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Engineering perspectives.

Name: VelaCommerce
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Practical guides, honest opinions, and technical depth on Shopify, performance, architecture, and the ecommerce stack.

Shopify Plus vs Shopify: when the upgrade actually makes sense

Plus costs roughly 10× more than standard Shopify. Whether it is worth it comes down to a handful of specific capabilities — here is our honest breakdown of when the upgrade pays for itself.

Jun 3, 2025·7 min read

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Headless

Headless commerce: when it makes sense (and when it doesn't)

Headless gets a lot of hype. But it adds real complexity and cost. Here's a clear-eyed framework for deciding whether it's right for your business.

May 14, 2025·8 min read

Performance

12 Shopify CRO changes that actually move the conversion needle

We've run hundreds of experiments across Shopify stores. These are the 12 changes that consistently improved conversion — with data to back it up.

Apr 29, 2025·10 min read

Headless

Shopify Hydrogen vs Next.js: choosing your headless stack

Both work. Neither is universally better. The right choice depends on your team, your timeline, and your performance requirements. Here's how we decide.

Apr 12, 2025·9 min read

Performance

Core Web Vitals for Shopify: the engineering guide

A slow Shopify store costs you rankings and conversions simultaneously. This guide covers image pipelines, script management, and theme architecture for 90+ Lighthouse.

Mar 26, 2025·14 min read

Integrations

Shopify ERP integration: architecture patterns and common failure modes

ERP integrations fail more often than they should — usually for the same reasons. Here's how to design one that stays reliable at scale.

Mar 8, 2025·11 min read

Architecture

B2B and DTC on one platform: architecture that actually works

Running wholesale and direct-to-consumer from one platform is a common request — and frequently architected badly. Here's how to do it properly, with the tradeoffs you'll actually hit.

Feb 20, 2025·12 min read

SEO

Technical SEO for Shopify: the complete checklist

Most Shopify stores leave significant organic traffic on the table from fixable technical issues. This is the audit we run on every store we take on.

Feb 5, 2025·10 min read

AI in ecommerce: what's real, what's hype, and what to actually implement

Separating signal from noise on AI for ecommerce teams in 2025. We look at where AI genuinely moves revenue and where it's still a distraction.

Jan 22, 2025·8 min read

Architecture

Choosing an ecommerce platform: an honest, vendor-neutral comparison

We've built on Shopify Plus, BigCommerce, WooCommerce, CommerceLayer, and custom stacks. Here's a framework for choosing — without the vendor spin.

Dec 10, 2024·12 min read

Commerce

Email as 30% of revenue: the flow architecture behind it

The brands earning 30–40% of revenue from email aren't sending more — they're sending better-architected flows. Here's the system, flow by flow.

Nov 18, 2024·9 min read

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