, search, and ai-input
• Added dynamic sitemap.xml covering core public pages with canonical URLs
• Added RFC8288 Link headers on the homepage for sitemap, service-doc, and api-catalog discovery
• Added /.well-known/api-catalog in RFC9727 application/linkset+json format
• Added Accept: text/markdown responses for the homepage and About page
• Added /agent-readiness informational page with live discoverability checks
• Added /api-docs alias for API documentation discoverability
• Documented deferred OAuth, MCP, A2A, WebMCP, DNS-AID, and related agent discovery specs

Bug Fixes: Share Button, Bot Protection, and Admin

Bug fixes for Share button styling, graceful handling of scan errors when sites use bot protection from providers like Cloudflare, and Admin portal quarantine list fixes.

• Updated Share Report button styling to match the site blue theme
• Show a clear Scan Temporarily Blocked message when Cloudflare or similar bot verification blocks a crawl
• Detect bot protection during pre-crawl and crawl health checks instead of reporting a generic server error
• Fixed Admin Non-Ecommerce Domains Remove button not firing due to notes field blur race
• Fixed domain normalization so quarantined entries remove correctly from Redis
• Prevent bot-protected storefronts from being auto-added to the non-ecommerce quarantine list

Optimization Workflows, Shared Reports, and Non-Commerce Domain Controls

Merchant Signals now supports business-friendly report summaries, shareable audit URLs, AI-generated remediation prompts, and automated handling of non-ecommerce domains to improve data quality and usability.

• Added Business Summary section for non-technical users above dimension scores
• Added Share Report button with permanent /report/{id} URLs that load stored audits without recrawling
• Added Copy Fix Prompt on every finding card with platform-aware remediation guidance
• Added Non-Ecommerce Domains quarantine list in Admin with search, approve, remove, and notes
• Automatically quarantine domains classified as non-ecommerce storefronts
• Block repeat scans of quarantined domains and exclude them from benchmarks and analytics
• Shared reports display a Shared Report badge and preserve the original audit snapshot

Platform Detection Accuracy & UX Improvements

This release focuses on improving platform detection quality, expanding support for international commerce platforms, strengthening platform confidence scoring, and improving navigation through stored scan results.

• Improved Adobe Commerce (Magento) platform detection accuracy
• Added initial support for VTEX storefront detection
• Added initial support for Fenicio storefront detection
• Expanded platform fingerprint coverage using storefront assets, JavaScript bundles, metadata, URL patterns, and hosting signals
• Refined platform confidence scoring model with weighted signals: 10% IP/hosting, 45% storefront assets, 25% JavaScript bundles, 20% URL patterns
• Improved platform attribution reliability for international ecommerce storefronts
• Recent Scans entries are now clickable and open the corresponding stored scan results
• Added validation datasets for VTEX and Fenicio platform detection
• Improved platform classification framework to support future international commerce platform expansion
• Reduced Adobe Commerce false positives and platform misclassification issues
• Improved handling of previously unidentified commerce platforms

International platform detection and benchmark scalability

Adobe Commerce detection improvements, VTEX and Fenicio support, scalable platform leaderboard, user retention features, and benchmark data foundation.

• Improved Adobe Commerce detection with Magento storefront fingerprints
• Added VTEX and Fenicio platform detection for international storefronts
• Replaced fixed platform cards with a scalable Platform Leaderboard table
• Invalid non-ecommerce scans no longer pollute benchmarks or recent audits
• Platform detection feedback loop and footer email signup (Redis-backed)
• Post-audit Recommended Next Steps guide users after every completed scan
• Benchmark samples persisted in Redis for future trend reporting
• Footer branding cleanup and release notes automation improvements

Audit loading feedback

Animated crawl progress during scans and clearer loading states when opening recent audits from the homepage.

• Animated progress bar with rotating crawl status during 5–15 second audits
• Recent audit cards use pointer cursor and show a loading overlay while fetching
• Clicking a recent audit scrolls to the hero progress bar

Brand clarity and homepage messaging

Simpler hero and About page, restored disclaimer, and easier release-notes navigation — no audit or API changes.

