If you want to successfully develop a website or software application, you have to pick the right technology framework for the project. Every eCommerce company has different needs. A framework that can cover most of these requirements easily with its features and other offerings can be deemed as a suitable framework for development.

You can also ask a top eCommerce development company to guide you through the entire process from ideation to deployment. They will tell you a programming language is the ingredient that you should get right just like salt in food. One such popular and reliable language is Java.

Java programming language can facilitate a platform that can write programs in any language and then execute them effectively. Using Java CMS and Java eCommerce frameworks can simplify your development process.

A lot of options are available in the market that can confuse you. But fret not, here in this blog, we provide a carefully curated list of the most robust and reliable Java eCommerce frameworks and CMS.

Top Java eCommerce Frameworks

Every Java eCommerce framework has something unique to offer. They come in a wide range from lightweight and open-source to expansive and expensive frameworks. While the list can be very long, we have selected a few frameworks that are the most popular and reliable in the Java developers community. Let's discuss them in detail.

Hybris / SAP Customer Experience

Hybris is widely known for offering eCommerce solutions and support to B2B, B2C, and B2B2C enterprises. Its global clientele includes General Electric, taco Bell, Nestle, Nike, Levi Strauss, and Epsom US. Although this eCommerce framework is expensive, if used to its full potential, Hybris is worth every penny.

Marketing tools and commerce solutions are two major groups of products offered by Hybrid eCommerce Solutions. You can have a consistent and meaningful experience across all channels as Hybris is specifically designed to improve communication with customers. And its marketing tools are agile and scalable enough to offer the best customer insights.

Hybris also provides multi-vendor, multi-language, and multi-channel opportunities that are relevant to the sales and communication channels of this modern digital world. And it might pique your interest to know that Hybris is considered an ideal Java eCommerce framework for implementing out-of-the-box or customized solutions as it comes with a large number of highly configured components.

It also consists of high modularity which results in low codependency between the modules. This makes Hybris flexible and easy to use by every user in the entire organization. However, there is a limitation of Hybris where it takes about 20-30 minutes of server startup time which is rather high in comparison to other Java eCommerce frameworks.

Broadleaf

Another Java eCommerce tool on the list is Broadleaf which can be easily customized and can ensure that all your requirements are fulfilled. ICON Health and Fitness, The European Postal Service, O’Reilly Auto Parts, and MLB are some of the major companies that use this framework. And the best thing about Broadleaf is that it is highly scalable which means it can grow easily with your eCommerce business.

In a sense, Broadleaf is similar to Hybris as it can also leverage the latest open-source technologies like Java and Spring. But unlike Hybris, Broadleaf is an open-source framework. Broadleaf can also support multiple channels, websites, languages, currencies, and tenants in a single eCommerce system.

In addition, it offers an administrative console from where you can manage it all. On one hand, Hybris is easily integrated with SAP products, meanwhile Broadleaf supports integration for Zendesk, Drupal, WordPress, and many more.

Elastic Path

Elastic Path is an open-source Java-based eCommerce solution that offers a large range of features including order management, pricing, promotions, merchandising, and more. Its functionalities are all you need to build your eCommerce website.

No matter what device your customers are using, no matter if your website has complex functionalities, Elastic Path can always help you provide a seamless eCommerce experience to your customers.

If a company has medium digital maturity then Elastic Path can provide “Pre-Composed Solutions”. And if any company has trained professionals that can utilize the frameworks efficiently for customization and have higher digital maturity then Elastic Path have a headless eCommerce platform to offer to them.

Elastic Path is valued for its out-of-the-box offerings but its true value is seen when you use it with a microservices architecture approach or alongside a complex module.

Apache OFBiz

Unlike Elastic Path, OFBiz is not a combination of different tools and it comes for free. It provides solutions that can be easily adapted to fulfill the needs of your online store.

Apache OFBiz consists of built-in core modules like manufacturing, warehousing, CRM, and accounting. It also provides a variety of eCommerce business features including supply chain management, pricing and promotions, catalog management, secure payment gateway, and more.

