Lightna frontend for Magento

If you're looking to improve the speed and capacity of your Magento store, you're on the right path.

Why Lightna?

Magento's default performance has always had issues, leading to various frontend optimization attempts. What makes Lightna unique is that it optimizes both server-side and client-side performance, whereas other solutions focus only on frontend optimizations.

Magento Inspired

Lightna uses the same technology stack as Magento and follows a similar architectural approach. Many of Magento's best and developer-favorite ideas have been refined and implemented in Lightna, making it easy for Magento developers to adapt.

SEO-oriented

Server-side rendering improves SEO and enhances user experience with a lightweight client-side, avoiding common PWA/SPA issues like slow responses, caching problems, and performance degradation.

Prevents Degradation

Magento's default server-side performance degrades with customizations. Lightna eliminates this issue and reduces the need for constant optimization.

Lightweight Client-Side

A fast server-side reduces JavaScript dependency to a level that client-side improvements alone cannot achieve.

Outperforms Caching

Lightna makes websites feel like they run under a 100% cache hit rate while keeping data up to date. Caching alone does not achieve the same effect, as average performance impacts Google traffic, its quality and cost, and conversion rates.

Refined and Clean

Lightna follows well-established best practices and ensures clean modularity. Unlike existing solutions, Lightna:

• Does not rely on questionable approaches considered bad practices since the early days of web development, such as mixing JavaScript with templates
• Does not depend on legacy Magento dependencies

Two Ways to Optimize Your Store

1. Use Lightna Lane to gradually migrate features
2. Fully migrate pages to Lightna

Lightna Lane

Lightna Lane allows migrating selected features while keeping the rest on the existing frontend.

• Prevents further performance degradation while enabling future improvements
• Keeps the current design
• Maintains high compatibility with third-party extensions
• Includes several out-of-the-box features

Full Lightna Migration

A full migration unlocks all Lightna benefits, reduces Magento upgrade costs, and simplifies further development.

Lightna introduces a new frontend approach where Magento modules do not interfere with Lightna pages. Customizing the Lightna frontend is easier than Magento’s, making integrations faster. However, complex frontend customizations may still require effort.

Migration can be done step by step, starting with one page type before moving to others.

Migration requires:

• Transferring your design to Lightna
• Adapting third-party modules that modify Lightna-rendered pages
• Implementing missing Magento features if not yet supported in Lightna

Checkout & Payment Support

Lightna does not modify the checkout page yet, so existing PSP (Payment Service Provider) modules function as usual. When Lightna introduces checkout support, you can choose how it will be rendered.

Initial Release Scope

• CMS pages
• Product pages (Simple & Configurable)
• Category pages
• Shared elements (Header & Footer)
• [TBD] Shopping cart page

Future releases will expand coverage and introduce adapters for widely used Magento extensions.