Plugins & Integrations

Plugins & Integrations

StretchSuite is built as one connected platform, not a pile of separate tools you have to glue together. This section explains the two ways your workspace reaches beyond itself: integrations (connecting StretchSuite to outside services like social networks, payment providers, and email systems) and extensions (adding capability inside the suite through the StretchWP plugin suite and the StretchShop app model). It also covers the plumbing underneath all of it — the workspace gateway, API access, and webhooks — and how your apps quietly share data so you don't re-enter the same information five times.

What lives here

• The StretchWP plugin suite & managed WordPress. StretchWP is managed WordPress hosting with a curated set of first-party plugins (dashboard, security/Defender, SEO, analytics, image optimization, backups/Snapshot, and performance/Optimizer) pre-installed and kept current for you. You never buy or upload license keys — the suite is delivered and maintained as part of the managed service, with one-click admin access from your workspace.
• Connecting external accounts and channels. Step-by-step setup for the connections most customers need: linking social media accounts to StretchSocial, connecting a payment provider for Shop and billing, setting up email sending domains with SPF/DKIM/DMARC and SMTP in StretchMail, and verifying a custom domain through DNS.
• API access & webhooks. How the workspace gateway securely bridges your apps to the platform backend, how webhooks push real-time updates (payments, inbound email, publishing status) back into your workspace, and how developers get programmatic access through StretchDev.
• The app & extension model. How app access, tiers, and entitlements work in the My Apps launcher, and how StretchShop's app/extension model lets you turn commerce capabilities on without redeploying anything.
• How suite apps share data. Why a contact in StretchCRM, a product in StretchShop, and an audience in StretchMail can reference the same underlying records, all scoped safely to your organization.

How to think about it

Almost everything in StretchSuite runs through a single, tenant-safe pattern. Your browser talks to your workspace; your workspace talks to the platform backend through the workspace gateway, which authenticates who you are and which organization you're acting in on the server side — that identity is never something a browser can fake. That one design choice is why connections stay isolated between organizations, why data can flow between apps without leaking across tenants, and why you rarely have to manage raw API keys yourself.

Integrations follow a consistent lifecycle no matter which one you're setting up:

1. Start the connection inside the relevant app (Social, Shop, Mail, Domains, Billing).
2. Authorize — either by signing in to the external service (OAuth) or by publishing a DNS record that proves you control a domain.
3. Verify — the platform confirms the handshake and flips the connection to a healthy/connected state.
4. Use and monitor — the app shows connection health, and webhooks keep both sides in sync.

Who this is for

• Site owners and agencies running client WordPress sites on StretchWP who want to understand what the plugin suite does and how updates, backups, and security are handled for them.
• Marketers and social managers connecting Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and other channels to publish and schedule from one place.
• Store operators setting up payments and shipping in StretchShop.
• Anyone sending email who needs deliverability set up correctly the first time.
• Developers and technical admins who want API access, webhooks, and a clear model of how the gateway enforces tenancy.

Before you start

Most connection problems come from three things: acting in the wrong organization, missing DNS records, or an external account that lacks the right permission (for example, a Facebook Page you're not an admin of). Two habits prevent the vast majority of support tickets:

• Confirm the active workspace in the top-left switcher before you connect anything. Connections belong to the organization you're currently acting in.
• Give DNS time. Domain, email, and site connections depend on DNS records propagating, which can take minutes to a few hours. "Not verified yet" usually means "not propagated yet," not "broken."

Use the categories below to jump to the connection you're setting up, or read How data flows between suite apps first if you want the big picture before wiring anything together.