How to Create an Online Marketplace with MACH Architecture

Flexibility and adaptability ensure custom solutions stay in the game and evolve over time. For marketplaces, it means delivering convenience and delight to customers when they search for products, wait for their purchase delivery, and manage returns if needed.

This is where the MACH architecture comes in when you start building your marketplace. It ensures that every function of your marketplace is autonomous yet is seamlessly delivered to the interfaces across different digital touchpoints.

In this article, we cover why MACH can benefit your marketplace business and what you need to tune up your solution and bring excellent experiences to your customers.

Introduction to MACH architecture in marketplaces

MACH abbreviation stands for four concepts: microservices, API-first, cloud-nativity, and headless. These technologies are used in development as best practices for flexibility and scalability. Still, the MACH approach placed a particular focus on them. It gathered them under one umbrella to help make adaptable and scalable ecommerce marketplace solutions.

The MACH approach stems from a concept of composable ecommerce coined by Gartner in 2020. The basic principle of this method is using a modular structure with various components to build customizable, scalable, and secure ecommerce solutions.

Dirk Hoerig, the creator of the Commercetools platform, discovered opportunities for this approach and defined the exact term. He saw ecommerce businesses struggling with monolithic approaches from big companies like Oracle, SAP, and Salesforce. Despite their benefits, he also saw the monolithic development challenges. So, a modular approach could make ecommerce platforms more flexible and adaptable to changes.

Key principles of MACH architecture

MACH architecture uses separate components like LEGO bricks for online marketplace development. So, you can choose, mix, and replace them as your business needs. Let’s see how you can implement MACH principles in ecommerce by discussing each letter of the MACH abbreviation.

M - Microservices-based approach

Microservices architecture enables you to create a dedicated module for each business function. So, you can develop separate modules for customer management, order management, and delivery management.

This approach allows small teams to work independently on each specific function of the MACH architecture marketplace. Thus, the development process delivers a reliable and scalable solution faster.

A - API-first design

Another component of MACH is APIs. These are application programming interfaces that ensure communication between different components of a microservices-based marketplace. Imagine that you are at a restaurant along with other people giving orders. Think of APIs as waiters in a restaurant: they take orders from guests, prioritize them, relay them to the kitchen, and deliver the prepared dishes back to the tables.

With an API-first approach, MACH-based ecommerce solutions enable communication between frontend, backend, and third-party services, such as payment gateways or shipment integrations. APIs act as intermediaries, retrieving data (e.g., product information) and sharing it with connected platforms or touchpoints.

C - Cloud-native infrastructure

Cloud-native infrastructure is a core component of the MACH architecture, designed specifically for cloud environments to maximize efficiency and scalability.

In a cloud-native marketplace, resources are dynamically allocated, allowing the marketplace to handle high traffic seamlessly, even during peak periods like sales or holidays. Scalable marketplace architecture ensures that the platform remains responsive and reliable, regardless of demand fluctuations.

H - Headless architecture

Another key component of MACH’s modular concept is the headless architecture. Headless means decoupling of the frontend (‘head’) and the backend (‘body’). This separation allows you to create many interfaces (desktop, mobile, IoT) that are connected to the same backend via APIs.

Headless commerce marketplace ensures consistent updates across all channels. This keeps the backend intact, eliminating the need for modifications.

Thus, you can use a headless CMS to manage your product descriptions, reviews, and images. Consequently, your changes are consistent across different user interfaces.

Benefits of MACH architecture for marketplaces

As we understand the basic principles of the MACH, let’s see what benefits they can bring to your marketplace’s operations.

Enhanced agility and scalability

MACH solutions feature a modular design, allowing components to be easily added, modified, or replaced. This flexibility helps in building a future-ready marketplace and ensures adaptability to peak loads. Given today’s economic volatility and demand for agility, many organizations are adopting MACH architecture to remain competitive.

Flexibility in customization

The modular structure of MACH enables developers to customize features without disrupting the entire platform. Unique functionalities can be built and deployed independently, ensuring consistent updates across all marketplace interfaces.

