What is the most common cause of high maintenance costs in Adobe Commerce?

The most common cause is uncontrolled technical debt, primarily from poorly implemented customisations and neglecting regular updates. This leads to complex, fragile codebases that are difficult to modify, test, and upgrade, increasing the time and resources required for any change or fix.

How often should an Adobe Commerce platform be updated?

Security patches should be applied immediately upon release. Minor version updates (e.g., 2.4.x to 2.4.y) should be performed quarterly or bi-annually, depending on feature benefits and stability. Major version upgrades (e.g., 2.3 to 2.4) should be planned strategically, typically every 1-2 years, considering the features and deprecations.

What role does caching play in Adobe Commerce maintenance?

Caching is fundamental for performance and stability. Properly configured Varnish and Redis reduce server load, improve response times, and enhance user experience. Neglecting caching or incorrectly configuring it can lead to slow sites, increased hosting costs, and instability under traffic, making the platform harder to maintain.

Can PIM integration reduce Adobe Commerce maintenance?

Yes, a well-implemented PIM (Product Information Management) system standardises product data. This reduces manual data entry errors, simplifies product information updates across channels, and ensures data consistency for Adobe Commerce. It streamlines complexity, freeing up resources from data management to platform improvements.

How can automated testing improve Adobe Commerce maintenance?

Automated testing (unit, integration, functional) drastically reduces the risk of regressions when making changes or upgrades. It identifies issues early in the development cycle, making them cheaper and faster to fix. This ensures changes are deployed with confidence, stabilising the platform and lowering the cost of ongoing maintenance.

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Issue 045Field NoteAdobe CommerceRef 141

How to make Adobe Commerce easier to maintain

Maintaining an Adobe Commerce platform involves a strategic approach to development, infrastructure, and ongoing operations. We examine key areas to reduce technical debt, optimise performance, and ensure long-term stability, focusing on practices that yield tangible results.

Tom Williams· Head of Development

14 Mar 20264 min readReviewed March 2026

"Effective maintenance is not merely about fixing bugs; it encompasses architectural decisions, code quality, infrastructure, and proactive monitoring."

Written by

Tom Williams

Head of Development

10 years at iWeb

LinkedIn →Speak with Tom about your brief →

Tom heads the development team at iWeb and leads the data practice across PIM, search relevance, product data and operational commerce systems. He writes about migration economics, punchout, catalogue structure, order-management complexity, and the product-data decisions that quietly shape platform performance long before launch. Particularly focused on B2B operational reality and AI-ready commerce data.

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