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Composable DXP, Composable CMS, MACH - words and concepts from just a few years ago that promised something powerful: freedom. Freedom from vendor lock-in, and the freedom to only select the systems and services you need to succeed. Actually, promises that go hand in hand with how we’ve always described Umbraco.
But as reality hit, Composable got buried in the “buzz”. Painful upkeeping with custom endpoints and complex data management gave Composable DXP and MACH a bad rep. And with good reason, as the “freedom” suddenly came with an unexpected price tag from hours of debugging data flows and overloaded - slow - setups.
Does composable then remain a buzzword - a dream?
As the intro to this blog post reveals, we don’t believe so. A composable architecture that gives you freedom, flexibility, scalability, and fast adaptability is both possible and highly necessary for many enterprise businesses - but it has to be managed and applied correctly to be successful in the real world.
It’s tempting to describe Composable Architecture as a simple plug-and-play game; systems that hold product, pricing, marketing, and image data are plugged in at one end, and frontends, websites, apps, screens, etc, are at the other end. However, this simple description underestimates one of the trickiest and time-consuming aspects of the setup - managing the “in between”.
Umbraco Compose is the “in between” data orchestration layer that ensures a clean and streamlined architecture. It includes a managed ingestion API and a headless delivery API using standardised GraphQL queries. This means that, regardless of the complexity of your tech stack or the number of frontends you need to connect, Umbraco Compose will handle it whilst keeping everything tidy and clear for you, as all data is managed in a consistent and structured way.
Umbraco Compose uses GraphQL as the main data query language. It’s the perfect choice in a modern headless architecture as it ensures that Compose only delivers the data you need, where you need it, and when you need it. This means no over-fetching of data and fast load time for your frontend applications, making visitors, your SEO/GEO/AEO ranking, and the planet happy. On top of this, you can connect any digital tool or technology to GraphQL, allowing fast adaptation to new requirements, trends, and needs.
Speaking of new trends and needs, Compose and AI are the perfect match. How? To take full advantage of AI and minimize mistakes, AI and LLMs require structured and reliable data. This is exactly how Compose and GraphQL work. Both are structured and pre-defined by nature, and with all your data connected to one source, Compose, you can connect your favourite AI tools and be confident you’ll get reliable and effective results that’ll ease your workflows and keep you ahead of the game.
Umbraco Compose is built to scale - automatically. Whether you start small or have enterprise-grade projects, the content delivery grows effortlessly with your business. As a fully fledged SaaS offering, we make sure that Compose keeps evolving with new features and improvements, so you always have a reliable infrastructure that performs effortlessly based on your demand.
We take pride in being known as the editor-friendly CMS. That’s why, if you choose Umbraco CMS as part of your tech stack, we have ensured that you get out-of-the-box integrations between Compose and Umbraco CMS. This includes a content picker that lets you pick any data connected to Compose from other systems as if it were stored in the CMS itself. This means quick setup for your developers and a seamless, delightful editing experience for your editors.
Did you notice the if in the paragraph above? Fundamentally, Compose is technology agnostic, meaning you can, in fact, connect any system - and CMS - to Compose. Ultimately, with Compose, you’re the composer.
But how does it work? What does it look like?
For a more technical explanation of Umbraco Compose, Product Manager, Lasse Fredslund, and Developer Relations Lead, Allen Smith, will Unbox Umbraco Compose for you:
Furthermore, you can find the full Documentation for Umbraco Compose here.
Ready to de-clutter and future-proof your projects while saving a bunch of development hours?
First step: Let's talk.
This way, we can ensure that Umbraco Compose is a good fit for your project - and if it is, the second step will be to set up Architectural Onboarding between your development team and our Umbraco Compose specialists to guide you on your project setup, ensuring you get the best and most out of Umbraco Compose from the very beginning:
We can’t wait to see what fantastic and clever projects you Compose!
P.S. for further product details, pricing etc, check out the Umbraco Compose product page
Composable architecture entered the scene with a promise of freedom, flexibility, and innovation. For many enterprises, that promise still holds true, but the journey has revealed challenges along the way. This blog looks at what we've learned from the first wave of composable adoption and how a more practical approach can unlock its full potential.