Frequently Asked Questions

Product Information

What is Hygraph and how does it support eCommerce businesses?

Hygraph is a GraphQL-native, headless CMS designed to unify content and commerce for scalable, unique eCommerce experiences. Its API-first, composable architecture allows businesses to manage complex product catalogs, integrate with various data sources, and deliver content across multiple channels. Hygraph is especially suited for eCommerce brands seeking flexibility, modularity, and the ability to future-proof their digital stores. Learn more.

How does Hygraph's headless CMS differ from traditional CMS platforms?

Unlike traditional CMS platforms that combine content and commerce in a monolithic system, Hygraph decouples the backend from the frontend. This allows for greater flexibility in designing bespoke storefronts, integrating with best-of-breed services, and delivering content to any channel. Hygraph's headless approach enables omnichannel delivery, modular content modeling, and seamless integration with eCommerce engines, making it ideal for businesses with complex requirements. Read more.

What is the primary purpose of Hygraph?

Hygraph's primary purpose is to unify data and enable content federation, empowering businesses to create impactful digital experiences. It removes traditional content management pain points through its GraphQL-native architecture, providing scalability, flexibility, and efficient data querying. Learn more.

Features & Capabilities

What are the key features of Hygraph for eCommerce?

Key features of Hygraph for eCommerce include:

See all features.

Does Hygraph support omnichannel content delivery?

Yes, Hygraph is designed for omnichannel content delivery. It allows you to centrally manage content and distribute it to websites, mobile apps, marketplaces, and social platforms, ensuring consistent brand experiences across all channels. Learn more.

What integrations does Hygraph offer?

Hygraph offers a wide range of integrations, including:

For a full list, visit the Hygraph Integrations page.

Does Hygraph provide an API?

Yes, Hygraph provides a powerful GraphQL API for efficient content fetching and management. This API enables seamless integration with other platforms and custom frontends. See the API Reference.

Where can I find technical documentation for Hygraph?

Comprehensive technical documentation for Hygraph is available at https://hygraph.com/docs. It covers setup, integrations, API usage, and best practices for building and deploying projects.

How does Hygraph ensure optimized content delivery performance?

Hygraph emphasizes rapid content distribution and responsiveness, which directly impacts user experience, engagement, and search engine rankings. Optimized delivery reduces bounce rates and increases conversions. For more details, visit this page.

Pricing & Plans

What is Hygraph's pricing model?

Hygraph offers a free forever Hobby plan, a Growth plan starting at $199/month, and custom Enterprise plans. For full details and feature breakdowns, visit the Hygraph pricing page.

Security & Compliance

What security and compliance certifications does Hygraph have?

Hygraph is SOC 2 Type 2 compliant, ISO 27001 certified, and GDPR compliant. These certifications ensure enterprise-grade security and data protection. For more details, visit the Hygraph Security Features page.

How does Hygraph protect sensitive data?

Hygraph provides robust security features including SSO integrations, audit logs, encryption at rest and in transit, and sandbox environments to protect sensitive data and meet regulatory standards. Learn more.

Use Cases & Benefits

Who can benefit from using Hygraph?

Hygraph is ideal for developers, IT decision-makers, content creators, project/program managers, agencies, solution partners, and technology partners. It is especially beneficial for modern software companies, enterprises looking to modernize, and brands aiming to scale across geographies or re-platform from traditional solutions.

What problems does Hygraph solve for eCommerce businesses?

Hygraph addresses operational pains (reducing reliance on developers, modernizing legacy tech stacks, supporting global teams), financial pains (lowering operational costs, speeding up time-to-market, supporting scalability), and technical pains (simplifying development workflows, streamlining query management, resolving cache and integration challenges). See more.

What business impact can customers expect from using Hygraph?

Customers can expect significant business impacts, including time savings through streamlined workflows, ease of use with an intuitive interface, faster speed-to-market, and enhanced customer experience through consistent and scalable content delivery. Read customer stories.

What are some real-world success stories of Hygraph customers?

