The Ecommerce UI Template -- An Overview

Get inspiration and speed up your storefront implementation with this React / Next.js based starter kit that helps you rapidly build an attractive, first-class search and discovery experience.

Start with a template, not a blank page

The Ecommerce UI template has significant benefits for developers creating an online store:

• Since it’s as “production-ready” as possible, it accelerates your front-end implementation. As a developer, you can tailor the UI template to your business and data using pre-packaged, customizable “components”. You can re-use 90% or 10% of the template and customize the rest: it’s your choice.
• You get a beautiful, fully featured, mobile-friendly search and discovery experience.
• It focuses on user experience. It scores over 90% on web core vitals and accessibility (according to Lighthouse).

Although Algolia designed the template for ecommerce, it’s not limited to this type of web application and can be adapted for many other use-cases. For example, Algolia used parts of the UI template to accelerate the development of their Code Exchange.

What’s a UI template?

The Ecommerce UI template helps front-end developers and UI/UX designers build an online store that matches your business needs. It’s a quick start package, designed to be mobile-first, optimized for optimal UI/UX (using Algolia’s UI design kit), and embracing search and discovery best practices.

The Ecommerce UI template

The template has two main aspects:

• Home page, which focuses on user “product discovery”.
• Product listing page, which unifies search and product discovery into a single experience allowing users to find products by combining keyword-based search and facet-based navigation.

Best practices

UI templates use the best of the Algolia platform:

• Search and browse
• AI re-ranking
• Personalization
• Sending events
• Click and conversion analytics
• A/B testing
• Merchandising
• Banners
• Query suggestions
• Sorting

Getting started

Set up and start the project on your machine to create a new online store based on the demo site.

Going further

• Customize the functionality and data for your online store.
• Components can be applied and customized to enhance the functionality of your online store for your business and data.

Technologies and approaches used to deliver the UI template

• Autocomplete.js
• React InstantSearch
• Uses React hooks and functional components
• Progressive web app compliant
• Server-side rendering with Next.js
• Theming with Tailwind CSS
• Built with TypeScript
• Follows SEO best practices.