Although there are many benefits of using Apache OFBiz, users have complained about the lack of scheduling features and other project management options in the framework. But as you can customize this framework, you can create your solutions for it or can integrate it with third-party plugins.

Shopizer

Headless and open-source, Shopizer was built using modern frameworks like Angular and Java. You do not have to worry about using Shopizer amidst changing eCommerce trends and demanding practices as this framework is completely open-source which makes it easily adaptable.

Shopizer comes in with tons of features and components like inventory management, content management, shopping cart, promotion management, and more. And the best thing is that all of them are easily integrated with the REST API of Shopizer.

Qalingo

Qalingo is used for both B2B and B2C. And it is also optimized to deliver a top-notch mobile experience. Qalingo can support 7 languages and provides a variety of localization features. For example, using Qalingo enables you to add unlimited taxes and there isn't even any kind of limit in the case of currencies.

This Java-based eCommerce framework renders many features that can enhance the performance of the application. Canonical URLs, meta tag management, and Google Sitemap support are some of the features that come as a part of its SEO offerings.

Mayocat

Mayocat brings to you next-generation eCommerce solutions and open-source marketplaces. Despite being based on Java programming language, you can run your eCommerce website using this framework only if you are well-versed with the knowledge of HTML.

Apart from that, Mayocat also uses platforms like Jetty, PostgreSQL, Jersey, ElasticSearch, and more. You can streamline your entire development process using these technologies. In addition to that, they also enhance the performance and scalability of your application.

Essential features of Maypcat include:

Inventory management

Order management

Geographical areas and shipping methods

CMS features

Mayocat is also capable of creating multiple websites on a single platform and keeping all of them connected through one robust system.

Popular Java CMS

If you navigate the world of Java CMS, you can see that new and exciting solutions keep popping up every day. Similar to the eCommerce frameworks we discussed above, teh CMS in the below list will also vary in price, size, and extensibility.

Magnolia

You can fulfill all your eCommerce requirements using Magnolia as its wide range of integrations and add-ons allow you to customize everything as per your needs. Magnolia is a Java-based open-source framework that is highly optimized so you can leverage its Java Content Repository to enhance your Java application as it comes with a whole lot of options.

Magnolia also has excellent content storage and management capabilities. It also enables you to reuse your content across different systems in the enterprise. However, there are certain downsides to using Magnolia, and the biggest one is that it takes two different applications to run it.

One is for users to create content that is behind the firewall author instance application and the other one is a public-facing app that serves that content, hosts it, and most often runs it through multiple instances just to increase its availability. But that too might become a cause for serious security issues.

Using Magnolia for a small website can be overwhelming. But with its extensive amount of options, Magnolia is the perfect solution for medium to large-sized projects. The community version of Magnolia is free and open-source which is perfectly capable of production deployments, whereas you need a paid license to use its commercial edition.

Bloomreach / Hippo CMS

Bloomreach CMS, popularly known as Hippo CMS is a complete Headless CMS that you can easily integrate with large eCommerce tools. Hippo is modular so it provides a flexible approach that can help customize your eCommerce website. Many top companies like Hellermann Tyton, NHS Digital, and Bosch are known to trust and use this Java-based CMS.

Hippos CMS also comes with a drag and Drop builder which makes the development process very effortless so that even if you don't have any technical experience, you can use this user-friendly feature to get started.

Commerce pages in the Hippo CMS have an amazing feature called Version Control. This tool can be leveraged to track all the edits/changes as well as restore previous versions if you want.

You can start small if you want with Hippo using a few landing pages to power your website. The prices of this CMS are also flexible enough to help you grow your business at your own pace.

Alfresco

You can elevate the eCommerce experience of your website by coupling the SDKs and REST APIs with the modular architecture of Alfresco. This Java-based CMS offers highly configurable and reusable components which you can use to create modern, responsive web and mobile applications.

Alfresco also provides support for productivity and project management applications like Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Office, Salesforce, and Google Docs. You can extend this CMS with other Java-based frameworks for information governance features for business process management and eCommerce development.