Notable success stories include:

What industries are represented in Hygraph's case studies?

Hygraph's case studies span industries such as food and beverage (Dr. Oetker), consumer electronics (Samsung), automotive (AutoWeb), healthcare (Vision Healthcare), travel and hospitality (HolidayCheck), media and publishing, eCommerce, SaaS (Bellhop), marketplace, education technology, and wellness and fitness. See all case studies.

Implementation & Support

How easy is it to get started with Hygraph?

Hygraph is designed for quick onboarding, even for non-technical users. For example, Top Villas launched a new project in just 2 months from the initial touchpoint. Customers can sign up for a free account and access documentation, video tutorials, and onboarding guides. Get started here.

What training and support does Hygraph offer?

Hygraph provides 24/7 support via chat, email, and phone. Enterprise customers receive dedicated onboarding and expert guidance. All users have access to detailed documentation, video tutorials, webinars, and a community Slack channel. Contact support.

How does Hygraph handle maintenance, upgrades, and troubleshooting?

Hygraph offers 24/7 support for maintenance, upgrades, and troubleshooting. Enterprise customers benefit from dedicated onboarding and expert guidance, while all users can access documentation and community resources for self-service support.

Competition & Comparison

How does Hygraph compare to other CMS platforms like Shopify, BigCommerce, or WordPress?

Hygraph stands out with its GraphQL-native, headless, and composable architecture, offering greater flexibility, scalability, and integration capabilities than traditional monolithic platforms. While Shopify and BigCommerce are commerce-first and template-driven, Hygraph enables custom frontends, modular content, and omnichannel delivery. WordPress and Drupal offer extensive customization but may require more technical expertise and maintenance. Hygraph is best suited for businesses with complex catalogs and a need for unified content and commerce management. See the full comparison.

Why should a customer choose Hygraph over alternatives?

Customers should choose Hygraph for its unique GraphQL-native architecture, content federation, scalability, and ability to reduce costs and improve efficiency. Hygraph empowers both technical and non-technical teams to create impactful digital experiences and adapt quickly to changing business needs. Learn more.

Customer Proof & Recognition

Who are some of Hygraph's customers?

Hygraph is trusted by leading brands such as Sennheiser, HolidayCheck, Ancestry, Samsung, Dr. Oetker, Epic Games, Bandai Namco, Gamescom, Leo Vegas, and Clayton Homes. See more customer stories.

What feedback have customers given about Hygraph's ease of use?

Customers praise Hygraph for its intuitive and user-friendly interface, noting that it is 'super easy to set up and use' and accessible for both technical and non-technical users. The logical UI enables teams to start using the platform right away.

KPIs & Metrics

What KPIs and metrics are associated with the pain points Hygraph solves?

Key metrics include:

Read more about CMS KPIs.

Velocity at Scale: Join the Launch of Hygraph’s Latest AI Innovations

10 best CMS for eCommerce in 2025 to boost your sales

Find out the essential features of an eCommerce CMS and the top 10 best CMS for eCommerce in 2025.
Jing Li

Written by Jing 

Jul 31, 2024
cms for ecommerce

#Summary

In this article, we walk you through what to consider when choosing a CMS for eCommerce in 2025—scalability, omnichannel delivery, personalization, and integrations. We explain why standalone platforms often fall short and how Hygraph helps you unify product data, create rich shopping experiences, and future-proof your digital store with a composable, API-first approach.

  • Standalone eCommerce platforms limit flexibility, scalability, and content velocity.
  • Templates make many stores look alike, hurting brand differentiation.
  • Omnichannel commerce requires a CMS that can deliver consistent content everywhere.
  • Security risks increase when all data sits in one platform.
  • Hygraph’s GraphQL-native, composable approach unifies content and commerce for scalable, unique eCommerce experiences.

Ready to jump right in?

Build connected, scalable content with the #1 easiest-to-implement headless CMS.


