Adobe Commerce (Magento) has long been a go-to platform for eCommerce businesses looking for flexibility, scalability, and robust functionality bundled up in an open-source package.
However, a common pain point with Magento is its frontend performance, particularly when using the default Luma theme. That’s where Hyvä comes in – a modern, streamlined alternative that transforms Magento’s frontend performance and user experience (UX).
In this article, we’ll explore the benefits of using Hyvä as a frontend option for Magento and Adobe Commerce builds, focusing particularly on UX. We will also discuss when Hyvä makes the most sense as a frontend solution for merchants looking to optimise their online store.
What is Hyvä?
Hyvä is a Magento frontend theme that replaces the traditional Luma frontend with a lightweight, high-performance alternative. Built with simplicity in mind, Hyvä leverages Tailwind CSS and Alpine.js to create a lean, efficient frontend experience while drastically improving performance scores and load times.
Unlike the default Magento theme (Luma), which is known for its heavy reliance on Knockout.js and excessive JavaScript bloat, Hyvä significantly reduces the number of required dependencies, leading to better Core Web Vitals and overall user experience. Hyvä consists of a few different components, as follows:
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Hyvä Theme: The Hyva frontend for Magento, built from the ground up
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Hyvä Checkout: The checkout extension providing theme files for the checkout process
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Hyvä UI: Prebuilt, ready-to-use components that are compatible with Hyvä themes.
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Hyvä Enterprise: Compatibility for all key storefront features of Adobe Commerce
The benefits of Hyvä for eCommerce UX
Lightning-fast performance
One of the most compelling reasons to choose Hyvä is its performance improvements. Traditional Magento frontends often struggle with slow page speeds due to their heavy use of JavaScript, excessive CSS, and numerous dependencies. Hyvä, by contrast, strips away unnecessary complexities and optimises frontend rendering, leading to faster load times, lower Time to First Byte (TTFB), and improved Google PageSpeed Insights scores.
The benefit of this is that faster Magento websites typically translate into:
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Higher conversion rates
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Lower bounce rates
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Better SEO rankings (as Google prioritises fast-loading pages)
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Improved user engagement and satisfaction
Optimised for Core Web Vitals
Google’s Core Web Vitals have become critical for SEO and user experience. The default Magento Luma theme often struggles to meet these performance benchmarks, particularly with Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) and Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS).
Hyvä, with its leaner architecture and reduced JavaScript execution, ensures that Magento stores can score highly in Core Web Vitals. This leads to tangible benefits such as:
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Improved organic search rankings
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Reduced cart abandonment rates
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A smoother and more intuitive browsing experience for customers
Simplified development and customisation
Hyvä dramatically simplifies frontend development compared to Luma, which is often burdened with complex dependencies. By using modern technologies like Tailwind CSS and Alpine.js, Hyvä provides developers with a more intuitive and maintainable framework.
Key advantages include:
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Easier theming and styling with Tailwind CSS
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Simplified JavaScript usage with Alpine.js instead of Knockout.js
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Reduced reliance on Magento’s legacy frontend components
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Faster development cycles and reduced time to market
Enhanced maintainability and lower technical debt
One of the major drawbacks of the traditional Magento frontend is its complexity and high technical debt, making it difficult to maintain and update. Hyvä reduces this complexity by stripping away unnecessary layers, making it easier for developers to maintain and extend the frontend over time.
For businesses, this means:
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Lower long-term development costs
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Easier and more cost-effective updates
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Fewer compatibility issues with Magento upgrades
When does Hyvä make sense as a frontend choice?
While Hyvä brings numerous advantages, assessing whether it is the right fit for a specific eCommerce project is important. Here are some scenarios where Hyvä makes the most sense:
Merchants looking for improved performance and UX
If a Magento store is struggling with slow load times, poor PageSpeed scores, and a suboptimal UX, Hyvä is an ideal choice. Its lightweight architecture ensures significant speed and responsiveness improvements, directly impacting conversion rates and customer satisfaction.
Businesses prioritising SEO and Core Web Vitals
For merchants heavily reliant on organic search traffic, optimising for Google’s Core Web Vitals is crucial. Hyvä provides a competitive edge by ensuring the store meets Google’s performance benchmarks, leading to better search rankings and increased visibility.
Brands with custom UX and UI requirements
Hyvä’s streamlined frontend makes it much easier to develop custom themes and user interfaces without dealing with the complexities of Luma. If a business requires a bespoke design that is both performant and user-friendly, Hyvä provides a solid foundation.
Merchants wanting a faster time-to-market
Since Hyvä simplifies frontend development, businesses that need to launch quickly can benefit from its efficiency. It reduces the time required for theme development and debugging, allowing merchants to go live faster. It is worth noting, however, that time to market is also affected by various other factors, so Hyvä is not a silver bullet in this regard.
Stores without heavy headless commerce requirements
Hyvä is a great alternative for merchants who want a performant Magento store without fully committing to a headless commerce approach. While Progressive Web Applications (PWA) and headless solutions (e.g. Magento PWA Studio, Vue Storefront) offer their own benefits, they also introduce complexity. If a merchant wants a streamlined frontend without needing a headless setup, Hyvä is an excellent option.
When Hyvä Might Not Be the Best Choice
While Hyvä is a fantastic frontend option, there are cases where other solutions may be more appropriate:
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Headless commerce strategies: If a business is committed to a headless commerce strategy with a decoupled frontend, a PWA solution like Vue Storefront or Magento PWA Studio may be a better fit.
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Complex multi-store setups: While Hyvä supports multi-store configurations, extremely complex setups with different frontends for various regions may require alternative approaches.
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Highly interactive web apps: A PWA or React-based frontend might be more suitable if an eCommerce site has extensive real-time interactivity that relies heavily on advanced JavaScript frameworks.
Hyvä Commerce - Coming Soon (In Partnership with Mollie)
Mollie, one of Europe’s fastest-growing financial service providers, and Hyvä recently announced a strategic partnership, launching Hyvä Commerce, a new product suite built on top of Magento.
Hyvä Commerce is expected to resolve common issues businesses using Magento face today by adding modern features to the admin panel and the store side, while also committing to the platform's updates. Mollie will become an embedded integration, offering the ideal experience for businesses and store visitors during checkout. Hyvä Commerce is expected to launch in early 2025.
As a launch promotion and in collaboration with Mollie, CTI can offer free Hyvä licensing for selected merchants looking to upgrade to Hyvä theme/checkout. So if you’re considering Hyvä in 2025, contact CTI Digital to discuss your requirements.
The CTI view
Hyvä presents a compelling alternative to Magento’s default frontend, offering significant improvements in performance, user experience, and maintainability. For merchants looking to optimise their eCommerce store for speed, SEO, and seamless UX, Hyvä provides a modern, efficient, and developer-friendly solution.
By cutting down on technical debt, enhancing Core Web Vitals, and streamlining frontend development, Hyvä positions Magento and Adobe Commerce as strong contenders in the ever-evolving world of online retail.
So, if you’re looking to find that perfect balance between performance, flexibility, and usability, Hyvä could very well be your game-changer. Here at CTI Digital, we are big champions of the product and Hyvä approved partners. If you’re considering Hyvä for your next Magento theme, contact us for a no-obligation consultation with our UX and Commerce teams.
