Description

Introduction

API-First Development in Optimizely Commerce focuses on designing, building, and managing digital commerce solutions where APIs are the primary interface for business logic, integrations, and front-end experiences.

In modern composable and headless architectures, Optimizely Commerce enables organizations to deliver scalable B2B and B2C commerce experiences through robust REST APIs, service-oriented architecture, and cloud-ready deployments.

This training equips developers, solution architects, and integration specialists with the skills to:

1. Design API-driven commerce solutions
2. Implement headless storefront integrations
3. Expose and secure custom APIs
4. Integrate third-party systems (ERP, CRM, PIM, payment gateways)
5. Optimize performance and scalability in API-first commerce environments

By the end of this program, participants will be able to architect and implement scalable, future-ready commerce platforms using API-first principles within Optimizely Commerce.

Prerequisites

1. Basic understanding of C# and .NET Core / .NET Framework
2. Familiarity with RESTful APIs and HTTP methods
3. Basic knowledge of commerce concepts (catalog, pricing, cart, checkout, orders)
4. Experience with JSON and API testing tools (Postman/Swagger)
5. Understanding of headless or composable architecture (recommended but not mandatory)

Table of Contents

Module 1: API-First & Headless Commerce Fundamentals

1. What is API-First Architecture?
2. Monolithic vs Headless vs Composable Commerce
3. Benefits of API-First in B2B & B2C scenarios
4. Overview of Optimizely Commerce Architecture

Module 2: Optimizely Commerce API Landscape

1. Commerce Service APIs
2. Content Delivery APIs
3. REST vs GraphQL in Commerce
4. API versioning and endpoint structure
5. API documentation using Swagger

Module 3: Setting Up an API-First Commerce Environment

1. Configuring Optimizely Commerce for headless usage
2. Environment setup (local & cloud)
3. API routing and endpoint configuration
4. Working with serialization and DTOs

Module 4: Catalog & Product APIs

1. Managing products via APIs
2. Categories and hierarchical structures
3. Inventory and pricing APIs
4. Custom product attributes
5. Performance considerations in large catalogs

Module 5: Cart & Checkout APIs

1. Creating and managing carts via APIs
2. Adding/removing line items
3. Pricing calculations and promotions
4. Checkout workflow via APIs
5. Order creation and processing

Module 6: Customer & Account APIs

1. Customer profiles and authentication
2. Role-based access
3. B2B account hierarchies
4. Order history and account management

Module 7: Building Custom APIs in Optimizely Commerce

1. Creating custom controllers
2. Extending Commerce services
3. Business logic exposure
4. API validation and error handling
5. Logging and monitoring

Module 8: Integrations & External Systems

1. Integrating ERP systems
2. Payment gateway integrations
3. CRM and marketing automation integrations
4. Webhooks and event-driven architecture
5. Middleware and microservices patterns

Module 9: Security & Governance

1. API authentication (OAuth, JWT)
2. API authorization strategies
3. Securing endpoints
4. Rate limiting and throttling
5. API governance best practices

Module 10: Performance Optimization & Scalability

1. Caching strategies
2. CDN integration
3. Asynchronous processing
4. Scaling API infrastructure
5. Monitoring & observability

Module 11: Front-End Integration (Headless Storefront)

1. Connecting React/Angular frontends
2. SPA integration with Commerce APIs
3. Handling authentication tokens
4. Managing state in headless storefronts

Module 12: Deployment & DevOps for API-First Commerce

1. CI/CD pipelines
2. API testing automation
3. Cloud deployment strategies
4. Environment configuration management
5. Production best practices