Migrating from Fabric to Swell - A Complete Guide

For merchants running on Fabric who find themselves paying enterprise-tier costs for capabilities they've outgrown—or never fully utilized—headless commerce platforms built for mid-market flexibility offer a practical alternative. Fabric's modular microservices architecture excels for large enterprises with dedicated engineering teams, but the implementation complexity and pricing for their core AI DOM plan starting at $4,500 monthly positions it beyond reach for growing brands. Swell addresses this gap with native subscription billing, unlimited product modeling, and implementation timelines measured in weeks rather than months.

The migration process requires methodical planning, but the payoff materializes in reduced operational costs, faster time-to-market, and infrastructure that scales without requiring enterprise-level technical resources. With Fabric serving just 2.4% mindshare in the Order Management Hubs category and growing brands seeking more accessible solutions, the market validates purpose-built platforms that deliver headless capabilities without enterprise complexity.

Key Takeaways

• Fabric's enterprise pricing and extended implementation timelines create barriers for mid-market brands that Swell eliminates through transparent pricing and streamlined deployments
• Swell's native subscription engine removes dependency on third-party billing integrations, saving integration costs while providing tighter checkout and customer data integration
• Migration from Fabric to Swell follows a defined data dependency sequence: products→customers→orders→shipments→subscriptions, with proper planning reducing data loss risk to near zero
• Hosted storefront options alongside headless flexibility lower technical barriers—start with pre-built themes and migrate to custom builds as resources allow
• For businesses under $10M GMV, Swell delivers comparable headless functionality at a fraction of Fabric's total cost of ownership while maintaining the API-first architecture developers require

Understanding the Swell Advantage: Why Migrating Matters

Fabric built its platform for enterprise-scale operations with complex omnichannel requirements. The architecture delivers—hundreds of API endpoints designed for low-latency enterprise performance and modular microservices that power brands like GNC and McDonald's. But enterprise capability comes with enterprise complexity.

Beyond Limitations: Swell vs. Traditional Platforms

The practical reality for mid-market brands is straightforward: Fabric requires dedicated engineering teams to implement and maintain. The platform's strength—granular API control over every commerce function—becomes a liability when your team lacks the bandwidth to leverage it.

Swell takes a different approach. The platform provides API-first architecture with the same data access powering its own dashboard and checkout, but wraps it in accessible tooling:

• Hosted storefronts with visual editors for teams without frontend developers
• Pre-built checkout that handles PCI compliance while remaining customizable via API
• Native features that eliminate third-party integration overhead

For businesses migrating from Fabric, this means preserving headless flexibility while reducing operational complexity.

The Power of Native: Built-in Features Explained

Fabric's modular approach requires assembling commerce capabilities from separate components. Subscription billing? Integrate Recurly or Chargebee. The subscription platform adds monthly fees, creates integration complexity, and limits customization to app-provided APIs.

Swell's native subscription billing works with major connected gateways through the platform's encrypted card vault. Flexible billing intervals, mixed cart support combining subscription and one-time products, automatic payment retry with dunning rules—all built into the core platform without additional subscriptions or integration work.

This pattern repeats across features: product bundling with individual inventory tracking, customer group-based pricing, multi-level navigation menus, and order editing post-purchase all come standard rather than requiring separate modules or third-party apps.

Swell's Headless Commerce Architecture: A Technical Deep Dive

Swell's architecture follows a simple principle: the same API powering the admin dashboard is available to developers. Anything possible in the interface can be replicated, customized, or extended through code.

API-First Principles: How Swell Empowers Developers

The Backend API provides full CRUD access to all data models with secret key authentication. Use it for server-side operations, data migrations, webhook handlers, and admin tools where credentials remain secure.

The Frontend API offers partial CRUD for browser-based usage with public key authentication. It handles customer-facing operations—product catalogs, cart management, checkout flows, account management—without exposing sensitive backend access.

Both APIs follow RESTful conventions with consistent behavior across endpoints. The developer console built into the dashboard enables testing API calls, viewing request/response logs, and troubleshooting without leaving the browser.

Integrating Diverse Frontends with Swell's Backend

Custom storefronts connect to Swell using any JavaScript framework—React, Vue, Next.js, Svelte—or any programming language capable of making HTTP requests. This flexibility means:

• Web storefronts built with modern frameworks and deployed to Vercel, Netlify, or custom infrastructure
• Mobile apps connecting to the same backend powering web experiences
• IoT devices and custom touchpoints accessing product and order data

Multiple customer touchpoints connect to a single commerce backend, eliminating data silos and ensuring consistent experiences across channels. Spinn Coffee exemplifies this approach, connecting their DTC marketplace to a mobile app and IoT coffee brewer through Swell's unified backend.

Seamless Product Migration: From Fabric to Swell's Flexible Catalog

Product catalog migration from Fabric requires mapping existing data structures to Swell's flexible models. The good news: Swell places no restrictions on product complexity.