Future-proofing technology stack

Thanks to API-first and cloud-native design, your MACH marketplace is ready for innovations. With API-first marketplace integration, you can integrate third-party services, plugins, and new technologies. Moreover, your cloud-native marketplace gets services from a cloud environment, which provides on-demand infrastructure evolving over time.

Cost efficiency with cloud-native solutions

The cloud infrastructure of a MACH marketplace provides necessary resources with a pay-as-you-go approach. It means you will pay for the cloud resources you use. Moreover, a cloud-native ecommerce solution enables you to optimize resource usage and scale as you need. Thus, you save costs and team effort compared to using on-premises infrastructure.

Want a future-proof and scalable marketplace?

Let’s build it together.

Get in touch

Building a marketplace with MACH architecture: step-by-step guide

In this section, we outline what stages you need when building a marketplace with the MACH approach. Let’s explore them from the start and beyond of agile marketplace development.

Step 1: Defining the marketplace requirements

Starting off, consider your online marketplace business goals and relevant features. Your unique value proposition (USP) and target audience shape the design and features you will include. For instance, typical marketplace features include search, filters, product pages, reviews, management features for sellers, and a set of monitoring features for marketplace owners.

In fact, this defining step sets the foundation for further development. That is why we help our clients to understand marketplace requirements during product discovery sessions. They help optimize development and the relevant costs. The discovery process lets you know your USP, target audience, marketplace architecture, and budget and timeline estimates.

Also, we suggest the MACH tools that would make your marketplace work stable and smooth. Regarding the best tech practices, we also recommend a team composition that will drive development from start to deployment and support.

Step 2: Selecting the right tech stack and partners

The time, quality, and speed of your marketplace idea implementation depend on the skills of the tech vendor you select. Check reviews on the teams and agencies that provide MACH services. For example, you can use Clutch, GoodFirms, Owler, Glassdoor, and similar platforms to check the experience of a selected tech vendor.

For example, Codica holds multiple awards from Clutch for six years in a row as a global web developer. Our team of experienced developers uses a future-proof marketplace tech stack and knows how to make a marketplace helpful, convenient, and appealing.

That is why you can also get advice from our experts on the MACH technologies you need. The best practices of this development approach include tools that support modularity. Our flexible marketplace tech stack for modular architecture includes proven languages and frameworks. See the image below for more details.

Technologies for MACH marketplace development

Step 3: Designing the microservices architecture

The microservices part of your marketplace enables the tech team to focus on each function separately. Why is this crucial? When microservices are isolated, they do not affect other components. It means that if the notification function fails, your customers can still browse products and interact with your platform.

Each group of microservices has its own dedicated database, preventing conflicts when retrieving or providing data. Microservices communicate with each other through asynchronous messages, ensuring smooth interaction across the platform.

For example, an event in the order management service triggers an event to which the inventory management services listen and respond. While microservices do not intersect, they remain the building blocks of a broader whole with consistent interaction.

Step 4: Implementing API-first development

This step ensures the proper design and functioning of APIs that connect the frontend and the backend. It is sound to define the API structure before building the backend. Starting with APIs, you determine the data they receive and the responses they give. By defining these details, you ensure a consistent connection between interfaces and services.

Gateways are another thing to consider when developing APIs. An API gateway controls the URL requests routing, load balancing, authentication, and security. The proper use of API gateways improves marketplace performance. AWS API Gateway and NGINX are popular choices in this case.

At Codica, we integrate third-party services and APIs that align with the MACH modular approach. Each feature is a block that we can add or remove depending on your API-driven marketplace requirements. When aligned together, their work is consistent, so every part of your ecommerce platform ensures a top-rated user experience.

