Thought Leadership

Explore the cavernous differences between WooCommerce and BigCommerce with this helpful guide.

Quick determine which platform is ideal for the next iteration of your eCommerce website.

A guide for merchants selling outdoor apparel, hunting/fishing gear, and firearms. Get inspired by what you can accomplish with your website…

Here's a free 66-page eBook that is your bible for digital transformation in the B2B space. Your recipe to effectively scaling your eCommerc…

Fix vague product pages fast. Download this free AI prompt guide to improve SEO, structure, and clarity with Claude or ChatGPT—without losin…

Download this free eBook to guide you toward quickly solving persistent problems with Adobe Commerce / Magento 2.

The do's and don'ts for composable eCommerce—all right here.

Quickly understand the the process of migrating from Magento 2 to BigCommerce and how it will affect your ecommerce experience.

So you’ve decided to take the first steps toward learning how to “do BigCommerce development.” You may need to start with a mindset shift.

We watch the industry like a hawk to understand what is changing. We review the statistics and our five favorite website migrations.

We watch the industry like a hawk to understand what is changing. Here are the four websites that changed platforms in early 2024.

Virtual types in Adobe Commerce can seem intimidating, but they’re nothing to fear. Learn what they are and how to work with them confidentl…

Are you using view models in your Adobe Commerce presentation layer, or still creating custom block classes for every need? There’s a better…

Know the difference between _module.less and _extend.less in Magento. Avoid compile errors from theme-specific references in the wrong file.

When creating a Magento config setting, ask if it’s sensitive or env-specific—then declare it in di.xml to keep it out of versioned files.

Using Adobe Commerce Cloud? Simplify your workflow with the Synchronize action for code and data changes that need to flow downstream.

Adobe Commerce’s Page Builder offers powerful drag-and-drop content types, and you can extend them or create your own with the right compone…

You probably use view.xml only when you have to. Define your own vars to add presentational flexibility to custom Adobe Commerce features.

The magento/magento2-base Composer package works behind the scenes in Adobe Commerce. Learn its implications for your version control workfl…

Syncing code and data between environments is a fact of dev life. Adobe Commerce has many moving pieces, develop a consistent workflow to sa…

Magento collection processors may seem scary, but they’re a great example of ‘one class, one job’ composition and less complex than they app…

GraphQL caching boosts headless Adobe Commerce performance. Learn the right Varnish config, back-end setup, and front-end request format.

GraphQL resolvers in Magento are flexible, but traditional API habits can hold you back. Break free from the ‘one request, one resolver’ men…

Don’t forget to generate a whitelist file with setup:db-declaration:generate-whitelist when using Magento declarative schema. Here’s why.

We’re continuing our look into generated classes in Adobe Commerce, and this time we’re going to examine the neglected and oft forgotten sib…

Make feature toggles part of your Magento development mindset. Use Store Config settings to disable code effects without reverting changes.

You know to use class constants instead of hard-coded strings in PHP, but did you know you can do the same in Magento XML files?

We've seen all the horror stories of unvetted modules. Don't let this happen to you. Here's why this is important.

We leverage our deep Magento 2 experience to present the pros and cons of how you can modernize your website.

Edge Delivery Services (Helix, AEM Franklin) is Adobe’s content delivery toolset. Learn how it applies to merchants and developers.

Learn how Adobe Commerce Optimizer improves site speed, stability, and conversions for Magento, SalesForce, SAP, and Netsuite merchants.

Website down? Follow our expert guide to diagnose the problem, communicate effectively, and recover fast, plus a free emergency checklist.

We detail a bulletproof 3-step plan to ensure your customers are well-informed about the potential delays associated with the strike.

Our in-depth research of 3D product configurators on Shopify. Top pick: ShapeDiver, a customizable tool that integrates well with Shopify.

Our audit process identifies what’s holding your site back. Audits cover security, compliance, best practices, and more to drive better resu…

Hyvä is popular for a reason, but it isn’t always the right fit. Learn five situations where merchants should pause before committing to Hyv…

We compare Shopify, BigCommerce, and Adobe Commerce for multi-store eCommerce, including inventory sync, admin tools, pricing, and more.

