--- title: "RevCent Sites" description: "A non-technical ecosystem overview of RevCent Sites, focused on how RevCent users and AI clients can create AI-developed, RevCent-hosted ecommerce sites, connect them to Product Groups, Payment Profiles, PayPal Accounts, Tracking Domains, deployment status, site events, and site logs, and understand how Sites fit into the RevCent commerce relationship graph." type: "feature" company: "RevCent" canonical: "https://revcent.com/documentation/markdown/ecosystem/feature/Site.md" relationships: - name: "Product Group" url: "https://revcent.com/documentation/markdown/ecosystem/feature/ProductGroup.md" - name: "Product" url: "https://revcent.com/documentation/markdown/ecosystem/feature/Product.md" - name: "Payment Profile" url: "https://revcent.com/documentation/markdown/ecosystem/feature/PaymentProfile.md" - name: "PayPal Account" url: "https://revcent.com/documentation/markdown/ecosystem/feature/PayPalAccount.md" - name: "Tracking Domain" url: "https://revcent.com/documentation/markdown/ecosystem/feature/TrackingDomain.md" - name: "Campaign" url: "https://revcent.com/documentation/markdown/ecosystem/feature/Campaign.md" - name: "Sale" url: "https://revcent.com/documentation/markdown/ecosystem/item/Sale.md" technical_links: api: section: "https://revcent.com/docs/api/v2#section-sites" operations: - name: "Create A Site" operation_id: "CreateSite" operation: "https://revcent.com/docs/api/v2#operation-CreateSite" schema: "https://revcent.com/documentation/files/api/operation/CreateSite.json" - name: "Get Sites" operation_id: "GetSites" operation: "https://revcent.com/docs/api/v2#operation-GetSites" schema: "https://revcent.com/documentation/files/api/operation/GetSites.json" - name: "Get A Site" operation_id: "GetSite" operation: "https://revcent.com/docs/api/v2#operation-GetSite" schema: "https://revcent.com/documentation/files/api/operation/GetSite.json" - name: "Edit A Site" operation_id: "EditSite" operation: "https://revcent.com/docs/api/v2#operation-EditSite" schema: "https://revcent.com/documentation/files/api/operation/EditSite.json" - name: "Delete A Site" operation_id: "DeleteSite" operation: "https://revcent.com/docs/api/v2#operation-DeleteSite" schema: "https://revcent.com/documentation/files/api/operation/DeleteSite.json" - name: "Add Tracking Domain to Site" operation_id: "AddTrackingDomainToSite" operation: "https://revcent.com/docs/api/v2#operation-AddTrackingDomainToSite" schema: "https://revcent.com/documentation/files/api/operation/AddTrackingDomainToSite.json" - name: "Remove Tracking Domain from Site" operation_id: "RemoveTrackingDomainFromSite" operation: "https://revcent.com/docs/api/v2#operation-RemoveTrackingDomainFromSite" schema: "https://revcent.com/documentation/files/api/operation/RemoveTrackingDomainFromSite.json" - name: "Get Site Events" operation_id: "GetSiteEvents" operation: "https://revcent.com/docs/api/v2#operation-GetSiteEvents" schema: "https://revcent.com/documentation/files/api/operation/GetSiteEvents.json" - name: "Get Site Logs" operation_id: "GetSiteLogs" operation: "https://revcent.com/docs/api/v2#operation-GetSiteLogs" schema: "https://revcent.com/documentation/files/api/operation/GetSiteLogs.json" mcp: overview: "https://revcent.com/documentation/markdown/mcp/operation/OverviewSite.md" operations: - name: "Create A Site" operation_id: "CreateSite" markdown: "https://revcent.com/documentation/markdown/mcp/operation/CreateSite.md" available_via_ai: true - name: "Get Sites" operation_id: "GetSites" markdown: "https://revcent.com/documentation/markdown/mcp/operation/GetSites.md" available_via_ai: true - name: "Get A Site" operation_id: "GetSite" markdown: "https://revcent.com/documentation/markdown/mcp/operation/GetSite.md" available_via_ai: true - name: "Edit A Site" operation_id: "EditSite" markdown: "https://revcent.com/documentation/markdown/mcp/operation/EditSite.md" available_via_ai: true - name: "Delete A Site" operation_id: "DeleteSite" markdown: "https://revcent.com/documentation/markdown/mcp/operation/DeleteSite.md" available_via_ai: true - name: "Add Tracking Domain to Site" operation_id: "AddTrackingDomainToSite" markdown: "https://revcent.com/documentation/markdown/mcp/operation/AddTrackingDomainToSite.md" available_via_ai: true - name: "Remove Tracking Domain from Site" operation_id: "RemoveTrackingDomainFromSite" markdown: "https://revcent.com/documentation/markdown/mcp/operation/RemoveTrackingDomainFromSite.md" available_via_ai: true - name: "Get Site Events" operation_id: "GetSiteEvents" markdown: "https://revcent.com/documentation/markdown/mcp/operation/GetSiteEvents.md" available_via_ai: true - name: "Get Site Logs" operation_id: "GetSiteLogs" markdown: "https://revcent.com/documentation/markdown/mcp/operation/GetSiteLogs.md" available_via_ai: true --- # RevCent Sites RevCent Sites are AI-developed, RevCent-hosted ecommerce deployments that let a RevCent user create a