Developer installation recipes
Run a server-rendered reference blog and choose the right deployment route for your website.
Choose a deployable route first
The Developer API supplies published content. Your website's server or private build must turn it into public pages. A website builder's API token is not a replacement for this installation. These routes have different requirements:
| Website | Recipe to follow |
|---|---|
| A site whose server code you control, including an AI-built site | Use the installation prompt with your existing framework, or adapt the Node reference below. |
| WordPress or Framer | Use the direct connection in its platform guide unless you deliberately maintain a separate custom integration. |
| Webflow with an administrator-managed reverse proxy | Use the advanced Webflow route below; it needs its own deployment and domain configuration. |
| Wix, Shopify or Squarespace using their standard hosted website | Use the managed-blog guide for that platform. A browser embed does not install a server-rendered blog at its own path. |
Run the Node reference for a new blog
This downloadable server reference uses Node.js 22 or later and needs no package installation. It serves a new blog's index, articles and blog sitemap, using the blog path returned by RankYourApp. It includes the installation tag, metadata, FAQ, image settings, link behavior, paging and real HTTP 404 responses. It does not serve or replace the rest of your website.
- In RankYourApp, choose Developer · read from our API for the selected site. Save the intended blog address.
- Copy the supplied workspace key once, or create a new key in Account → API keys. Store it in your deployment's private server secret store as
RANKYOURAPP_API_KEY. - Set
SITE_DOMAINto the site's domain in RankYourApp, for example yourcompany.com. SetPUBLIC_ORIGINto its public HTTPS origin, for example https://yourcompany.com. These settings contain no API key. - Download the reference file to your server project and start it with
node node-blog.mjs. It listens on 127.0.0.1:3000 by default; your host can supply PORT and HOST. - Open the saved blog path locally, then publish it through your site's HTTPS server or hosting route. For a /journal blog, the paths are /journal, /journal/article-slug and /journal/sitemap.xml.
- Add your public Blog navigation link and merge the blog sitemap with the website's existing sitemap setup. Return to RankYourApp and run Check installation.
The reference deliberately returns unavailable for an installation marked as an existing blog. A developer must merge that blog's original source, URLs and sitemap first; do not change the existing-blog setting to bypass that protection. Node's official server guide
Fit the reference into your actual hosting
Keep the public hostname and saved blog path consistent across RankYourApp, the server and your HTTPS routing. Forward the blog index, its article paths and its blog sitemap to the reference server. Keep unrelated website paths on their original application. Do not replace a working website with this sample server.
For an existing Node or server-rendered application, your developer can import createBlogHandler and mount it only on the selected blog routes. For Lovable, Bolt or Replit, give the installation prompt to the assistant first and use that project's supported backend or build system; the Node reference is an implementation example, not a guarantee that every hosting mode runs a Node HTTP server. Cursor and Windsurf require the hosting environment for the code they edit. Private key configuration
The reference caches API responses for five minutes within each running process. A restart clears that cache; multiple processes have separate caches. New articles and image changes can take that cache interval to appear. Account for the 2,000-request daily key limit when sizing traffic, replicas and cache duration. A public HTTP response containing the API key or a browser-side API call is an installation error.
Advanced: put the API blog beside a Webflow site
This is an administrator-managed deployment, separate from Webflow's native CMS. Prepare a paid Site plan and a dedicated Webflow origin hostname, such as wf.yourcompany.com. Publish the original site there and complete its SSL setup. Use that origin hostname rather than a webflow.io staging address. Follow Webflow's official reverse-proxy setup, including its canonical and sitemap settings.
Run the Node reference on your own application server. Configure your front server to route the saved blog prefix to that server and the remaining website paths to the Webflow origin, preserving paths and query strings. For the Webflow origin, the proxy must send the origin hostname and TLS SNI. Keep your existing public domain as PUBLIC_ORIGIN in the blog.
Your sitemap setup must include both sources: preserve Webflow's page URLs and add the reference's blog sitemap, for example through a sitemap index at the public /sitemap.xml. Preserve the existing robots rules and allow the blog. Your domain administrator must complete HTTPS and routing before cutover. Check original page URLs and the new blog publicly, then run RankYourApp's installation check. This recipe's Webflow account and domain cutover must be tested on your project before treating it as a working deployment.
Wix, Shopify and Squarespace
Use the dedicated Wix, Shopify or Squarespace managed-blog instructions for a separately hosted blog on your domain. These routes require DNS and a menu link, without a native CMS API token.
The current Developer API does not install custom server routes inside those builders for you. A native CMS synchronization bridge or a front proxy would be a separate custom integration. There is no verified platform-specific recipe for those alternatives in this Help centre yet. Do not apply Webflow's proxy settings to another platform or expose the workspace key in its custom-code panel. If keeping the blog on the original website's path is essential, have your developer establish a platform-supported architecture before choosing that placement.
Check a deployed recipe before starting publication
- Open the public blog while signed out. Its initial HTML must contain the saved site tag and visible blog content, with no noindex directive.
- In RankYourApp, run Check installation and resolve its exact message.
- After the first real article is delivered, inspect the public index and article: title, summary, body, FAQ, canonical URL, images and links.
- Check that an unknown article URL returns HTTP 404, and that the sitemap includes the article without removing old website URLs.
- Change image settings only when you intend to, and check that the deployed cache refreshes accordingly. Recheck old content after any source merge.
The downloadable Node reference is tested with real local HTTP requests and synthetic API responses. That proves its reference behavior; it does not prove your host, builder account, DNS or production credentials. Full public installation contract
Still stuck? Email us and tell us what you need help with.