Microservices Architecture for eCommerce – Should I Invest?

The Covid-19 pandemic saw ecommerce sales boom as customers stayed at home and wanted a safe and more convenient shopping experience. Now it seems that habit isn’t going away and customers have higher expectations and an increasing demand for online shopping.

Due to this demand, businesses are having to find new ways to keep up with this digital-first mentality and expected growth. Of course, these are all good problems to have. Where brick-and-mortar stores have suffered, ecommerce is thriving. This is why it’s an ideal time to invest in setting up your online store for continued growth.

What is Microservices Architecture?

We’ve hammered home everything there is to know about headless commerce, and microservices architecture is a similarly modular approach to selling online. They both offer the flexibility to handpick the best technologies that fit in with a business’s needs and deploy them at speed.

The idea behind microservices architecture is essentially adopting an API-based commerce strategy. These APIs allow you to connect modular components that sit independently and run off their own infrastructure. You might choose this method because the platform you’re using may not provide the out-of-the-box functionality your business needs. By decoupling these components in your tech stack, developers can extend specific services without disrupting the whole system.

As businesses make the move to become more agile, adopting a microservices architecture provides them with the necessary flexibility to evolve and adapt as they grow and the needs of their customers change.

Making the Move From Monolithic

Traditionally, monolithic platforms have been the go-to choice for many ecommerce businesses. Monolithic systems have appeal of course; the idea of being able to manage everything in one system sounds quite simple – or does it? The main issue with this kind of structure means that if you want to make changes to a small section of code, you might end up having to actually build an entirely new version of your site. Extremely time-consuming, expensive and a massive obstacle for keeping up with the rapidly-changing digital world.

By choosing a more modular approach, businesses are able to go to market much quicker, while also adding a new level of functionality, customising your website to suit your customers’ needs.

With a monolithic structure, you also have the problem of having to use the features provided by your platform, including all the unnecessary ones. With a microservices approach, you can select the best-in-breed solutions for your business and customers. This provides you with the extensibility needed to grow and stay agile.

With a microservices architecture, you can create an entirely custom-built site with all of the features your business desires. You are designing specifically with the end-user in mind. Not only does this bode well for the future of your business and your ecommerce store’s ability to scale fast, you will also be able to offer your customers a more personalised shopping experience.

If you are looking to replatform from a monolithic structure to a more extensible alternative, get in touch with our team today. We can discuss your needs and find an option to suit you. Call us on 0121 369 5874 or email us at success@5874commerce.com.