Build fast eCommerce stores with the JAMstack

 It’s no secret that building websites used to be painful, and building eCommerce-driven websites was even more painful. I’ve been around long enough to remember the clunky, cookie-cutter platforms that left no room for inspiration. Fortunately today there is Elastic Path, the API-first, Headless Commerce Service. With Elastic Path, you can develop on top of existing commerce and corporate technologies, while at the same time create new innovative independent solutions.

So what does the Open Commerce Architecture promoted by Elastic Path have to do with JAMstack? And what exactly is JAMstack?

 

 

Few words about JAMstack

Over the last 3-4 years the term JAMstack has increasingly become a household term amongst frontend developers. The way you built a website or used a CMS 3-4 years ago is very different today.

We are able to leverage static site generators like Gatsby to fetch data from files and utilise API-based Content Management Systems to compile pages to static HTML ahead of time.

This process dramatically reduces the time it takes to load and navigate between pages, because there are no round trips to the database. Therefore, if you’re using a service like Netlify, you’re able to hand off your build process and make use of some of the world’s fastest well-distributed Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) available today.

 

Embrace the Open Commerce Architecture through JAMstack

Elastic Path was started when people were just beginning to see the true power of API-driven websites.

The Elastic Path founders predicted that the future would mean we no longer depend on only one tool to do the job, but many, and today Elastic Path is best described as a platform enabling the open commerce architecture that you can integrate into your existing system for your commerce needs.

Let’s quickly dive into the JAMstack and how Elastic Path can help transform your eCommerce experience, be it a website, a mobile, or an IoT device. JAMstack involves 3 key components:

 

JavaScript

This is typically the language used to write your store, including any SDK and frontend framework used. Elastic Path provides an array of JavaScript tools and tutorials.

 

APIs

The transfer of data is usually handled by an API. If you are adding products to a cart or paying for an order, you’ll be using the Elastic Path eCommerce API.

 

Markup

This part of the stack is usually your template. Whether you decide to prebuild all your pages with a static site generator, or dynamically on page request, you’ll need to define how your online store works using some form of markup.

    

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