Release highlights of 2024

Many things can happen in a year, and this is certainly true at commercetools. This module will review the most significant releases of 2024, so that you're up-to-date and ready to take your commercetools Frontend Developer Renewal Exam.

Please note that completing this module is not a mandatory requirement to take the Certification Renewal exam. If you’ve been following the commercetools Frontend release notes over the year, you’re likely already aware of many of these changes. We'd suggest then revising the listed release highlights below and consuming the information that might be necessary for you. Once done, you can log in and complete your exam. If you haven't been monitoring the release notes often, then this module has everything you need to bring you right up to date!

You can find the full list of 2024 release notes for commercetools Frontend in our documentation's Release Notes section.

Prerequisites

As we review the highlights, you may want to try some of the new features yourself. To do that, you need access to the Frontend Studio.

Release highlights

In 2024, we introduced new features and released important updates and bug fixes.

Frontend Studio

In the past year we introduced exciting updates in the Frontend Studio to improve your workflows and make development more intuitive:

• You can now preview staging and production deployments directly in the Studio. Additionally, you can leverage separate commit views for frontend and backend, build queues, and a deployment history feature.

• Troubleshooting is simpler with frontend and backend Netlify build logs available directly in the Studio. Page versions and page folders load faster in the Site builder, and organizing content is now streamlined with easier page folder moves.

• We improved version control to let you restore previous versions of page versions, schemas, and component groups. We also enhanced media management with advanced search, bulk actions, and improved metadata editing. Furthermore, deployment mismatch warnings now help you prevent errors, and higher-resolution image handling ensures your visuals look their best.

• It is easier to create dynamic page rules with an intuitive UI, while the Continuous Integration area displays more accurate build statuses. We also simplified data source tracking, making it easier to manage and locate data sources.

• New user roles, including Collaborator, Developer, Junior Developer, and Viewer, provide better permission control and collaboration. Validation in the Site builder prevents you from publishing incomplete page versions, and environment-specific folders make editing workflows more focused.

• From the user account menu you can access the Merchant Center and Netlify.

B2C Retail and B2B Manufacturing store launchpad updates

In the past year, we enhanced both the Store Launchpad for B2C Retail and the Store Launchpad for B2B Manufacturing, improving user experience, shopping processes, and API hub performance:

• The Store Launchpad for B2C Retail features a redesigned homepage and simplified navigation with dynamic filters, making it easier for customers to discover products.

• The Store Launchpad for B2C Retail introduces advanced order filtering, better cart management, streamlined shopping lists, and password resets. The Store Launchpad for B2B Manufacturing has a simplified checkout with customizable approval workflow, and collaborative quote management.

• The Store Launchpad for B2C Retail offers improved product search and cart features, while the Store Launchpad for B2B Manufacturing provides product configurators, tiered discounts, and enhanced stock visibility.

• Both store launchpads now support optimized API performance. They are updated to most recent versions of Next.js, Node.js, React, Yarn, and TypeScript. Yarn version 1 is no longer supported, and Node.js version 18.x is now required for compatibility.

SDK and CLI updates

Version 2 of the Frontend SDK comes with several updates, including some breaking changes, new features, and improvements for developers:

• We introduced some breaking changes such as:

  • Commerce-related events are now within the Composable Commerce integration.
  • The getPage method now returns different response types, and some properties in the Page API have been updated or removed.
  • SDK methods underwent some changes, for example, they require new mandatory arguments.
  • Cookie handling is now asynchronous.

• We added events in the Base Events, like actionCalled and fetchCalled, which help track actions more effectively. Additionally, redaction handling and actions are now asynchronous by default.

• Multi-tenancy setups are now more seamless, and you can adjust session duration with the new sessionLifetime parameter. We also simplified the project structure regarding types and integrations.

• If Yarn isn’t installed, the CLI now shows installation instructions. We also fixed log message overflow issues and made uploading backend extensions more reliable. Also, the validation for GUIDs is more accurate.

These updates improve both functionality and flexibility, making your development process easier and more efficient.

Ready for a closer look? Read on.