shopping cart, storefront, product catalog, or focused lander connected directly to RevCent commerce. A Site gives the business a customer-facing ecommerce experience while RevCent provides the commerce context behind it: Products, Product Groups, Payment Profiles, optional PayPal Accounts, Campaign context, Tracking Domains, checkout, Sales, events, logs, and AI-assisted customization. RevCent Sites are an AI-only ecommerce feature. They are not created or edited with a visual site builder inside the RevCent web app. Instead, AI is intended to act as the developer for creating, customizing, updating, and maintaining the user's ecommerce store while RevCent hosts the Site for the user or merchant. At this time, the RevCent Sites feature is in beta. Development, testing, review, and launch readiness are the responsibility of the user or merchant and their collaborators. RevCent hosts the Site and connects it to RevCent commerce, but the user or merchant should carefully test Site changes before relying on them for live customer traffic. At the simplest level: ```text RevCent Site = AI-developed, RevCent-hosted ecommerce storefront or lander Product Group = catalog source for the Site Payment Profile = credit card processing strategy for the Site Tracking Domain = optional custom live domain for the Site ``` RevCent Sites are useful when a business wants RevCent to host the ecommerce experience while RevCent and AI together power the backend commerce context and the storefront development workflow. ## RevCent Sites vs Shops and Third Party Shops RevCent Sites are different from Shops, Third Party Shops, User Shops, and Site Shops. This distinction is important because the word "site" can appear in more than one RevCent context. | Concept | Meaning | Hosted By | Relationship to RevCent Sites | |---|---|---|---| | RevCent Site | An AI-developed ecommerce storefront, cart, or lander that RevCent hosts for the user or merchant. | RevCent | This feature. | | Shop / Third Party Shop / User Shop | A remote external store connected to RevCent, such as a WooCommerce store hosted somewhere else. | The external platform or merchant hosting provider | Separate and unrelated to RevCent Sites. | | Site Shop | A RevCent-supported shop integration type, such as WooCommerce. | Not a hosted storefront | Separate and unrelated to RevCent Sites. | A Shop or Third Party Shop is not a RevCent Site. A RevCent Site is not a Shop or Third Party Shop. In plain language: ```text RevCent Site = RevCent-hosted, AI-developed ecommerce site Shop / Third Party Shop = external remote store connected to RevCent ``` Examples: - A WooCommerce store hosted on WordPress is a Shop / Third Party Shop. - An AI-developed store hosted by RevCent through the Sites feature is a RevCent Site. AI and MCP clients should not use Shop operations to manage RevCent Sites. They should not use Site operations to manage remote WooCommerce or third-party stores. These are separate RevCent concepts with separate operation sets. ## Why RevCent Sites Are a Feature RevCent Sites are a feature because they are reusable ecommerce configuration. A business creates a Site once, then that Site can become a durable home for product browsing, checkout, lander flows, campaign-specific offers, credit card payments, PayPal payments, testing, live routing, AI customization, deployment monitoring, and operational troubleshooting. The Site is not the Product, Sale, Payment Profile, or Tracking Domain. It is the public ecommerce experience that brings those RevCent records together. The simplest distinction is: ```text Site = customer-facing ecommerce experience Product Group = products available to sell on that Site Sale = purchase created when a customer checks out Payment Profile = credit card processing rules for that checkout Tracking Domain = custom domain pointed at the live Site ``` For ecosystem graphing, a Site is a feature node that connects storefront experience, catalog, payments, domains, deployment status, and commerce activity. ## Core Purpose The core purpose of RevCent Sites is to let users and AI clients create, customize, publish, host, and monitor ecommerce experiences that are connected to RevCent. A Site helps RevCent answer questions such as: - Which ecommerce experience is selling this Product Group? - Which Payment Profile should process credit card purchases from this Site? - Which PayPal Account should be used when PayPal is available? - Which Campaign context should be associated with Site checkout activity? - Which custom Tracking Domain routes traffic to the live Site? - Which collaborators can customize the Site source? - Is the dev or live deployment ready, building, deployed, degraded, or unavailable? - Which product catalog was last generated for the Site? - Which Site events or logs explain a deployment, catalog, or runtime issue? This makes Sites an important bridge between RevCent's commerce records