When you shop nowadays, how often do you buy online versus in person? eCommerce markets are soaring, and about two‑thirds of consumers prefer to shop online, which suggests enormous business opportunities. However, this is also a fiercely competitive market: between 2019 and 2023 the number of eCommerce sites worldwide grew from 9.2 million to an astounding 26.5 million. Around one‑fifth of businesses fail because competitors outperform them. Customers now expect personalised experiences, a broad product selection and rich content, making a strong content and commerce stack essential.

Traditional platforms like Shopify or Magento combine storefront and commerce functionality. Others, like WordPress with WooCommerce, began as blogging engines but have evolved into eCommerce tools. Each approach comes with trade‑offs: templates simplify setup but limit customisation, while bespoke solutions demand more technical skills. Throughout this article, we’ll explore what defines a modern CMS for eCommerce and compare the ten best platforms for 2025, highlighting how Hygraph’s headless architecture can help future‑proof your store.

#Do you need a separate CMS alongside your eCommerce platform?

For many merchants the line between an eCommerce platform and a CMS is blurry. Shopify, Magento, WordPress and Drupal can all manage products and content to some extent. The key difference is whether content and commerce are handled together or separately.

The stand‑alone approach

With a single platform you can spin up a store quickly—no coding required—because the storefront is generated from pre‑built templates. Solutions like Shopify, BigCommerce or Magento include product management, checkout and marketing features in one place. WordPress with WooCommerce or Drupal can also act as a combined platform. This set‑up is ideal for small teams or businesses with limited SKUs who don’t change their site very often.

However, a monolithic platform can restrict your brand. Themes from major providers are instantly recognisable; even with custom colours, your site may look like dozens of competitors. When your business grows or you need to add new channels, the out‑of‑the‑box features may be limiting.

Integrating a CMS with an eCommerce platform

Another option is to pair a CMS with your eCommerce platform. In an “eCommerce‑first” set‑up, your commerce engine handles products, checkout, taxes and shipping, while the CMS manages content and marketing. In a “CMS‑first” approach the CMS acts as the single source of truth for all content and product data, and the commerce engine is used only for inventory and payments.

Integrating two systems can seem daunting, but with APIs and headless architectures it’s easier than you might expect. Modern CMSs enable you to build custom frontends without being tied to templates. If you expect to update content frequently, roll out campaigns across multiple regions or manage complex catalogues, combining a CMS and commerce engine gives you more flexibility.

Small teams with simple product lines can start with one platform, but once you’re growing—or want to differentiate through content—we recommend separating content from commerce.

#Why you need a separate CMS to manage your eCommerce store

1. Manage content independently

Whether you sell bespoke furniture or digital downloads, mixing operational data with marketing content can become messy. Editors don’t want to risk adjusting SKU quantities, and developers shouldn’t rummage through blog posts to tweak tax rules. Keeping content in a dedicated system allows marketers to schedule updates, preview pages and assign permissions without affecting the checkout flow. Platforms like Hygraph provide roles, scheduling and rich‑text editing to streamline workflows and empower content teams.

2. Let your content experience become a distinguisher

If you build your store solely with an out‑of‑the‑box theme, chances are it will look like many others. Research suggests that over half of consumers are more likely to buy from a brand with a unique identity. A headless CMS decouples the backend from the frontend, so you can design bespoke storefronts and still manage content through an intuitive interface. Hygraph, for example, allows you to define flexible content models and assemble pages from modular components, letting you craft an experience that stands out while remaining easy to maintain.

3. Enable omnichannel eCommerce

Modern shoppers interact with brands on multiple touchpoints. Studies show consumers have at least six interactions before buying. Managing each channel separately wastes time and leads to inconsistent messaging. An omnichannel CMS stores content centrally and distributes it to your website, mobile apps, marketplaces and even social platforms. Instead of copying and pasting product descriptions into every platform, you publish once and deliver everywhere.