• Homepage hero sells the outcome with Merchant Signals label and clearer Commerce Optimizer copy
• About page reordered: creator, why Merchant Signals, product summary
• Independent-project disclaimer restored site-wide
• Release notes grouped by version family (3.3.x, 3.2.x, …) with newest first

Brand Architecture Update with MerchantSignals.com

Branding updates across site to support new domain name along with continued use of Commerce Optimizer product name.

• Update Header with parent brand and product name
• Update Footer with parent brand and product name
• Update About page with parent brand and product name
• Update Site metadata/Open Graph with parent brand and product name

commercetools detection and Recent Audits UX

Headless commercetools storefronts are identified correctly; Recent Audits cards and links are easier to read and use.

• commercetools detection via __NEXT_DATA__, expanded HTML fingerprints, and verified domain hints
• Platform false-positive fixes for robots.txt Demandware paths, generic /product/ URLs, and cross-domain Shopify links
• CommerceTools displays as commercetools in audit and stats surfaces
• Homepage recent-audit card grid no longer overlaps Platform and Top Gap columns
• Recent Audits table and mobile cards link domains to storefront URLs in a new tab

Ecommerce eligibility false-positive fix

Restaurant and brochure sites on Squarespace/Wix no longer pass eligibility from default cart URLs alone.

• Require core storefront signals (product pages, schema, catalog, or pricing) for a valid audit
• Cart, checkout, and generic platform points only count when catalog signals exist
• Reject LocalBusiness, Restaurant, and similar schema without storefront catalog evidence

Ecommerce eligibility validation

Non-storefront domains are rejected before persistence so Recent Audits, benchmarks, and platform stats reflect verified ecommerce sites only.

• Ecommerce eligibility check with ecommerceConfidence scoring (threshold 50) before any scan is saved
• Parked, coming-soon, and brokered domains rejected immediately
• Invalid scans return scanStatus invalid_non_ecommerce_site with guided messaging
• Only lightweight rejection logs stored for troubleshooting; no scores or findings persisted

Homepage hierarchy, platform logos, release notes UX

Reordered homepage for faster value comprehension, compact platform and recent-audit cards, grouped release notes, and About creator section.

• Homepage order: hero, differentiator, audit checks, assets, platform stats, recent audits
• Platform readiness cards use local wordmarks and ~40% shorter layout
• Renamed Other Platform to Other Platforms; homepage recent cards stay compact
• Release notes grouped in v3/v2/v1 accordions with pre-3.0 historical backfill
• About page creator section with local headshot support
• Release Notes moved from header to footer navigation

UI clarity, platform display, release notes, contributors

Simplified Other Platform display, platform readiness icons, grade badge fixes, automated release notes, and richer contributor profiles.

• Renamed Unknown Platform to Other Platform with compact tooltip-only display on cards and tables
• BuiltWith technology profile link only in Platform Detection on audit reports
• Added platform icons and commercetools / Adobe Commerce to readiness-by-platform cards
• Fixed grade badges to stay on one line with grade-aware colors
• Added CHANGELOG.md, /release-notes page, and npm run release:add script
• Contributors support optional company, URL, testimonial, and active flag

User feedback: platform help, mobile CTA, differentiation

Addressed feedback on platform confidence, mobile homepage CTA, API docs version, free-tier messaging, and homepage differentiation.

• Unknown Platform explanation and BuiltWith link on audit surfaces
• Low-score scope note for popular brands
• Mobile-first homepage hero with Run Free Audit CTA
• AI Commerce Readiness by Platform section from scan data
• Homepage copy reduction and Not Just Visibility differentiator
• About page rewrite and friendly rate-limit messaging
• Dynamic API docs and health version examples

Other Platform label consistency

Unknown Platform shown as plain muted text instead of a badge, matching known platform typography.

• Other Platform (formerly Unknown) uses plain text with info tooltip
• Removed pill styling from unrecognized platform values
• Consistent platform display on recent audits and metadata

UI polish and visual hierarchy

Presentation-only release improving readability, badges, dark mode, and score card layout.

