If you’re brand using the Salesforce Commerce Cloud (SFCC), you’ve likely experienced growth the last five years. No one would say it’s entirely because of the platform but it’s been a flexible and reliable workhorse during a period of rapid market expansion.

SFCC is still the industry leader but upgrading from SiteGenesis to SFRA (Storefront Reference Architecture) has to be on your radar. SFRA is designed to offer enhanced mobile responsiveness, better performance, and more streamlined customization options. Below we’ll explore the significant reasons why upgrading from Site Genesis to SFRA is valuable for brands running on SFCC and why now is probably the right time to upgrade if you haven’t already.

1. Advanced Design and Mobile Responsiveness

Mobile drives 60-70% of all traffic today, a high performing site and a compelling user experience on any device is vital. Site Genesis may have served you well in the past, but SFRA is designed to give a more optimal user experience on mobile devices. SFRA provides improved mobile responsiveness through simplified code, faster internal frameworks, and templates that use bootstrap out of the box. The base templates are now fully responsive and provide a much better user experience for mobile users. This makes it much easier to maintain a mobile-friendly site since most of the heavy lifting has already been done.

2. Enhanced Performance and Scalability

Slow-loading websites can be detrimental to your brand. The Google lighthouse studies showed us that slow loading sites cause churn – 53% after 3 seconds to be exact. Page load time is also now an SEO consideration. Site Genesis was great, but being an older framework, is not as optimized for performance as SFRA.

SFRA was developed after analyzing thousands of mobile websites. It uses pure JavaScript for business logic, while SiteGenesis used a graphical programming language called pipelines.  Upgrading to SFRA gets you on the latest technology which have improved caching mechanisms and optimized code, resulting in a faster and more efficient website. SFRA’s modular architecture provides better scalability, enabling you to accommodate future business growth and adapt to emerging market trends.

3. More Streamlined Customization and Maintenance

Site Genesis often requires complex customizations and integrations, which can be labor-intensive and time-consuming to maintain. SFRA’s flexible architecture allows for more streamlined customization and easier maintenance. SFRA also offers modular components, enabling developers to build upon existing features, resulting in reduced development effort and cost. As a SFCC development partner this is good for us and our clients. Upgrading to SFRA unlocks the flexibility to accommodate your brand’s evolving needs, without compromising your brand’s unique identity.

4. Future-Proofing Your Brand

SFCC developers, SFCC development agency, and SFCC SI brands need to be prepared to adapt quickly to emerging technologies and market trends. Upgrading to SFRA puts your brand in a more flexible position to capitalize on future trends, such as progressive web apps (PWA), headless architecture, and voice commerce, without requiring a complete website overhaul. With SFRA, you have access to the latest features and technologies, ensuring that your brand stays ahead of the competition and meets your evolving customer needs.

At the end of the day, upgrading from Site Genesis to SFRA is a valuable move for SFCC brands looking to stay ahead of the curve and provide an optimal user experience on any device. With its advanced design and mobile responsiveness, enhanced performance and scalability, streamlined customization options, and future-proofing capabilities, SFRA enables your brand to drive sales, increase customer loyalty, and maintain a competitive edge. As a reliable SFCC development agency, we help guide businesses through the ever-evolving e-commerce technology landscape, ensuring that you stay at the forefront of the market. Contact us today to learn more about upgrading your SFCC store to SFRA.