Hey everyone! I'm a web developer with five years of experience, but I've never dabbled in e-commerce before. I'm planning to create my own e-commerce website where I can list and sell products. Since my strong suit is frontend development, I'm looking for backend solutions that are easy to manage and secure, so I can focus on creating a great user experience. I've used Sanity in previous projects and really liked it, so I'm considering that along with SvelteKit for the frontend. However, I'm a bit nervous about handling authentication and payments on my own. What are your recommendations? Any cool technologies or platforms I should check out?
5 Answers
Honestly, Shopify (or Headless Shopify) is the way to go. E-commerce can get complicated with fulfillment, invoices, and tax calculations, so using a platform like Shopify will save you a ton of headache. If you're looking to keep things manageable, focus on one country at first to get through the regulations before expanding.
Building it with Laravel could be another solid option. It allows for great SEO since most content is server-rendered. Plus, Laravel has built-in features for payments, notifications, and email, which can make your e-commerce setup smoother and more efficient.
I think you should definitely check out Medusa.js. It's designed for e-commerce and works well with a custom frontend, giving you flexibility without getting too tied down in backend work.
If you're working on client projects, I highly recommend using Headless Shopify. It has tons of documentation and a solid core experience. You can build your frontend, connect to the Shopify API for products and checkout, and clients will appreciate features like auto-filled details for returning customers. If you want to avoid vendor lock-in, consider Medusa.js for a similar experience with great developer support.
Given your frontend expertise and familiarity with Svelte, I suggest using Astro integrated with Snipcart. It's super easy to set up with no backend hassle—just dive into what you're best at: the frontend! They charge either $20 a month or take 2% per transaction, which is quite manageable.
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