We look at everyday needs in the outdoor sporting goods industry, WooCommerce's features, platform and philosophy. Based on this assessment,…

Determine whether your eCommerce platform challenges stem from Magento's complexity, your agency partner, or your own internal processes.

Considering Hyvä for your Magento store? Here are five major reasons it remains the smartest frontend investment in 2025—faster, cleaner, an…

Discover the true cost of a Shopify website in 2024. Learn about recurring charges, design and development fees, and marketing expenses.

Read the key ways to ensure you are working with a quality ecommerce integrator.

Most brands ask agencies ‘Have you integrated our ERP?’ But this surface-level filter leads to high-risk projects. Learn what to ask instead…

SwiftOtter reviews the top 8 eCommerce platforms for firearm and gun stores with a free download to help you choose the right platform.

Learn the good and bad of Hyva in this unbiased review by SwiftOtter. We compare Hyva, Luma, Porto and PWA.

Compare OroCommerce, BigCommerce B2B, and SparkLayer. Learn which buyer portal fits your B2B sales process, workflow, and ERP needs.

Discover the 5 AI questions top eCommerce CEOs use to evaluate their agency’s expertise, measure ROI, and protect data in 2025.

Vague product descriptions are killing your conversions. Learn how to fix them with AI-powered techniques that improve SEO, clarity, and buy…

Learn what’s new in Adobe Commerce 2.4.8, including PHP 8.4 support, security updates, B2B features, and upgrade timing advice for merchants…

See Adobe Commerce as a Service in action. Explore the new architecture, frontend performance, admin updates, and Composable Catalog Data Mo…

Adobe Commerce 2.4.7-p4 is a seemingly benign patch, but the devil is in the details. We discuss everything you need to know to pull off a s…

Learn the core concepts of Knockout JS.

A deeper dive into BigCommerce’s ‘open SaaS’ backbone: the APIs and toolset you’ll use extensively throughout your developer journey.

The Magento Solution Specialist exam is tough to crack. Joseph walks you through what it takes—he helped write the exam.

Here is everything you need to know to get Magento certified. We have been intimately familiar with the exam development process.

Interviews can be terrifying. They don't have to be. Joseph walks you through the eight steps to leapfrog to the front of the pack.

Are you ready to level up your career? We can help you. Join our certification challenge to get this kicked off!

A survey of 400+ eCommerce developers on tools, environments, and workflows. Discover what the community uses and improve your own dev confi…

Learn how to use Magento 2's @magentoConfigFixture annotation to set store config values in integration tests without manual setup and clean…

Add custom CSS style options to Magento 2's WYSIWYG editor so content managers can apply pre-defined classes without developer help. Simple …

How to implement Colorado's $0.27 retail delivery fee in Adobe Commerce. Covers tax connector support, compliance tips, and recommended modu…

Learn how to implement CSS Grid in Magento stores for responsive layouts, faster prototyping, and smaller stylesheets. Includes IE fallback …

Learn how to make your e-commerce site ADA compliant. Covers WCAG standards, legal risks of non-compliance, audit processes, and practical a…

Join SwiftOtter's exclusive Slack community for expert answers to complex e-commerce, business, and development questions. Cut through the n…

Expert e-commerce articles for merchants covering platform comparisons, Adobe Commerce upgrades, B2B strategies, and solutions for online re…

A deep dive into Magento 2's CSS architecture flaws and proposed improvements, including BEM naming, inline media queries, SVG icons, and CS…

Find the right Adobe Commerce certification for your skill level. Compare 6 exams from Associate to Architect with difficulty ratings and st…

Learn how to efficiently increase MySQL auto-increment values across multiple tables using a stored procedure.

Protect yourself from data breaches and long-term liability by avoiding botched upgrades.

Master the intricacies of Magento development and template paths.

Explore the benefits and drawbacks of working with an SVG icon system.

Explore techniques to building customer trust and avoiding common pitfalls such as HTML gobbledygook (letter vomit).