Alfresco is not just a CMS but also a broader information management framework. This is the biggest advantage that Alfresco has over other content management systems in search of the same feature. Although if you are looking for a simple java based CMs then having information governance integrations and complex BPM will be a killjoy for you.

A free version of Alfresco is available for free which is also open-source. Meanwhile, there is a commercial version that can be used at premium charges with more advanced features and functionalities.

DotCMS

DotCMS is scalable, extensible, and quick to deploy. This java based cms can render personalized multi-channel experiences based on intranets, marketing campaigns, web applications, eCommerce websites, and more. Using DotCMS, you can get access to the following features:

Supports a variety of CSS frameworks to fulfill the requirements of the mobile audience

Supports responsive design

Have the capability of running separate websites with different languages on separate servers to deliver the best customer experience worldwide.

Provide high scalability

You can now spread your web apps and their content to remote servers using push publishing

You can streamline your daily work with the help of a reliable workflow builder

DotCMS offers comprehensive APIs that are capable of fulfilling the needs of your business.

OpenCMS

OpenCMS is one of the oldest CMS platforms not just for Java but also predates the most popular PHP-based WordPress CMS. From the perspective of a developer, OpenCMS is easy to set up and maintain. Installation is easy as this tool runs as a Java servlet. Does matter what database you prefer to work with, this java based cms tool supports them all including MariaDB, Microsoft SQL Server, MySQL, and more.

Indeed, OpenCMS has not won any awards for the most elegant and attractive java based CMS because it doesn't look modern. It's clunky but it works. However, there is a benefit of using this CMS tool as it comes free of cost. There are no pricing models to use this tool and no licensing fees either.

Enonic XP

Another Java CMS tool on the list is Enonic. Initially released in 2015, this tool provides features that aren't provided by any tool we discussed in this list before. Enonic is equipped with its search engine and it comes with a data management framework. This frees the developers from the responsibility of setting up their database.

This java CMS supports web content creation, and can also host standalone web apps which are designed specifically to run in the framework. If you want to create these apps yourself, you can do it otherwise you can download the public ones from Enonic’s marketplace.

Enonic is not a framework you would use to manage your basic website. It is a holistic web hosting management platform that utilizes modern deployment strategies to manage multiple websites and applications. If you can set up your infrastructure and maintain it then you can use Enonic for free. Otherwise, you have to opt for paid plans where you will get fully hosted instances from Enonic and professional support.

Crafter CMS

Crafter CMS comes with Groovy Scripting support and is based on Java and Spring. It is completely headless and open source. Crafter CMS is largely used for creating digital content that can fulfill different types of requirements of the wide range of customers of an enterprise. Apart from Java and Spring, NodeJS also provides native support to Crafter. And being a headless CMS, Crafter can serve content using APIs.

For the headless content server of Crafter, you can choose any front-end framework you wish. Crafter CMS is equipped with such a wide range of features that it can render support to everyone including IT operation teams, software developers, and content editors.

You do not need to have any knowledge about other programming languages other than Java to use the robust APIs of Crafter for its content services, search, profile, and social capabilities. And as same as other open-source CMS tools in this list, Crafter is supported by a large community of developers.

You can use a free version of Crafter to try it out to know whether it's a right fit for your business or not. But if you want to use it with advanced features and functionalities then you have to opt for its commercial license that comes with enterprise support for self-hosted and various fully-managed SaaS deployment models.

Crafter also comes with guides, tutorials, certified builds and patches, an ecosystem, and everything else that you would need in a CMS.

Final thoughts

Here in this article, we have listed 7 Java eCommerce frameworks and 7 Java CMS tools for you to choose from. All of these Java-based frameworks and CMS vary in size, price, and capabilities but every one of them has something unique to offer. Their features are beneficial for the projects whereas in some cases their limitations can be overcome by using third-party integrations.

We have tried to cover the best tools here in this blog, we don't know what you are looking for. Only you can determine which one of these tools is suitable for your project by aligning their features against your requirements, the one with the most matches will be deemed to be chosen as a development framework or CMS in your project. I hope this helps. Thanks for reading!