Handling Complex Product Data with Swell

Where other platforms cap variants or limit option sets, Swell supports:

• Unlimited products and variants with custom attributes
• Product types spanning physical goods, digital downloads, services, bundles, and gift cards
• Unlimited categories and sub-categories with drag-and-drop organization
• Purchase options selling the same product as one-time or subscription with different pricing

Custom fields work across all standard models—products, orders, customers, carts. The model editor accessible through dashboard or API enables creating entirely custom data structures for business-specific needs.

Strategies for Efficient Product Data Transfer

Migration follows a defined sequence based on data dependencies: products first (no dependencies), then customers, then orders (requiring product and customer IDs), followed by shipments and subscriptions.

Export from Fabric includes:

• Product titles, descriptions, SKUs, and variant data
• Custom attributes and metadata
• Pricing across currencies
• Inventory quantities and tracking status
• Product images and media assets

Swell's CSV import/export handles bulk product management, while the API enables programmatic migration for complex catalogs. Implementation timelines vary based on catalog complexity and customization requirements.

Subscription Model Transition: Leveraging Swell's Native Billing Engine

For subscription businesses, the migration stakes are higher. Active subscribers expect uninterrupted service, making billing schedule continuity critical.

Ending Dependency: The Power of Built-in Subscriptions

Fabric requires external subscription billing integration—Recurly, Chargebee, Zuora—each adding monthly platform fees and integration complexity. Swell eliminates this dependency entirely.

Subscription plan creation happens through the dashboard or API:

• Define billing intervals (monthly, yearly, custom periods)
• Separate invoicing schedules from fulfillment schedules
• Configure trial periods and promotional pricing
• Set up automatic payment retry with configurable dunning rules

The subscription engine works with major connected gateways through Swell's encrypted card vault. When customers save payment methods, tokens are stored securely for future subscription charges—no additional setup required.

Optimizing Long-Term Customer Retention

Customer self-service features work natively:

• Pause/resume subscriptions without support tickets
• Update payment methods and shipping addresses
• Modify billing frequency or plan tier
• Upgrade/downgrade with prorated invoicing

These capabilities reduce support burden while improving satisfaction—subscribers manage accounts independently for routine changes. Card expiration notifications prompt updates before charges fail, reducing involuntary churn from payment issues.

Custom Checkout and Payments: API-Driven Flexibility

Swell provides two checkout paths at all pricing tiers: hosted Swell Checkout or custom checkout via API.

Designing Your Ideal Purchase Path

The hosted checkout handles payment processing, tax calculation, and PCI compliance while offering customization through dashboard settings. Guest checkout, abandoned cart recovery, and saved payment methods come standard.

For complete control, the Checkout API enables building custom payment flows in any framework. This access isn't restricted to enterprise plans—it's available across all tiers.

Payment gateway setup connects existing processor accounts:

• Stripe - Credit cards, digital wallets, local payment methods
• PayPal - PayPal accounts and guest checkout
• Braintree - Extensive payment options
• Authorize.Net - Broad bank support

Buy Now Pay Later options available via supported integrations or custom setup through Affirm, Klarna, and Resolve for B2B net terms.

Ensuring Secure and Flexible Payment Processing

Split payment functionality per order item or entire order supports multi-vendor marketplaces. Multi-part payment plans can enable through custom implementation installment offerings without third-party financing apps.

The encrypted card vault secures payment methods using PCI-compliant tokenization. Raw credit card data never touches merchant servers—tokens reference encrypted payment methods stored in Swell's vault.

Internationalization and Localization: Scaling Globally

Global expansion requires proper multi-currency pricing and tax compliance—not just translated content.

Swell's Approach to International Expansion

Multi-currency functionality across 230 currencies offers two pricing approaches:

• Explicit pricing - Set specific prices per currency for psychological pricing ($99 vs €89)
• Automatic conversion - Real-time exchange rates calculate prices dynamically

Multi-language support spans 170 languages for all customer-facing content: products, categories, checkout, and email notifications. Translations happen through the dashboard or API, enabling integration with professional translation services.

Simplifying Tax and Language Complexities

Tax compliance integrates with leading automation services:

• Avalara AvaTax - Real-time calculation for transactions worldwide
• TaxJar - Automated sales tax for US-based businesses

Both calculate taxes at checkout based on customer location, product type, and applicable rules. Custom tax rule groups handle specific requirements by location and product type.

Data & Integrations: Connecting to Your Ecosystem

Swell's technical capabilities enable maintaining existing tool investments while gaining platform flexibility.

Extending Swell: Custom Data Models and Integrations

Custom fields on all standard models capture business-specific data without workarounds. Custom model creation handles entirely new data structures through the model editor.