Explore an incredibly simple approach to leveraging Magento 2's Javascript framework to add our own custom Javascript.

Here's how to make better, more bug free code. And, when we do have bugs, here's how to solve those problems, pronto.

We give a portion of our proceeds to LifeWater, providing sustainable water to people across the world.

Harness the power of Adobe Commerce (Magento 2) and BigCommerce through these actionable ideas

We analyzed nearly 9,000 Magento websites—including hundreds using Hyva—to find out if switching themes actually improves Core Web Vitals an…

A common Magento issue leads devs to truncate decimal values in the database—causing broken tax calculations and data loss. Here’s a safer, …

Learn what’s new in Adobe Commerce 2.4.8, including PHP 8.4 support, security updates, B2B features, and upgrade timing advice for merchants…

Adobe Commerce as a Service is essentially Magento 2 in a "black box". Customizations happen in a different way. Learn how this affects you.

Learn what’s new in Adobe Commerce 2.4.8, including PHP 8.4 support, security updates, B2B features, and upgrade timing advice for merchants…

BigCommerce now supports company hierarchies in B2B Edition. Learn how to set them up, what to expect, and how to optimize them for complex …

Here's how the pieces fit together (with a downloadable map), describing Adobe Commerce, Experience Optimizer, Experience Manager and more.

There's a new "theme", or website, in town—the official Luma-killer. See the new Adobe Commerce Storefront experience for yourself!

Learn what to consider when evaluating different BigCommerce agencies and discover the best BigCommerce development agencies by niche and sp…

Learn what to consider when evaluating different Shopify agencies and discover the best Shopify development agencies by niche and specialty.

See how others in the eCommerce industry are utilizing product configurators to increase customer confidence and sales.

The answer may surprise you. Avoid critical mistakes that could exponentially increase the project cost.

Getting started on Magento 2 is not easy: we will point you in the right direction.

Learn how to effectively use and develop on BigCommerce

Make sure you have a good handle on the mechanics of enabling/disabling modules in Adobe Commerce, and the implications.

Joseph has done it, you can do it, too. Here's everything you need to know about ensuring your Magento 2 or Adobe Commerce certification rem…

Let's zoom in a to survey the major tools and concepts you’ll need to familiarize yourself with for your BigCommerce journey!

I hope you're making consistent use of PHP type-hints in your Magento code. But don't throw the habit of variable annotations out the window…

In Adobe Commerce, layout XML files control the content on a given page. It’s often fairly easy to sleuth out which layout filename controls…

In this short series, we’re going to look at the different kinds of auto-generated PHP classes in Adobe Commerce. First up: interceptors!

We’re continuing our look at generated classes in Adobe Commerce, and in this segment we’re examining factories.

In this last entry in a series looking at generated classes in Adobe Commerce, we’re examining extension classes.

Prepare for certification success with SwiftOtter's live study group program

SwiftOtter has tracked all Magento to Adobe Commerce certification updates very closely. Here are our updates.

Let "Magento do it's magic" doesn't always work. Here's how to get your website back on track.

Stories and analysis of how to pull through a revenue disaster on Magento 2.

Learn about Adobe's recent changes to certification tests and titles. Two new titles and two new addendums.

This sheds light on what your colleagues use to write code.

Learn how to improve product discoverability, boost user experience, and reduce bounce rates with three practical solutions for eCommerce we…

Get ahead of the holiday rush by securing your eCommerce site, optimizing customer experience, and ensuring accurate delivery times to boost…

Discover how optimizing your website's image sizes can dramatically boost your site's speed and performance, and catch up on the latest eCom…

Learn how to solve eCommerce problems faster, boost your performance, and stay updated on the latest industry news from BigCommerce and more…

Explore the implications of Google’s antitrust lawsuit for merchants and gain insights from a recent eCommerce website launch.

Learn how website speed affects sales, SEO, and UX. See the ROI of performance optimization with benchmarks and a Google Lighthouse and CrUX…

Here's our expert opinion on "what's next" for your website. Use this guide to help you better achieve your goals for 2025.