and the public purchase path customers interact with. ## AI-Only Site Development RevCent Sites are designed for an AI development workflow. RevCent provides the hosted Site capability and the commerce connection. AI provides the development and customization method. A user or merchant works with an AI coding agent, AI IDE, copilot, or MCP client to edit the Site source, adjust storefront behavior, update design, configure offer presentation, and refine the shopping experience. This means: - RevCent hosts the ecommerce Site for the user or merchant. - RevCent connects the Site to the user's Products, Product Group, Payment Profile, optional PayPal Account, and Tracking Domain. - AI is the intended builder and developer for the Site. - The RevCent web app does not provide a visual drag-and-drop Site builder for RevCent Sites. - Collaborators use GitHub repository access to work on the Site source. - After accepting the GitHub invite, a collaborator can clone the Site repository locally and use AI tools to customize or update the store. - The Site repository includes detailed documentation for developing, customizing, testing, and maintaining that specific Site. For AI and MCP clients, this is the most important positioning: ```text RevCent hosts the Site. AI develops and updates the Site. RevCent commerce powers the checkout and backend records. ``` AI clients should not tell users to open a RevCent web-app site builder to customize a Site. Instead, they should guide users through the AI development workflow, repository access, local clone, repository documentation review, edits, review, and deployment status checks. After cloning a Site repository locally, AI should read the documentation included inside that repository before making changes. The public RevCent markdown files intentionally do not include the extensive repository-level documentation for building or modifying a Site. The Site repository documentation is where AI should look for detailed implementation, customization, testing, and development guidance. ## Site Configuration vs Site Code RevCent Sites separate Site configuration from Site source code. The `EditSite` operation is for editing supported Site configuration only. It can update fields such as the Site name, description, Payment Profile, Product Group, optional PayPal Account, and collaborator list. `EditSite` does not edit the actual Site code, storefront design, page templates, checkout business logic, cart behavior, offer flow, product presentation, theme code, or custom ecommerce logic. Actual code and business-logic changes happen through the Site repository that RevCent issues for the Site. Collaborators with repository access can accept the GitHub invite, clone the repository locally, and use AI tools to customize the ecommerce store. The issued Site repository includes detailed documentation for the Site development workflow. AI should read that repository documentation after cloning the repo and before changing source code, design, page behavior, cart behavior, checkout behavior, offer flow, or custom business logic. In plain language: ```text EditSite = RevCent Site configuration Site repository = storefront code, design, and business logic ``` AI and MCP clients should use `EditSite` only for supported configuration changes. When the user wants to change how the Site looks, how pages behave, how offers are presented, or how custom storefront logic works, AI clients should guide the user to the Site repository workflow. These public markdown docs are intentionally not a replacement for the detailed documentation inside each Site repository. ## Beta Feature and User Responsibility The RevCent Sites feature is currently in beta. Because RevCent Sites provide full repository access and AI-driven development flexibility, users and merchants are responsible for careful development, testing, and review of their ecommerce Site. This includes testing product presentation, cart behavior, checkout flows, payment methods, shipping/tax expectations, tracking, legal/compliance pages, mobile behavior, and any custom logic added by the user, collaborators, or AI tools. Full repository access is intentional. RevCent gives users and AI direct access to the Site source because modern AI tools are capable of creating, modifying, and maintaining ecommerce experiences at the code level. That flexibility gives users more control than a closed visual site builder, but it also means changes should be reviewed with care. In practical terms: ```text Full Site access = more flexibility More flexibility = more user and merchant responsibility ``` RevCent Sites are designed as an AI-native alternative to traditional hosted site-builder systems. For merchants who want AI-developed ecommerce and source-level control, legacy walled-garden SaaS platforms such as Shopify or Wix may be limiting because they constrain how deeply AI and developers can customize the