Overview
Athos Commerce offers flexible implementation options to meet the unique needs of each customer. Whether you prefer a fully managed solution or want your development team to take ownership, Athos provides multiple paths to integrate our search and product discovery capabilities into your website.
The implementation methods include:
- Athos-led Snap Implementation
- Partner/Customer Led Self-Snap Implementation
- Partner/Customer Led API Implementation
Each option varies in terms of ownership, customization, speed of deployment, and ongoing support. This guide outlines the benefits, considerations, and ideal use cases for each approach to help you determine the best fit for your organization.
1. Athos-led Snap Implementation
Overview
With an Athos-led Snap implementation, the Athos team builds, deploys, and maintains the integration using our Snap SDK. This fully managed approach allows customers to rely on Athos expertise for both the initial setup and ongoing support.
What is Snap?
Snap is Athos’ open-source Software Development Kit (SDK) designed for integrating search and product discovery into modern front-end applications. Compatible with frameworks such as React and Vue, Snap includes a comprehensive component library and all required connections, scripts, and reporting beacons.
Benefits
- Fully managed by Athos: Our experts handle the build, deployment, and maintenance.
- Reduced reliance on internal developers, helping to lower operational costs.
- Faster troubleshooting, as Athos maintains the codebase.
- Automatic product updates are often applied without customer intervention.
Considerations
- Queue times: Minor enhancement requests may take 1–2 weeks depending on demand and Support queue.
- Customization limits: Enhancements are constrained by what Athos can build and support within the Snap framework.
- Design readiness: Finalized designs must be provided prior to Athos starting the implementation. Athos is not a design agency, so we rely on the customer to provide the site design first. Learn more about what this means here.
- Additional fees: Projects such as re-theming, re-platforming, or adding custom functionality may incur extra costs.
Best Fit For
- Customers seeking a hands-off, fully supported implementation.
- Organizations with limited internal development resources.
- Projects requiring quick deployment with standard functionality.
2. Partner/Customer Led Self-Snap
Overview
In a Partner/Customer Led Self-Snap implementation, your internal development team or agency builds and maintains the integration using the Snap SDK. Athos provides documentation and guidance, but your team owns the codebase.
Benefits
- Faster updates and changes, as your developers control the integration.
- Simplified implementation using pre-built components and templates.
- Comprehensive documentation to support development (see below).
- Flexibility in theming to match your brand’s design.
Considerations
- Limited customization compared to a fully custom API implementation.
- Ongoing maintenance and updates are the responsibility of your development team.
- Limited Athos support, primarily focused on platform functionality rather than custom code.
- Version management: Your team must update to the latest Snap releases when necessary.
Best Fit For
- Organizations with dedicated development resources.
- Projects needing faster iteration cycles.
- Customers comfortable owning and maintaining their integration.
Snap SDK Documentation
3. Partner/Customer Led API Implementation
Overview
A Partner/Customer Led API implementation provides the highest level of flexibility. Your development team builds the entire frontend experience using Athos’ public APIs, which deliver the necessary product and search data to power the site.
Benefits
- Maximum flexibility and customization, enabling bespoke user experiences.
- Lightweight and performant, with high uptime and fast response times.
- Full control over the frontend design and functionality.
- No dependency on pre-built components.
- Well-documented APIs with built-in testing capabilities.
Considerations
- Greater complexity in development, troubleshooting, and maintenance.
- Limited Athos support for custom frontend code.
- Manual setup and maintenance of cookies and reporting beacons.
- Slightly longer implementation timelines due to custom development.
- Potential updates may require adjustments to API calls.
Best Fit For
- Projects requiring highly customized functionality.
- Organizations with experienced development teams.
- Implementations that must match an existing bespoke design and functionality.
- Partners intending to serve as the primary frontend support.
API Documentation
Choosing the Right Implementation
When determining the best implementation method, consider the following questions:
- Development Resources: Do you have an internal or partner development team available?
- Customization Needs: How tailored does the frontend experience need to be?
- Timeline: Are there tight deadlines for launch?
- Support Preferences: Do you prefer Athos to manage the integration or your own team?
- Maintenance Ownership: Who will be responsible for ongoing updates and troubleshooting?
- Technical Expertise: Is your team comfortable working with APIs and custom code?
- Site Architecture: See below
Selecting the Right Path for Your Architecture
Choosing an implementation method is a strategic decision based on your site's architecture and your team's development preferences.
Implementation Decision Matrix
| Feature | Athos-Led Snap | Self-Snap | API |
| Ownership | Athos | Customer/Agency | Customer/Agency |
| Customization | Moderate | Moderate | High |
| Implementation Speed | 8-12 weeks | Determined by Agency | Determined by Agency |
| Best For | Standard platforms (Shopify Liquid, BigCommerce Stencil, Magento) or custom stores supporting JS injection. | Modern frameworks (React, Vue, Next.js) for teams that want a head start using pre-built logic. | High-security, heavy SSR, or bespoke headless sites requiring 100% data layer control. |
| Development Effort on Customer/Agency | Low | High | High |
| Architecture Fit | Traditional multi-page, Non-SPA | Headless | Complex SSR, Enterprise Headless, SPA, PWA, BC Catalyst, Shopify Hydrogen |
| Ongoing Support | Full | Limited | Minimal |
| Maintenance Responsibility | Athos owns and updates the code | Customer/Agency owns and updates the code | Customer/Agency owns and updates the code |
Key Technical Considerations
Headless Architecture (The "Injection" vs. "Native" Choice)
- Scenario A (JS injection): If your headless front-end allows external scripts to target and populate specific "containers" or "divs" on a page, Athos-led is a viable option.
- Scenario B (native integration): If your headless site is tightly coupled with a framework like React or Vue, a self-led approach is required. This ensures Athos functions as a native component within your codebase rather than an "outsider" script.
Single Page Applications (SPA) & Progressive Web Apps (PWAs)
- The Challenge: SPAs handle navigation via pushState without a full page reload.
- The Recommendation: Self-led (API). A native integration is required to stay in sync with your site's internal routing. Athos-led injection can cause "DOM collisions" or synchronization issues in SPA environments.
Server-side Rendering (SSR)
- The Challenge: Your SEO strategy requires search results to be rendered on the server before reaching the browser.
- The Recommendation: Self-led API. This allows your server to communicate directly with Athos to deliver fully indexed HTML to search engines.
Traditional Platforms (Shopify Liquid / BC Stencil / Hyvä)
- The Recommendation: Athos-led. Our team manages the full implementation, injecting the Athos Commerce UI directly into your theme.
Developer Resources
- Snap SDK Documentation: https://athoscommerce.github.io/snap/
- API Reference: https://docs.athoscommerce.com/reference/getting-started-welcome
Implementation Cost
Implementation fees are custom-quoted based on project scope, complexity, and chosen implementation method. For detailed pricing information, please contact your Sales Representative or Customer Success Manager (CSM).
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