SwiftOtter’s Customer Discovery AI uses conversational intelligence to transform how customers find products and interact with your eCommerc…

earn how to use AI in eCommerce the right way. This guide breaks down generative AI, machine learning, and automation, and how to apply them…

Learn how to use AI in eCommerce the right way. This guide breaks down generative AI, machine learning, and automation, and how to apply the…

Discover 3 ways AI can enhance eCommerce productivity, plus 2 common traps to avoid. Learn about AI-powered tools, drone delivery issues, an…

Confusing product lines are frustrating your customers. Learn how categorizing by application can improve their experience and boost your sa…

SwiftOtter’s Customer Discovery AI uses conversational intelligence to transform how customers find products and interact with your eCommerc…

A step-by-step guide for eCommerce managers on how to custom build features without overspending or overbuilding. Scope, prioritize, and lau…

Boost Black Friday sales and order value with three essential promotion types, plus video tutorials for Shopify, BigCommerce, and Adobe Comm…

Covering Adobe Commerce (Magento 2), Shopify, BigCommerce and WooCommerce

Covering Adobe Commerce (Magento 2), Shopify, BigCommerce and WooCommerce

Technical users aren't just browsing—they're building your success. Learn how to meet their exact needs and make their job (and yours) easie…

Help Customers Find products

Learn how to track your website's conversion rate in Google Analytics 4 and navigate the new "Key Events" system for better insights.

Explore three strategies to upgrade your ecommerce website and break free from outdated technology.

Discover how optimizing the Interaction to Next Paint (INP) metric can enhance your eCommerce website's user experience and boost search ran…

Discover the latest ecommerce news and learn how a clear value proposition can boost your online sales.

Discover the key needs of end users, architects, engineers, and dealers to optimize your B2B website and boost your sales!

Discover why your homepage might be less important than you think.

Discover why Adobe Commerce is expensive to maintain and learn strategies to manage these costs.

Unlock the secret to standing out in ecommerce with a clear value proposition that sets you apart from the competition.

Discover how an overloaded Google Tag Manager could be tanking your SEO and learn the steps to streamline your tags for optimal search engin…

Strategies for designing seamless B2B eCommerce UX for quoting and direct checkout. Empower buyers, reduce friction, and optimize sales cycl…

Optimize your eCommerce return page UX. Learn how a frictionless, transparent return process reduces frustration, builds loyalty, and drives…

Looking for a PDF catalog replacement? Learn how manufacturers replace static PDFs with searchable, ERP-integrated digital catalogs and pric…

Guide to optimizing mobile UX for fashion and apparel eCommerce. Design intuitive mobile sites that engage shoppers and drive higher convers…

Transform your dealer map from a static list into a conversion tool. Design maps that are accurate, mobile-friendly, and buyer-journey integ…

Proven UX strategies to help B2B buyers find products without a part number. Learn about visual search, guided filtering, and eCommerce sear…

SwiftOtter's blog on ecommerce strategy and UX design. Articles on mobile UX, B2B checkout, product discovery, and digital commerce best pra…

Virtual types in Adobe Commerce can seem intimidating, but they’re nothing to fear. Learn what they are and how to work with them confidentl…

Are you using view models in your Adobe Commerce presentation layer, or still creating custom block classes for every need? There’s a better…

Know the difference between _module.less and _extend.less in Magento. Avoid compile errors from theme-specific references in the wrong file.

When creating a Magento config setting, ask if it’s sensitive or env-specific—then declare it in di.xml to keep it out of versioned files.

Using Adobe Commerce Cloud? Simplify your workflow with the Synchronize action for code and data changes that need to flow downstream.

Adobe Commerce’s Page Builder offers powerful drag-and-drop content types, and you can extend them or create your own with the right compone…

You probably use view.xml only when you have to. Define your own vars to add presentational flexibility to custom Adobe Commerce features.

