Content Processing

Content Processing controls how Wash transforms WordPress content before syncing to Shopify. This includes URL rewriting, custom HTML tags, and content sanitization.

How Content Processing Works

WordPress Post Content
        ↓
HTML Parsing & Sanitization
        ↓
URL Rewriting (images, links)
        ↓
Custom HTML Tag Processing
        ↓
Gutenberg Block Conversion
        ↓
Shopify Article Body

URL Rewriting

Wash automatically rewrites URLs in your content to work correctly on Shopify.

What Gets Rewritten

URL Type	Before	After
Images	yourblog.com/wp-content/uploads/image.jpg	cdn.shopify.com/s/files/.../image.jpg
Internal links	yourblog.com/post-name/	yourstore.com/blogs/news/post-name
Category links	yourblog.com/category/news/	yourstore.com/blogs/news
Author links	yourblog.com/author/john/	Removed or preserved (configurable)

URL Rewriting Settings

Setting	Description	Default
Rewrite internal links	Convert WordPress URLs to Shopify URLs	On
Rewrite image URLs	Point images to Shopify CDN	On
Preserve external links	Keep links to other domains unchanged	On
Add nofollow to external	Add rel="nofollow" to external links	Off
Open external in new tab	Add target="_blank" to external links	Off

Link Mapping Rules

You can create custom link mapping rules:

{
  "patterns": [
    {
      "from": "/category/news/",
      "to": "/blogs/news"
    },
    {
      "from": "/tag/([^/]+)/",
      "to": "/blogs/news/tagged/$1"
    },
    {
      "from": "/author/([^/]+)/",
      "to": null
    }
  ]
}

Custom HTML Tags

Shopify's article body field has limitations on which HTML tags are allowed. Wash can transform custom tags.

Allowed Tags in Shopify

Shopify allows these HTML tags in article content:

a, abbr, acronym, address, b, blockquote, br, cite, code,
dd, del, dfn, div, dl, dt, em, h1-h6, hr, i, img, ins, kbd,
li, ol, p, pre, q, s, samp, small, span, strike, strong,
sub, sup, table, tbody, td, tfoot, th, thead, tr, tt, u, ul, var

Tag Transformation

WordPress Tag	Shopify Equivalent	Notes
<figure>	<div class="figure">	Wraps images with captions
<figcaption>	<p class="caption">	Image caption text
<article>	<div class="article">	Semantic wrapper
<section>	<div class="section">	Content section
<aside>	<div class="aside">	Sidebar content
<nav>	<div class="nav">	Navigation element
<header>	<div class="header">	Header element
<footer>	<div class="footer">	Footer element
<main>	<div class="main">	Main content
<iframe>	Removed or placeholder	Not allowed in Shopify
<script>	Removed	Security: never synced
<style>	Removed	Use theme styles instead

Custom Tag Rules

Define your own tag transformation rules:

1. Go to Wash > Settings > Content Processing
2. Find Custom Tag Rules section
3. Add rules in JSON format

{
  "rules": [
    {
      "tag": "custom-cta",
      "replace_with": "div",
      "add_class": "cta-box"
    },
    {
      "tag": "warning-box",
      "replace_with": "div",
      "add_class": "alert alert-warning"
    },
    {
      "tag": "video-embed",
      "action": "remove"
    }
  ]
}

Content Sanitization

Security Filtering

Wash automatically removes potentially dangerous content:

• Scripts — All <script> tags removed
• Event handlers — onclick, onload, etc. removed
• JavaScript URLs — javascript: links converted to #
• Data URLs — Large data URLs in images removed
• Iframes — Removed unless from allowlisted domains

Iframe Allowlist

Some iframes can be preserved if from trusted sources:

Source	Allowed	Notes
YouTube	Yes	youtube.com, youtube-nocookie.com
Vimeo	Yes	vimeo.com, player.vimeo.com
Spotify	Yes	open.spotify.com
SoundCloud	Yes	soundcloud.com
Google Maps	Configurable	Enable in settings
Custom domains	Configurable	Add to allowlist

Note: Even allowlisted iframes may not render in Shopify article content. Consider using metafields for embedded content.

Shortcode Handling

WordPress shortcodes are processed before sync:

Shortcode Options

Option	Description
Render shortcodes	Execute shortcodes and sync rendered HTML
Remove shortcodes	Strip shortcode tags, keep inner content
Preserve as text	Keep shortcode syntax as plain text

Common Shortcode Handling

[gallery]        → Rendered as image grid
[caption]        → Converted to figure/figcaption
[video]          → Placeholder or metafield reference
[audio]          → Placeholder or metafield reference
[embed]          → Processed based on embed type
[custom_shortcode] → Rendered or stripped (configurable)

Whitespace & Formatting

Whitespace Options

Setting	Description	Default
Minify HTML	Remove unnecessary whitespace	Off
Preserve line breaks	Convert \n to <br>	On
Remove empty paragraphs	Strip <p></p> tags	On
Fix double spacing	Convert multiple spaces to single	On

Configuration

Accessing Settings

In WordPress:

1. Go to Wash > Settings
2. Select Content Processing tab
3. Configure options and save

In Shopify App:

1. Go to Apps > Wash > Connections
2. Select your connection
3. Navigate to Settings > Content

Troubleshooting

Content Not Rendering Correctly

• Check if tags are being transformed as expected
• Review custom tag rules for conflicts
• Verify Shopify theme supports the CSS classes
• Check for unclosed HTML tags in source

Links Pointing to Wrong URLs

• Verify URL rewriting is enabled
• Check link mapping rules
• Ensure blog mappings match link patterns
• Review smart redirections for old URLs

Images Not Loading

• Verify image sync is enabled
• Check if image URL rewriting is on
• Confirm images were uploaded to Shopify
• Review image size limits

Embeds Not Working

• Iframes are restricted in Shopify articles
• Use metafields for video embeds
• Consider using Shopify's native video handling
• Check iframe allowlist settings

---

Related Documentation

• WordPress Blocks
• Images & Files
• Smart Redirections