How can a BigCommerce channel SEO override be removed?

Definition: A BigCommerce channel SEO override is a value saved for one channel in the Storefront SEO settings API. Supply null for that field in a channel-scoped update to delete the override and inherit the value from the global storefront settings.

Key facts

• BigCommerce updates Storefront SEO settings with PUT https://api.bigcommerce.com/stores/{store_hash}/v3/settings/storefront/seo, as shown in its Update Storefront SEO Settings reference.
• The channel_id query parameter scopes an update to channel-specific settings. When it is omitted, the request interacts with global settings.
• The update reference says that null deletes an override for the given channel and makes the field inherit from the global level.
• A channel-scoped GET uses null to indicate that a field has no channel-level override and inherits from the global level, according to BigCommerce's Get Storefront SEO Settings reference.
• The documented SEO settings fields are meta_description, meta_keywords, page_title, and www_redirect. The allowed www_redirect values are www, no-www, and none.

What does null change?

The update applies to a channel when its ID is supplied as the channel_id query parameter. Set a field to JSON null to delete that field's saved channel value. BigCommerce documents the result as inheritance from the global level. The operation is field-specific, so a request can reset one field while sending a value for another field.

For example, this request resets the channel's page title and leaves the other settings outside the request body:

PUT /stores/{store_hash}/v3/settings/storefront/seo?channel_id={channel_id}
Content-Type: application/json

{"page_title": null}

The same endpoint accepts meta_description, meta_keywords, page_title, and www_redirect in the SEO settings body. BigCommerce's reference marks these body properties as optional and documents www_redirect as an enum with the values www, no-www, and none.

How should the request be scoped?

Use the query parameter channel_id on the PUT request. BigCommerce defines store_hash as the permanent ID of the store and channel_id as the optional channel ID for channel-specific settings. Omitting channel_id selects the global settings, so it does not identify a channel override for removal.

An authenticated JSON request can therefore look like this:

curl -X PUT "https://api.bigcommerce.com/stores/{store_hash}/v3/settings/storefront/seo?channel_id={channel_id}" \
  -H "Accept: application/json" \
  -H "X-Auth-Token: {access_token}" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"page_title":null}'

The API reference marks the X-Auth-Token header as required. It also documents application/json as the request body format for this endpoint.

How can inheritance be checked?

Send a GET request to the same Storefront SEO endpoint with the channel ID as a query parameter. The GET reference says that channel-specific settings use null when a particular field has not been overridden at channel level and the value is inherited from the global level.

GET /stores/{store_hash}/v3/settings/storefront/seo?channel_id={channel_id}
Accept: application/json

A response can represent an inherited field like this:

{
  "data": {
    "page_title": null
  },
  "meta": {}
}

The response object contains data for the SEO settings and meta for response metadata. The documented GET response status is 200 OK.

Related terms

• How can an agency tell whether BigCommerce channel SEO settings inherit global values?
• What does BigCommerce's www redirect setting control for a headless channel?
• How does a BigCommerce headless storefront resolve a page from a URL path?

FAQ

Does null reset every channel SEO setting?

It resets the field supplied as null. Include null for each channel field whose saved override should be removed, such as page_title or meta_description.

What happens to the global setting?

The global setting remains the inherited source for the channel field after the channel override is deleted. The update reference describes this result as inheriting values from the global level.

How can the result be checked?

Request the channel-specific settings with GET and the same channel_id. A null field in that response indicates that the field has no channel-level override and uses the global value.

Sources

1. BigCommerce, "Update Storefront SEO Settings", undated
2. BigCommerce, "Get Storefront SEO Settings", undated

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