storefront, checkout experience, and surrounding business logic. The tradeoff is important: RevCent Sites intentionally provide more freedom. Users and merchants should treat that freedom seriously, test changes thoroughly, and use the dev and main branch workflow carefully before sending customers to a live Site. ## Where RevCent Sites Fit in the RevCent Ecosystem RevCent Sites sit at the front of the ecommerce experience, but they depend on several RevCent features. Conceptually: ```text Product Group ↓ Products available in the Site catalog ↓ RevCent Site ↓ Customer checkout ↓ Payment Profile and optional PayPal Account ↓ Sale, Product Sales, Transactions, fulfillment, emails, support, and reporting ``` A Site can be understood as the ecommerce presentation layer connected to RevCent's backend commerce lifecycle. ## Product Groups as Site Catalogs Every Site is connected to a Product Group. The Product Group is the catalog source for the Site. Products in that Product Group are the products the Site can present, sell, estimate, and include in checkout flows. This makes Product Groups especially important for Sites: - Use a clear Product Group name before creating a Site. - Keep the Product Group focused on products that belong together on the Site. - Add or remove Products from the Product Group when the Site catalog should change. - Use Product metadata to improve storefront presentation when the Site supports it. For AI and MCP workflows, the Product Group should be chosen deliberately. Do not create a Site against a broad or unrelated Product Group unless the user explicitly wants that whole catalog available. ## Product Metadata for Storefront Presentation Products remain the authoritative sellable records in RevCent. For RevCent Sites, Product metadata can help AI and storefront tooling understand how products should appear in the catalog. Each Product intended for a Site catalog may include Site catalog metadata in the Product's `metadata` array. Important Site catalog metadata names: | Metadata Name | Purpose | |---|---| | `slug` | Storefront-friendly product slug used by the Site when building product URLs, links, or product detail paths. | | `site_categories` | JSON string array of slash-delimited Site category paths used for navigation, filtering, grouping, or landing-page organization. | Example Product metadata: ```json [ { "name": "slug", "value": "organic-coffee-beans" }, { "name": "site_categories", "value": "[\"coffee/beans\",\"subscriptions\"]" } ] ``` Use `slug` values that are clear, URL-friendly, and unique within the Site catalog. Use `site_categories` values as a JSON array string. Each array item is a slash-delimited category path, such as `coffee/beans` or `apparel/mens/shirts`. A Product can belong to more than one category path, category paths are normalized to URL-safe segments, and paths with more than three levels are ignored. Other useful Product metadata may include: - landing page grouping, - product presentation hints used by the active Site design. AI clients should use supported Product metadata fields when organizing a Site catalog, but should not treat metadata as a replacement for the Product ID, Product Group, Product price, shipping settings, subscription settings, or other authoritative RevCent product fields. ## Payments and Checkout Each Site requires a Payment Profile. The Payment Profile determines how credit card sales from the Site are processed. This lets the Site use RevCent's credit card payment strategy while the public storefront focuses on the customer purchase experience. If the Site accepts PayPal, the Site can also be associated with a PayPal Account. The PayPal Account is optional and should only be provided when PayPal payments are part of the Site's checkout experience. In plain language: ```text Payment Profile = required for credit card payments PayPal Account = optional, only needed when PayPal is enabled for the Site ``` ## Dev and Live Experiences RevCent Sites have separate dev and live contexts. The dev branch is used for development, testing, and review. The main branch is used for the live customer-facing deployment. A Site may show separate deployment, commit, routing, and health details for each branch. AI and MCP clients should treat these branches carefully: - Use the dev context for testing and review workflows. - Treat the main context as the live customer-facing path. - Check deployment status before assuming a change is available. - Check routing status before assuming customers can reach a public URL. - Do not describe a Site as healthy unless the returned health and branch statuses support that statement. ## Tracking Domains and Live Routing A Tracking Domain can be attached to a Site to route a custom domain to the live deployment. Tracking Domains are separate RevCent records. A Tracking Domain must already exist and be ready for use before it can be attached to a Site. After a