E-commerce involves more than a storefront. Catalogs, pricing, inventory, carts, payments, orders, billing and logistics share information at different times with different consistency rules. A simple buying experience depends on predictable integrations and careful exception handling.
A project may use an established platform, custom components or a hybrid architecture. Consider catalog complexity, commercial rules, channels, ERP dependencies, payment methods, content and the capacity to maintain production operations.
Explore the approachActivities, depth and support are defined by the agreed scope and the conditions of the environment.
Established platforms accelerate common catalog, promotion and checkout functions but can limit extension and integration. Custom implementation gives more control and more responsibility for security, maintenance, payments and availability. Hybrid architecture combines existing functions with targeted custom services.
Base the decision on real processes and contracts. Excessive customization can complicate updates, while unnecessary custom development can create disproportionate maintenance costs.
| Approach | Suitable context | Dependency and caution |
|---|---|---|
| Existing platform | Commercial processes fit the product | Extensibility, licensing and updates |
| Extensions and integrations | Existing foundation with specific gaps | Contracts, compatibility and extension maintenance |
| Custom build | Rules that justify direct control | Security, operations and evolution cost |
A reference path adapted to each project.
A reference path adapted to each project.
Product information may come from ERP, PIM or platform administration. Establish the source of truth for SKU, descriptions, prices, promotions and availability. Inconsistent data can cause overselling or incomplete channel updates.
Cart and checkout account for addresses, shipping, discounts, taxes and context-dependent rules. The displayed total must match the order calculation. Define behavior when stock or price changes before checkout.
Payment intent, authorization and charge confirmation are distinct states. Updates often arrive asynchronously through webhooks. Verify authenticity, tolerate duplicate events and never mark an order paid solely from a browser redirect.
Apply reservation, picking or stock deduction according to the client’s process. Distributed systems may delay ERP synchronization, requiring compensation, reconciliation and failure handling without duplicate orders or reservations.
Billing and logistics depend on the operation. Different systems can own invoicing, picking, collection and delivery. Reflect known states and handle communication errors without announcing an unconfirmed status.
| Order | State | Last update |
|---|---|---|
| EX-A | Awaiting confirmation | Payment intent received |
| EX-B | Confirmed | Webhook validated |
| EX-C | Picking | ERP reservation confirmed |
| EX-D | Dispatched | Logistics event confirmed |
| Event | Operational risk | Architectural handling |
|---|---|---|
| Payment approved but order not updated | Divergent state | Confirmation can arrive after a timeout. Consume the event idempotently and reconcile the order state. |
| Insufficient stock after an item enters the cart | Sale without availability | A cart is not necessarily a reservation. Make availability policy explicit and explain unconfirmed items to the buyer. |
| Duplicate or out-of-order webhooks | Duplicate or regressed state | External systems can resend notifications. Recognize events and valid state transitions before changing records. |
| ERP temporarily unavailable | Unsynchronized order | Specify queues, retries, alerts and manual handling when synchronization exceeds acceptable limits. |
Checkout handles identity, addresses, order history and payment-related information. Provider and integration choices affect security scope. Provider-hosted components can reduce sensitive-data exposure but do not eliminate session control, validation, fraud precautions or credential management.
Assess data protection and applicable standards, including PCI DSS where relevant, with appropriate owners and providers. Integration does not automatically establish certification or compliance.
Category URLs, filters, pagination, variants and discontinued products can create crawling and duplication problems. Review canonicals, metadata, navigation, valid structured data where applicable and mobile performance. Content and advertising campaigns are related but distinct disciplines.
Store maintenance covers platform and integration updates, payment failures, catalog performance, checkout errors and order processes. API error rates, step abandonment and orders awaiting synchronization can help diagnose problems; conversion also depends on pricing, offers, traffic and user experience.
Observability should support troubleshooting and reconciliation without logging unnecessary sensitive data.
Projects may customize a platform, extend it or build components according to catalog, checkout, integration and operational rules. Architecture follows an assessment of the context.
Feasibility depends on the provider’s APIs, SDKs and integration methods. Payment states and security are assessed for each project; integration does not imply an official commercial partnership.
The technical scope may include technical SEO and integration with analytics or automation tools. It currently excludes management of paid advertising campaigns and social media.
Design establishes sources of truth, synchronization contracts, valid states, reservation rules and reconciliation. Real-time updates require support from the architecture and connected systems.
Technical maintenance may include component updates, integration fixes, operational error monitoring and feature evolution according to contracted conditions.