The magento/magento2-base Composer package works behind the scenes in Adobe Commerce. Learn its implications for your version control workfl…

Syncing code and data between environments is a fact of dev life. Adobe Commerce has many moving pieces, develop a consistent workflow to sa…

Magento collection processors may seem scary, but they’re a great example of ‘one class, one job’ composition and less complex than they app…

GraphQL caching boosts headless Adobe Commerce performance. Learn the right Varnish config, back-end setup, and front-end request format.

GraphQL resolvers in Magento are flexible, but traditional API habits can hold you back. Break free from the ‘one request, one resolver’ men…

Don’t forget to generate a whitelist file with setup:db-declaration:generate-whitelist when using Magento declarative schema. Here’s why.

We’re continuing our look into generated classes in Adobe Commerce, and this time we’re going to examine the neglected and oft forgotten sib…

Make feature toggles part of your Magento development mindset. Use Store Config settings to disable code effects without reverting changes.

You know to use class constants instead of hard-coded strings in PHP, but did you know you can do the same in Magento XML files?

Make sure you have a good handle on the mechanics of enabling/disabling modules in Adobe Commerce, and the implications.

I hope you're making consistent use of PHP type-hints in your Magento code. But don't throw the habit of variable annotations out the window…

In Adobe Commerce, layout XML files control the content on a given page. It’s often fairly easy to sleuth out which layout filename controls…

In this short series, we’re going to look at the different kinds of auto-generated PHP classes in Adobe Commerce. First up: interceptors!

We’re continuing our look at generated classes in Adobe Commerce, and in this segment we’re examining factories.

In this last entry in a series looking at generated classes in Adobe Commerce, we’re examining extension classes.

Join us as we discuss new features, a big problem on a client’s site, and a reminder to join the SwiftOtter Slack community.

Łukasz Bajsarowicz discusses Imposter Syndrome and burnout, two common feelings that most developers can relate to at some point.

Peter Jaap Blaakmeer, a developer for 15+ years, shares insights from his fascinating project of merging three Magento stores into one.

Joseph and Jisse explore product repositories, efficiency enhancements, and what sparked their social media disagreement on Smash the Bug.

Had a lot of bad days lately? Tech workers constantly face problems requiring creativity and critical thinking, which can lead to burnout.

On this podcast, Robert Rand discusses the current state of the Magento ecosystem after the Adobe Summit, and gives some helpful tips on age…

Junior developers are under-explored on this podcast. Alice Dean from Fisheye joins Smash the Bug to share her journey and tenacity.

Alexander Galdin, Frontend Developer at ITdelight, joins to discuss customizing Hyvä for merchants with boots-on-the-ground insights.

How do you take over a legacy project without disrupting the merchant or other developers? Hervé Guetin shares practical advice.

On this episode, Simon Frost gives us a sneak peek at his upcoming book, outlines his debugging process, and explains what it takes to becom…

January was a big month at SwiftOtter, lots of problems to solve and lessons learned. Join Joseph and Jesse to hear what they discovered.

On this podcast, Dan Andrei talks about his experience dealing with a massive eCommerce store that wasn't functioning well on Magento 2.3.6!

Talesh Seeparsan talks Magento site security on this episode, why it matters, how to approach it, and insights that change the game.

Ryan Keelaghan discusses large-scale upgrades, site security advice, and self-improvement tips for developers on this episode of Smash the B…

Peter Rusin tackles big challenges by building tools and sharing them with the community. He chats with Joseph about his Magento modules.

After exploring Hyvä themes and the Magento frontend’s future, we’re back to discuss the Magento open source revolution with Willem Wigman.

What is YOUR dream job? Are you prepared for that next interview? Are you being paid your worth? Do you feel valued by your employer?

Part 2 with Igor Miniailo on Smash the Bug. Igor dives deeper into the complexities of modularity, coupling, and cohesion in Adobe Commerce.

Igor Miniailo returns to Smash The Bug. He and Joseph discuss the difficulties of replicating issues and recent bugs his team has smashed.

Joseph and Jesse discuss resetting before a problem is solved, deep Xdebug stack traces, and the importance of visualizing data correctly.

