Elastic Path vs Adobe Commerce (Magento)

An All-in-One solution is exactly like it sounds, it provides core commerce capabilities like checkout, search, catalog management, etc. Along with the front-end store (what your customers see).

Headless, on the other hand, is where the front-end is removed from the core commerce capabilities. Brands can choose the front-end solution they desire that best aligns with the experiences they aim to deliver. To learn more, check out our blog here. 

Extensibility allows a brand to tailor their commerce solution to their needs. A key benefit of a API based solution is extensibility. 

From an eCommerce perspective, not all ‘Headless’ platforms are the built equally. In a nutshell, adopting a microservices based headless solution means you can use only the components you need. Quickly and easily customize the entire solution to fit the needs and unique complexity of your business.

A retrofitted Headless solution essentially removes the front-end layer of an all-in-one solution while keeping the back-end commerce capabilities intact. This means that the core commerce capabilities are still tightly linked (or coupled) to each other. Making changes, customizing any piece is therefore inherently slower and more expensive as it requires more in-depth implementation & testing. To learn more, check out our blog here.

Magento states that they offer headless commerce, however what kind of headless commerce do they provide? Headless solutions were designed to solve the problem of highly coupled rigid platforms but not all headless solutions are designed the same. There are 2 main headless options that your business can adopt: Traditional Retrofitted Headless and Headless Microservices.

Magento falls under the “Traditional Retrofitted Headless” commerce solutions. This means they have modified their platform to allow for more design freedom on the frontend to create more unique UI experiences. However, because the backend is essentially still a platform, its couple nature prevents teams from making changes easily.

Elastic Path falls under “Headless Microservices” commerce solutions. This means the frontend and the backend are decoupled and separated by an API layer to provide more flexibility on both ends. It creates freedom to design unique frontend experiences but also facilitates seamless changes of the business processes in the backend to implement the specific functionality to need.

Typically, we see a ~50% reduction on the Total Cost of Ownership over three years for brands moving to a Composable Commerce solution from a legacy all-in-one solution. For a detailed look at the Total Cost of Ownership, check out our guide here.

While an exact timeline will obviously depend on your exact circumstances, we usually see these projects range from 8-16 months. Alternatively, our Pre-Composed Solutions ™ allow you to leverage and customize an existing solution to your needs in a matter of weeks, not months. Learn more here.

In some cases, your brand might be well served by staying on Adobe Commerce. For example, if your brand has limited catalog updates (new products, sale pricing, promotion featuring product bundles) it's perfectly reasonable to maintain status quo.

Other brands might be outgrowing their current all-in-one commerce solution and would be better served by switching to a Composable Commerce solution to fit their needs. Learn more about the signs of outgrowing your current commerce solution here.

“It depends” on your business and the complexity inherent in your strategy or industry. Chat with us today to better understand what eCommerce solution would be best for you.