• Balanced 60/40 overall score card layout
• Confidence badges and uppercase finding titles
• Missing Findings section tinting and dark-mode finding cards
• Unknown Platform readable badge treatment (later refined in 3.2.4)

Theme tokens and homepage positioning

Semantic theme tokens, dark mode card consistency, and AI Commerce Optimization Platform positioning.

• Semantic CSS theme tokens for cards and text
• Banned domain scanning notice
• Homepage differentiator and platform positioning copy

Crash fix and local timezone

Fixed audit metadata timestamp formatting and timezone display.

• Resolved Invalid option error in audit metadata timestamps
• Audit times shown in the user's local timezone

Historical data and audit credibility

Foundation for historical audits, benchmarking, domain normalization, and enriched API responses.

• Audit history storage and crawl hash
• Benchmarking and audit confidence metadata
• Domain normalization and /api/index
• Dynamic API docs origin

Dynamic API origin

API documentation examples use deployment origin automatically.

• Dynamic base URL in API docs examples based on localhost or server

Scroll offset and mobile polish

Audit navigation scroll offset, mobile finding badges, and dark mode headers.

• Scroll offset helper for audit section anchors
• Compact grade badge and mobile recent audit cards
• Dark mode page headers

Desktop and mobile UI fixes

Multiple UI/UX fixes across desktop and mobile layouts.

• Platform label and tooltip improvements
• Recent audit card layout consistency
• Mobile navigation and theme toggle
• Contributors page and admin API

Invalid domain handling

Improved validation and messaging for invalid scan URLs.

• Clearer invalid domain error handling

Dimension score UX

Improved dimension score presentation on the readiness dashboard.

• Dimension score card UX improvements

Scroll to overview

After running an audit, the page scrolls to the overview section.

• Auto-scroll to overview after audit completes

Bug fixes and version display

Various bug fixes and application version labeling.

• Version label in header and footer
• Miscellaneous audit and UI bug fixes

Scoring and activity feed fixes

Removed artificial scoring, fixed activity feed, restored project focus.

• Evidence-backed scoring without artificial inflation
• Activity feed reliability improvements

AI Commerce Readiness scoring

Major release introducing readiness scoring, executive dashboard, and visual refresh.

• AI Commerce Readiness score and grade
• Executive summary and recommendations dashboard
• Merchant-friendly UX and visual refresh

Admin tools and audit management

Admin maintenance tools, single audit delete, banned domains, and recent scans UX.

• Admin tools with server-verified token
• Delete single audit by hostname
• Banned domains admin override
• Favicon and recent scans improvements

Rate limits and audit deduplication

Scan rate limits, banned domains, and deduplicated recent audit storage.

• Scan rate limiting
• Banned domain enforcement
• Recent audit deduplication in Redis

Product UX improvements

Merchant-facing UX refinements from early user feedback.

• Audit results layout improvements
• Clearer finding presentation
• Homepage and scan flow polish

Production launch cleanup

Production readiness pass before public launch.

• Production configuration cleanup
• API health and docs stabilization
• Deployment hardening

Production readiness and shared activity

Shared scan activity, bot protection, and production cache behavior.

• Shared recent scan activity in Redis
• Turnstile bot protection support
• Production cache fixes for Vercel

Community and product experience

Contributors page foundations and community-facing polish.

• Contributors and contact pages
• Community positioning copy
• Improved public navigation

Product experience and positioning

Clearer product narrative and audit presentation.

• Homepage positioning refresh
• Audit report readability improvements
• Marketing and about copy

Generated assets UX

Improved downloadable fix assets experience.

• Generated fixes download UX
• Asset section layout improvements

AI commerce recommendations

Major milestone adding AI-ready recommendation and asset generation.

• Generate fixes API and downloadable assets
• llms.txt and schema template generation
• Recommendations section in audit reports

Validation reporting quality

Early merchant validation and reporting improvements.

• Improved validation fixture reporting
• Early platform detection checks
• Foundational audit engine improvements