4. A tech‑agnostic approach offers more potential for improvement

Technology evolves quickly. PHP‑based platforms that were dominant in the 2010s now struggle to keep pace with modern Jamstack architectures. By separating your CMS and eCommerce engine you can adopt new microservices and front‑end frameworks as they emerge. Hygraph’s API‑first design lets you integrate best‑of‑breed services—search, personalisation, analytics—without being locked into a monolithic suite. Embracing composable commerce means you pay for only the features you need and can swap components as your business evolves.

5. Better security

Putting all your data—content, orders, payments—in one system increases risk: a single breach exposes everything. Separating your CMS and commerce platform mitigates the fallout of vulnerabilities. With a headless CMS the backend and frontend are decoupled, offering additional protection and allowing you to harden each layer independently.

#ECommerce CMS features checklist

Selecting the right CMS for eCommerce involves more than comparing feature lists. Here are essential qualities to evaluate:

  • Ease of use: Developers need flexible content modelling and seamless integrations. Editors need a user‑friendly interface and centralised product management. The CMS should allow both groups to work efficiently.

  • SEO‑friendliness: An SEO‑friendly CMS lets you customise URLs, optimise metadata and generate XML sitemaps. These features help your products get discovered via organic search.

  • Omnichannel delivery: Choose a system designed for omnichannel success so you can deliver consistent brand experiences across websites, mobile apps, marketplaces and physical stores. It should synchronise product information and inventory across all channels.

  • Integration flexibility: An API‑first CMS should integrate easily with microservices and third‑party tools. This enables you to extend functionality—adding personalisation, search or marketing automation—without replatforming.

  • Localization: If you operate in multiple regions, ensure your CMS supports multilingual content, regional pricing and promotions. Hreflang tags and translation workflows are vital for international SEO.

#10 best CMS for eCommerce in 2025

Below we review ten platforms that stand out for eCommerce in 2025. Each section outlines key strengths, weaknesses and ideal use cases. Hygraph appears first because of its headless, composable approach, which aligns closely with modern eCommerce needs.

1. Hygraph

For eCommerce businesses with complex catalogues, Hygraph’s GraphQL‑native CMS offers a flexible way to manage and unify content. Its API‑first design lets you integrate data from diverse sources such as PIM systems and commerce engines into one global content API.

Hygraph, a unique headless CMS for eCommerce

Online home decor brand Lick adopted Hygraph and doubled sales after launch. According to Joel Pierre‑Powell, Lick’s principal engineer, the team achieved a modular site quickly, improving the user experience and increasing “Add to Bag” conversions by 20%. This success story underscores Hygraph’s flexibility.

In addition to intuitive content modelling, Hygraph can serve as a PIM, letting you cross‑link products with content via remote sources. Out‑of‑the‑box integrations and a visual schema builder allow editors to assemble pages using pre‑built components while developers connect microservices through a unified API. While new users may face a learning curve, the long‑term benefits—modularity, scalability and composability—make Hygraph ideal for businesses looking to modernise their stack.

Without Hygraph, we would not have been able to achieve the intuitively modeled content pages in the time frame that we did. After the launch of our new site, our “Add to Bag” conversions increased by 20%. It was easier to build the modular site that we imagined to improve user experience without workarounds.
JP
Joel Pierre-PowellPrincipal Software Engineer at Lick
related partner logo

BigCommerce:

BigCommerce is primarily a SaaS commerce platform, but its open API and marketplace of apps give it some CMS‑like capabilities. It provides a turnkey storefront with product management, marketing and SEO tools, making it attractive for merchants seeking a hosted solution. BigCommerce excels in multi‑currency support and allows selling in multiple languages via third‑party translation apps. However, because it is commerce‑first, you may need additional tools for advanced content management. Pricing is revenue‑based and can become costly as sales grow.

BigCommerce’s Leading CMS for eCommerce

Shopify

Shopify is known for its ease of use and is popular with small to mid‑sized businesses. It offers cloud‑based storefront management, built‑in analytics and integrations with sales channels like Amazon and Instagram. Shopify includes abandoned‑cart recovery and a range of themes, but customising beyond templates is limited. SEO controls are basic—URL structures and image naming are fixed—and transaction fees apply if you use third‑party payment providers. As your business grows, these limitations may prompt a move to a more customisable CMS.