Tracking Domain is attached, the Site response can include routing details for the main/live branch, including the A record IP that should be used for DNS. Important distinctions: ```text Tracking Domain exists = the domain is configured as a RevCent Tracking Domain Tracking Domain attached to Site = the domain can route to the Site's live deployment A record IP returned = DNS can be pointed at the live Site Routing active = RevCent reports live routing is active ``` Removing a Tracking Domain from a Site prevents that custom domain from accessing the live Site. ## Deleting a Site Deleting a Site is irreversible. The `DeleteSite` operation permanently removes the Site data, routing, and content associated with the Site. If a custom domain or external DNS record is still pointed at the deleted Site, that DNS will no longer reach a working RevCent Site. Important distinction: ```text RemoveTrackingDomainFromSite = keep the Site, remove custom domain routing DeleteSite = permanently delete the Site and remove Site routing/content ``` AI and MCP clients should require explicit user confirmation before deleting a Site. They should show the Site name, Site ID, and Tracking Domain/routing context when available, and remind the user to preserve repository work before deletion if they may need it later. ## Site Events Site Events provide a timeline of important Site activity. Events can represent Site creation, deployment updates, catalog updates, routing changes, and related status changes. They are useful for understanding what happened to a Site over a specific date range. AI and MCP clients should use Site Events when the user asks: - what changed on a Site, - whether a recent deployment or catalog update succeeded, - when a Site-related action occurred, - which branch or commit was involved in an event, - whether a product catalog update changed the product count. Site Events are operational history. They should not be used as the primary reporting source for revenue analytics. ## Site Logs Site Logs provide runtime log entries for a specific Site branch. Logs are retrieved for one Site and one branch at a time. They are useful for troubleshooting behavior in the deployed Site experience, especially when a user is investigating an error or unexpected page/checkout issue. There is no single-log retrieval operation for Site Logs. Use the paginated Site Logs results as the authoritative log output. AI and MCP clients should use Site Logs narrowly: - choose one Site, - choose either `main` or `dev`, - use a bounded date range, - inspect relevant log entries, - summarize only what is needed for the user's request. Logs may include operational details from the Site runtime. AI clients should avoid exposing sensitive information unnecessarily in customer-facing responses. ## What AI and MCP Clients Should Do AI and MCP clients working with RevCent Sites should: - identify or create the correct Product Group before creating a Site, - verify the Payment Profile before using it, - include a PayPal Account only when PayPal checkout is needed, - ask for or confirm GitHub collaborator usernames before creating a Site, - poll `GetSite` after creation until the Site is ready or an error status is returned, - read branch, routing, health, and catalog statuses directly from `GetSite`, - use `GetSiteEvents` for recent Site activity, - use `GetSiteLogs` for focused troubleshooting, - confirm with the user before adding or removing a Tracking Domain, - keep Site-facing explanations public and business-oriented. ## What AI and MCP Clients Should Avoid AI and MCP clients should avoid: - guessing Site IDs, Product Group IDs, Payment Profile IDs, PayPal Account IDs, or Tracking Domain IDs, - creating a Site with an unrelated Product Group, - attaching a Tracking Domain before the user confirms the correct domain, - claiming that a custom domain is live before routing and DNS are ready, - treating dev deployment behavior as live customer behavior, - using Site Logs for broad analytics or exports, - exposing unnecessary operational or sensitive details from logs, - describing anything beyond user-visible Site status, routing, catalog, payments, events, and logs. ## Technical Links by Interface | Interface | Use This When | Link | |---|---|---| | API | A developer needs the authoritative operation schema for Sites, Site Events, or Site Logs. | [API Docs: Sites](https://revcent.com/docs/api/v2#section-sites) | | MCP / AI | An LLM, MCP client, or AI agent needs markdown-oriented guidance for Site operations. | [MCP Markdown Overview: RevCent Sites](https://revcent.com/documentation/markdown/mcp/operation/OverviewSite.md) | --- Document Parent Directory * [Features](https://revcent.com/documentation/markdown/ecosystem/feature/index.md) - Non-technical markdown documentation for features within the RevCent ecosystem. A feature is a part of the RevCent ecosystem that a user can create and configure.