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# BigCommerce Storefronts

Plan: Developer Foundations

Lesson 2 of 16 · 15 min

## Introduction

Your storefront is an absolutely critical component of your ecommerce application, and BigCommerce offers two paths for building your front-end experience: Stencil and Catalyst.

These two officially supported storefront implementations represent different approaches to architecture and developer experience, but each offers a fully built shopper experience, set up within minutes, which you can then fully customize to achieve the branding and functionality you need.

With its API-first design principles, BigCommerce also gives you all the tools you need to integrate the platform with your own custom, composable front-end using any tech stack you choose.

## Stencil

Stencil is BigCommerce's traditional, integrated theme engine. Stencil theme packages are centered around server-side HTML-based templates, which are handled directly by the BigCommerce back-end to serve the core storefront experience.

The officially maintained, open-source [Cornerstone theme](https://github.com/bigcommerce/cornerstone/) is an optimized, responsive, and fully functional starting point for your custom theme development. Cornerstone is the default theme applied on every new Stencil storefront.

### Highlights

* **Low barrier to entry:** Stencil's simple tech stack makes it easy to get started with only knowledge of HTML templates, Sass syntax, and *npm* package management, as well as client-side JavaScript for advanced customizations.
* **Hosted by BigCommerce:** Stencil themes integrate directly with and are served directly by the SaaS platform.
* **Theme marketplace:** The BigCommerce [theme marketplace](https://www.bigcommerce.com/theme-store/) offers hundreds of pre-built theme packages ready to apply to your store without touching a line of code.
* **Integrated apps:** Many apps with shopper-facing features in the BigCommerce [app store](https://www.bigcommerce.com/apps/) are directly integrated with the structure of Cornerstone.

## Catalyst

[Catalyst](https://github.com/bigcommerce/catalyst) is the open-source, modern composable storefront officially engineered and maintained by BigCommerce.

Built and optimized on a best-in-class tech stack, Catalyst is a truly decoupled front-end that offers a fully functional ecommerce experience out of the box, while also giving you the power to integrate and customize according to your needs.

### Highlights

* **Robust, modern tech stack:** Catalyst is built on Next.js and React, powerful frameworks for designing dynamic and responsive user interfaces.
* **Maximum flexibility:** The entire storefront application is fully under your control. Go beyond templates, with the power to customize routing, data fetching, caching, or any other component of your front-end.
* **Composability:** Catalyst is centered around composable architecture, making it ideal for fully optimized integrations with third-party services and apps.

## Stencil/Catalyst Comparison

|                             | **Stencil**                                                                                      | **Catalyst**                                                          |
| --------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | --------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Composable**              | No                                                                                               | Yes                                                                   |
| **Hosting**                 | Hosted on BigCommerce                                                                            | Self-hosted                                                           |
| **Key Developer Toolset**   | HTML templates, CSS/Sass, JavaScript, npm                                                        | React, Tailwind CSS, TypeScript, Next.js                              |
| **Customization**           | Full flexibility for client-side customization, customizable templates for server-rendered pages | Full flexibility for client- and server-side customization            |
| **Third-party Marketplace** | Wide variety of available themes and integrated apps                                             | No theme marketplace currently, app compatibility depends on features |

## Resources

* [Stencil - Cornerstone Theme](https://github.com/bigcommerce/cornerstone/)
* [Stencil Theme Marketplace](https://www.bigcommerce.com/theme-store/)
* [BigCommerce App Store](https://www.bigcommerce.com/apps/)
* [Catalyst](https://github.com/bigcommerce/catalyst)