Joseph and Jesse discuss the latest news, real-life agency challenges at SwiftOtter, and the importance of client communication.

Ruggero Landolina shares his story of rebuilding a Magento 2 website for a merchant in just 20 days on this episode of Smash the Bug.

On this episode of Smash the Bug, Joseph and Jesse (the dream team at SwiftOtter Solutions) talk about Hyva, BugUFO.com, and helpful strateg…

James Cowie shares tips on getting the most from code reviews, staying sharp with siloed knowledge, and being a successful developer.

Michal Biarda shares his passion for helping developers escape ‘spaghetti code’ and how his team has conquered cleaner coding practices.

Explore sticking points with Commerce Cloud, common deployment challenges, and how to avoid the problems people bring upon themselves.

Quick turnarounds are valued, but quality comes first. Why code reviews matter more than billable hours, profits, or short-term gratificatio…

Ivan Chepurnyi shares valuable tips from his experience that might help you fix whatever Magento performance issue you’re dealing with.

Matt Sherer shares his experience transitioning from senior developer to architect, what it really looks like, and what the role demands.

Eric Allatt, an 8-time certified Magento developer obsessed with performance, shares his module and tips on increasing site speed.

On this episode, Leon Helmus shares a few of the crazy circumstances he has worked through and the challenges he’s overcome in the recent pa…

Grab a seat and let’s talk about what’s in the near future for us developers, going into 2022, and the “how”, “why” and “when” behind code r…

Willem Wigman's disdain for Luma is what brought us Hyvä, a Magento front-end that makes sense. Why does it make sense? Let’s dive in and se…

Join us on this episode as we discuss developers mental health, integration testing, debugging, and some challenging experiences with Łukasz…

In this episode we get to hear from Eric Erway, Group Project Manager at Adobe Commerce, regarding the future of Magento/Adobe Commerce Open…

How far have YOU gone to smash a bug? Listen in to hear how Shawn Abramson worked on a bug that took him to a place he'd never been before.

Barny Shergold has been developing software for over 30 years. Join us on this episode to get his advice on how to reach your full potential…

Join us on this episode to hear Ray Bogman's insider perspective on where Magento is headed and why he's excited about it's future

Wahid Nory, an experienced developer out of The Netherlands explains a difficult challenge he faced with a merchant's shopping cart redirect…

Listen in for Ben Marks take on Magento vs. Shopware, and advice on what you should be learning. You might be surprised!

Join us on this episode for an exciting Magento improvement, developer tips, and another crazy bug story from Jesse!

Join Joseph and Jesse as they discuss some exciting, new features in the Magento 2.4.3 release, as well as an interesting problem Jesse rece…

In this podcast, Eduard Zuiev, shares his daily habits and his methods of growing as a developer. He also tells his mountaintop story!

On this episode of Smash the Bug, Joseph and Jesse play out an interview to inspire you and help you to prepare for the next big move in you…

Join us on this podcast as Max Chadwick shares advice on debugging, and how to improve your skillset.

On this episode of Smash the Bug, the one and only Phillip Jackson, is here to discuss the process of going from Junior to Master Developer.…

Sometimes the problems we face aren't with the code, but with ourselves, and we need to be open up about these challenges so that we can hel…

In this episode, we discuss with TJ Gamble what makes a developer irreplaceable and how to think about your journey as an Ecommerce professi…

Do you want to be a PHP Pro? Oscar Merida, is here to give us the "PHP pro tools" and remind us of some very useful resources we should be u…

Chris Anderson, Tech Lead at BORN Group talks about a difficult integration project and how developers really should be learning how to use …

Listen in as Joseph and Jesse talk about news from the Adobe Summit and discuss the many common production challenges that agencies experien…

Sarvagya Pandey talks about his experience with MSI and the difficult hurdles he has crossed in his career.

Join Joseph and Jesse as they talk about some big Magento/Adobe news, developer efficiency hacks and how to become a better problem solver.

Listen in as Joris Hart, CTO at ATI4 GROUP explains a major issue he had to work through with uiComponents and custom product options in Mag…