Step 5: Deploying a cloud-native infrastructure

This step involves dividing microservices, managing them, and connecting them to cloud-native databases. Let’s consider each of these aspects in marketplace microservices deployment:

Containerization with Docker. This step means that we put each microservice in an individual container. We use Docker for this. The process ensures proper isolation of microservices, helps with scalability, and speeds up deployment;
Orchestration with Kubernetes. Now that we have prepared microservices and APIs, they need to be managed coherently. We recommend Kubernetes in our development and DevOps services as it simplifies managing complex processes. With Kubernetes, you can easily maintain multi-level operations, ensuring timely and uninterrupted microservices interactions;
Cloud-native databases and storage solutions. Using cloud-native databases, your team can handle typical tasks like backups, scaling, and failover. We recommend AWS RDS (Relational Database Service) for data management and AWS S3 for handling images and video.

Step 6: Developing a headless frontend

Creating the frontend side with the MACH approach means that it is separated from backend. Thus, you gain consistency across all interfaces in different digital touchpoints, such as desktop, mobile, IoT, and others. When it comes to a headless frontend, you should stick to the best approaches. They will ensure that you meet current customer needs with your interfaces.

So, how do you achieve that? Tools in this regard matter. That is why we recommend using technologies that support component-based development. React and Vue.js serve this purpose perfectly. For your marketplace’s mobile version, you can use React Native or Flutter.

Aim for your headless frontend to support personalization and scalability. Personalization will ensure that your customers enjoy buying and selling in your marketplace. Scalability will make your platform stable even at peak times. No matter how heavy the traffic is on Black Friday, your marketplace will handle that with proper scalability measures.

With a modular design, your platform can easily accommodate new features. This allows you to update the frontend without the need for a complete overhaul.

Step 7: Testing and optimizing the marketplace

As we have completed and joined all parts, we need to check if those modular structures communicate cohesively. At Codica, we support test-driven development and finishing tests when the development is over.

We recommend performing the following checks:

Unit testing: validate individual microservices and APIs;
Functionality testing: ensure all features work as intended;
Performance testing: confirm the system handles load and traffic effectively;
Usability testing: verify the platform provides a user-friendly experience;
Security testing: protect sensitive data and prevent vulnerabilities.

Additionally, look for optimization opportunities to enhance your marketplace’s convenience and speed.

Need a team for marketplace development?

We are here to help.

Best practices for implementing MACH architecture

To make your marketplace website work, consider proven techniques for MACH development. Thus, you will get an agile solution with components working together to delight your customers. Let’s see these methods in more detail.

Adopting a composable approach

Modular design allows for autonomy in a composable marketplace design. But make sure that the components communicate with each other smoothly. Depending on your USP and business goals, select the necessary features. They can form a set for your minimum viable product with a clear focus. Thus, you can work on well-defined and purposeful features rather than trying to make an all-in-one platform.

Ensuring data security and compliance

Marketplaces process vast amounts of sensitive data every day. So, your platform must be properly secured. Ensure that you have reliable encryption across all services and data transmission between components. Following relevant data protection standards, like GDPR and HIPAA, will help you with that.

Also, set authorized access to your platform’s services. It will ensure that only authorized personnel and services can interact with specific data and services.

Regularly monitoring and updating components

Once deployed, your marketplace does not stop there. Regular monitoring and updates are needed to help your sales business evolve. Your tech team will help you with regular audits, optimization, and updates for your solution’s components in line with marketplace architecture trends and your business needs. These include the following:

Automating microservice monitoring;

Identifying and resolving issues quickly;
Ensuring updates don’t cause system conflicts;
Continuous improvement based on performance metrics, feedback, and your business needs.

To wrap up

Building a marketplace with the MACH approach helps you make your solution more flexible and adaptable to dynamic markets and innovations. Each microservice is isolated and connects to the backend via APIs. Thus, you can swap them as you need and gain the benefits of marketplace composable commerce.

Our team has 9 years of experience and a portfolio of successful marketplace projects. We know how to build and support modular ecommerce architecture that makes marketplaces evolve. So, if you want to create a custom marketplace using this approach, let’s discuss the details of your project. Contact us to get a free quote.

Building a Future-Ready Marketplace with MACH Architecture