Websites using Frontastic

Okay, let s break down Frontastic, covering its overview, revenue (though limited publicly available data), alternatives, pricing (also often case-specific), and what we can infer about customer care.

What is Frontastic?

Frontastic is a Composable Frontend Platform (CFP). It is designed to empower businesses to create and manage exceptional customer experiences across all touchpoints, primarily for e-commerce.

• Key Focus: It helps businesses decouple the frontend (what the customer sees and interacts with) from the backend (the core commerce engine, payment gateways, order management, etc.).
• Core Benefit: Faster development, greater flexibility, and improved agility in delivering new features, personalized experiences, and adapting to changing market demands.
• How it works: Frontastic provides a low-code/no-code environment, allowing developers and marketers to collaborate more effectively. It typically involves:
  • Frontend as a Service (FEaaS): A cloud-based platform for building, deploying, and managing frontend applications.
  • Headless Commerce Enablement: It connects to various headless commerce platforms (e.g., commercetools, SAP Commerce Cloud, Salesforce Commerce Cloud, BigCommerce) via APIs.
  • Widget-Based Architecture: Frontend experiences are built from reusable components (widgets) that can be easily configured and customized.
  • Integration Capabilities: Designed to integrate with various marketing, analytics, and personalization tools.
• Target Audience: Medium to large enterprises with complex e-commerce needs, particularly those adopting a headless commerce approach. They typically have a development team, marketing team, and e-commerce managers who need to work together.

Revenue:

• Privately Held: Frontastic was acquired by commercetools in 2022. As a privately held entity (and now part of commercetools), Frontastic s specific revenue figures are not publicly disclosed.
• Estimation Challenges: It s extremely difficult to provide a reliable estimate without inside information. Revenue would depend on the number of clients, the size of their implementations, and the specific pricing models in place.

Alternatives:

The market for composable frontend platforms is growing rapidly. Here are some notable alternatives to Frontastic, categorized for clarity:

• Other Composable Frontend Platforms (CFPs):
  • Uniform: Strong focus on personalization and content management, particularly for enterprise customers.
  • Builder.io: A visual development platform with a strong emphasis on page building and A/B testing.
  • Stackbit: A site builder for the Jamstack.
  • Next.js Commerce: An open-source framework and platform for building e-commerce frontends, especially with React.
  • Saleor Cloud: A composable e-commerce platform that includes a headless CMS and GraphQL API.
• Headless CMS Platforms (with Frontend Capabilities): These are primarily content management systems, but they can also be used to build frontends, especially for content-heavy experiences.
  • Contentful: A leading headless CMS with robust APIs and a large ecosystem.
  • Sanity: A flexible and developer-friendly headless CMS.
  • Strapi: An open-source headless CMS.
• Traditional E-commerce Platforms with Headless Options:
  • Shopify Plus: Shopify s enterprise offering, which includes headless commerce capabilities.
  • BigCommerce: Offers a headless commerce API and integrations.
  • Magento (Adobe Commerce): Can be used in a headless architecture.
• Custom Development: Building a frontend from scratch using frameworks like React, Angular, or Vue.js. This offers maximum flexibility but requires significant development effort.

Choosing an Alternative:

The best alternative depends on your specific requirements, including:

• E-commerce Platform: The commerce backend you are using or plan to use.
• Technical Skills: The expertise of your development team.
• Content Needs: The importance of content management in your overall experience.
• Personalization Requirements: The level of personalization you need to deliver.
• Budget: The amount you are willing to invest in a frontend platform.

Pricing:

• No Publicly Available Pricing: Like many enterprise-focused platforms, Frontastic (and its alternatives) does not publicly list pricing.
• Factors Influencing Price: Pricing typically depends on:
  • Number of Users/Developers: How many team members will be using the platform.
  • Traffic Volume: The amount of traffic your frontend application receives.
  • Number of Integrations: The number of integrations with other systems.
  • Level of Support: The level of support and service required.
  • Customization: The amount of custom development needed.
  • Contract Length: Longer-term contracts may offer better pricing.
• How to Get Pricing: The best way to get pricing information is to contact commercetools (Frontastic) directly and request a demo and a custom quote. Be prepared to discuss your specific requirements in detail.

Customer Care:

While specific details of Frontastic s customer care are not widely published, we can infer some characteristics based on industry standards and its target market:

• Enterprise-Level Support: Given its focus on enterprise clients, Frontastic likely provides a higher level of support than platforms targeting smaller businesses.
• Dedicated Account Managers: Larger customers may have dedicated account managers to help with onboarding, implementation, and ongoing support.
• Technical Support: Access to technical support through various channels (e.g., email, phone, online ticketing system).
• Documentation and Training: Comprehensive documentation, tutorials, and training materials to help users get started and resolve issues. (Likely now integrated into commercetools documentation.)
• Service Level Agreements (SLAs): For critical systems, SLAs that guarantee uptime and response times.
• Community Forums/Knowledge Base: A community forum or knowledge base where users can share knowledge and find answers to common questions. (Again, likely now part of commercetools overall support ecosystem.)

How to assess Customer Care (during your evaluation):

• Ask for references: Speak to existing Frontastic customers to get their feedback on the platform s support.
• Evaluate the documentation: Review the available documentation to see if it is comprehensive and easy to understand.
• Test the support team: Contact the support team with questions during your evaluation to assess their responsiveness and knowledge.
• Inquire about SLAs: Ask about SLAs for uptime and response times.
• Check online reviews: Look for online reviews and testimonials about Frontastic s customer support (though be aware that these can be biased). Consider looking at reviews of commercetools, as that is the parent company.
• Ask commercetools directly: Inquire directly about their support structure, team size, response times, and escalation processes.

In summary, Frontastic is a powerful composable frontend platform for businesses that want to create exceptional e-commerce experiences. While specific financial details are not public, understanding its capabilities, alternatives, and likely customer care approach will help you determine if it s the right fit for your organization. Remember to contact commercetools directly for the most up-to-date information and a customized quote.