Native integrations connect essential services:

• Klaviyo for email marketing
• ShipStation for fulfillment
• Contentful for headless CMS
• Smarty for address autocomplete

Webhooks for Real-time Data Sync

Webhooks fire real-time notifications when events occur—order placed, subscription renewed, payment failed. Subscribe to specific events and Swell POSTs data to your endpoint immediately.

Use webhooks for custom business logic: trigger fulfillment workflows, sync to external systems, send custom notifications. Custom shipping and tax calculations run via webhook, allowing complete control over these checkout components.

Choosing Your Swell Plan: Matching Business Needs

Swell's pricing structure scales with business size through multiple tiers matching different revenue levels and feature requirements.

Scaling Your Success: Tiered Pricing Explained

Plans differentiate on:

• Number of admin users
• Monthly API request limits
• Data storage allocation
• Reporting capabilities (basic vs. advanced)
• Support levels (standard, priority, developer)
• Advanced features like multi-currency pricing and role-based permissions

Higher tiers include uptime SLAs and developer support for businesses requiring guaranteed availability and technical assistance.

Features for Growing Businesses

The pricing structure supports growth without re-platforming. Start on entry-level plans and scale through tiers as revenue grows. Each tier offers increased limits and capabilities without requiring enterprise-level investment for features like checkout customization or subscription management.

Case Studies: Swell in Action

Real implementations demonstrate how brands leverage Swell's capabilities across diverse business models.

Lessons from Swell Customers

Velobici, a cycling apparel brand, migrated from WooCommerce due to poor UI, difficult stock management, and plugin complexity. Their implementation leverages:

• Product bundling for cycling kit sales (75% of revenue from bundles)
• Multi-currency pricing across 17 currencies
• Multi-language storefronts for international customers

THE RAYY, a fine jewelry brand, migrated from BigCommerce because headless architecture was required for their unique customer experience. They use custom product options for personalized engravings, multi-currency pricing across EUR, USD, and CHF, and worldwide tax rule groups.

Smashing Magazine combines bundled products, subscriptions, member discounts, custom tax calculations, and separate bundle fulfillment for physical books plus digital content—capabilities that required migration from their previous platform.

Support and Resources: Ensuring Smooth Transition

Migration success depends on available support and resources throughout the process.

Swell's Support Ecosystem

Email and chat support comes standard across all plans. Priority support starts at higher tiers, with developer support exclusively on unlimited and custom plans.

Documentation resources include:

• Developer docs for API implementation
• Help center with product guides
• Integration setup instructions
• Migration guides for common platforms

Post-Launch: Maximizing Your Investment

The agency partner program connects merchants with development shops experienced in Swell implementations. For businesses needing implementation assistance, certified partners provide migration support and custom development.

User permission management enables team collaboration with role-based access controls. Test environments separate from live stores support development and QA workflows without risking production data.

Frequently Asked Questions

How does Swell's implementation timeline compare to Fabric's enterprise deployments?

Fabric implementations require significant time due to microservices architecture complexity and the engineering resources required. Swell migrations typically complete faster, with pre-built components and hosted options reducing development requirements. The difference reflects architectural philosophy: Fabric optimizes for maximum flexibility at the cost of implementation complexity, while Swell provides comparable headless capabilities with accessible tooling.

What technical skills does my team need to operate Swell compared to Fabric?

Fabric's modular microservices architecture requires dedicated engineering teams for implementation and ongoing maintenance. Swell offers multiple paths: non-technical teams can operate hosted storefronts with visual editors, while developers access full API capabilities for custom implementations. This flexibility means growing businesses can launch with limited technical resources and expand customization as their team grows. The same API powering Swell's dashboard remains available for custom development when needed.

Can I migrate payment tokens from my existing gateway when moving to Swell?

Yes. Swell supports importing payment tokens from Stripe and Braintree using compatible formats. This enables subscription continuity where customers' recurring charges continue without requiring re-authorization. Export payment method tokens from your current configuration, import customers and products first to establish relationships, then create subscription records with imported tokens. Testing in Swell's development environment before production migration ensures billing automation functions correctly.

What happens to custom integrations built on Fabric's APIs during migration?

Custom integrations require rebuilding against Swell's APIs. The webhook event system and RESTful API conventions enable replicating most integration logic, though specific implementations depend on the integration's function. Export integration requirements from Fabric, map to Swell's equivalent endpoints and webhook events, then rebuild and test in Swell's development environment. For complex integrations, Swell's agency partners offer migration assistance.

How does Swell handle high-traffic events compared to Fabric's enterprise infrastructure?

Swell offers up to 99.9% uptime SLA on higher-tier plans with infrastructure using a combination of bare metal servers and cloud providers for performance during traffic spikes. While Fabric's sub-50ms response times target enterprise-scale operations, Swell's architecture handles mid-market traffic volumes with media delivery through global CDN and image transformation capabilities.