Shopify top CMS for eCommerce

OpenCart

OpenCart is a free, open‑source eCommerce solution with a plugin marketplace. It’s budget‑friendly and offers the flexibility to self‑host or use managed hosting. Its large community provides support and plugins. However, realising OpenCart’s full potential requires technical knowledge, and too many plugins can slow down performance. For small to medium businesses with some technical expertise, OpenCart offers an inexpensive way to control your store.

OpenCart CMS for eCommerce platform

Joomla

Joomla is another open‑source CMS written in PHP with a wide range of templates and extensions. Its strength lies in customisability, but it has a steep learning curve and requires knowledge of CSS and PHP for advanced customisation. SEO options need improvement. Joomla is best suited for businesses with development resources seeking high flexibility.

Joomla CMS site control panel

Drupal

Drupal functions more like a content management framework than a simple CMS. It excels at managing diverse content types and offers a vast module library. Drupal has no licensing fees, which appeals to budget‑conscious businesses. However, its interface can be challenging for beginners, and it requires powerful infrastructure and technical expertise. Drupal is ideal for medium to large businesses that need deep customisation and can handle the learning curve.

Drupal, an open-source CMS for eCommerce businesses

WordPress

WordPress is renowned for its versatility and large community. Combined with WooCommerce, it powers many eCommerce sites. WordPress offers unlimited customisation through themes and plugins and is easy to install. On the downside, you must manage hosting and security yourself, and using too many plugins can slow down pages. It’s a great choice for budget‑conscious businesses needing control over both content and commerce.

WordPress open-source CMS

Squarespace

Squarespace is a SaaS CMS known for its drag‑and‑drop editor. It allows beginners to create beautiful, mobile‑friendly sites and includes basic analytics. It’s ideal for creative entrepreneurs launching their first store. However, templates offer limited flexibility and scaling for large catalogues is challenging. Squarespace’s simplicity comes at the cost of deep customisation.

Squarespace SaaS CMS

PrestaShop

PrestaShop is a lightweight, open‑source CMS launched in 2007. It requires minimal reliance on plugins and can handle large inventories, making it appealing for cost‑conscious businesses. Yet, limited documentation and complex setup can be daunting. Many essential plugins are paid, which increases costs. PrestaShop is best for companies seeking a customisable platform and willing to invest in technical resources.

PrestaShop open source CMS

Adobe Experience Manager

Adobe Experience Manager (AEM) combines web content management and digital asset management in one cloud solution. AEM offers drag‑and‑drop site building, multi‑channel publishing and integrations with Adobe Analytics and Campaigns. It can support high volumes of traffic. However, AEM is expensive, requires significant training and provides limited design flexibility unless you invest in custom development. It’s best suited for large enterprises that can afford the licensing fees.

Adobe Experience Manager, eCommerce CMS

#Wrapping Up

There is no one‑size‑fits‑all CMS for eCommerce. Your choice depends on your technical skills, budget, scalability requirements and how much control you want over the user experience. For forward‑thinking businesses, a headless CMS like Hygraph offers a compelling alternative: composable architecture, modular content and seamless integration with eCommerce engines.

For example, direct‑to‑consumer furniture brand Burrow adopted Hygraph’s composable architecture and increased content velocity sevenfold while managing tens of thousands of product variations. Co‑founder Kabeer Chopra notes that Hygraph now acts almost as a PIM, delivering shipping estimates, customer notifications and product variations from a single source.

Curious to try Hygraph yourself? You can request a free demo today!

Launch faster with the #1 easiest-to-implement headless CMS

Powerful APIs. Structured content, shipped faster.

Frequently Asked Questions

Blog Author

Jing Li

Jing Li

Jing is the Senior Content Marketing Manager at Hygraph. Besides telling compelling stories, Jing enjoys dining out and catching occasional waves on the ocean.


Share with others

Sign up for our newsletter!

Be the first to know about releases and industry news and insights.