The current Hidden Reef website runs on Lightspeed eCom (Shop ID 648211), which is connected to the store's point-of-sale workflow. Product inventory, sale pricing, orders, checkout, customer accounts, and customer-specific discounts already belong in Lightspeed.
The safest approach is not to replace that system. The redesigned site can run beside the existing Lightspeed site as a better shopping front end, while Lightspeed remains the final source of truth.
Step 1: Keep The Existing Store Live Lowest Risk
How it works
The redesigned site runs on a separate domain or subdomain, such as new.thehiddenreef.com or shop.thehiddenreef.com. The current Lightspeed site stays online and continues to work normally.
If the new site has a problem, customers and staff still have the existing tested store available.
What stays safe
- Existing checkout remains available
- Staff keep using the Lightspeed admin they already know
- No payment or order workflow changes are required at launch
Boundary
- The new site should launch as an optional front end first
- The old site should not be turned off until the new flow is proven
Step 2: Let The Demo Cart Behave Like A Real Cart
How it works
Customers browse the redesigned site and add products to the cart here. The cart can show product names, quantities, images, and an estimated subtotal.
The cart should also make the pricing boundary clear: log in at checkout to see account discounts, rewards, and final pricing.
Customer experience
- Browsing feels modern and fast
- Customers can build a cart before leaving the new site
- The site can show public prices and sale badges
Boundary
- Customer-specific discounts should not be guessed on the new site
- Lightspeed checkout should calculate the final total after login
Step 3: Send The Cart To Lightspeed Checkout API Phase
How it works
Each product on the redesigned site needs to map to its real Lightspeed product or variant ID. When the customer clicks checkout, a small private backend sends those cart items to Lightspeed and then redirects the customer to the Lightspeed cart or checkout page.
API credentials stay on the private backend. They should never be placed in browser JavaScript.
What Lightspeed handles
- Customer login
- Special customer discounts
- Final price, tax, and shipping rules
- Payment and order creation
What must be confirmed
- The exact Lightspeed API/cart capabilities available on their plan
- How product variants are represented
- Whether cart creation or checkout links are supported directly
Step 4: Sync Inventory And Sale Items
How it works
Lightspeed should remain the place where staff add products, receive stock, change inventory, and create or remove sale items. The redesigned site should copy that information from Lightspeed instead of becoming another admin system.
For inventory that changes constantly, the best setup is a combination of webhooks and scheduled checks. Webhooks catch updates quickly; scheduled checks are the backup in case any webhook is missed.
Can sync from Lightspeed
- Product names, images, categories, and brands
- Inventory availability
- Sale products and sale pricing
- Product additions and removals
Boundary
- The new site should not require staff to update products twice
- If the API is unavailable, checkout should still fall back to Lightspeed
Step 5: Keep Store Management In Lightspeed
Operational boundary
The new site should be built so regular store work still happens in Lightspeed. Product updates, inventory changes, sale pricing, customer records, and order management should remain in the system staff already uses.
- Hidden Reef keeps managing products, customers, sales, and orders in Lightspeed.
- The redesigned site automatically reads from Lightspeed where possible.
- Any custom code should be limited to the storefront, cart handoff, and sync layer.
Getting Lightspeed API Access
To move beyond simple product links, Hidden Reef would need API access from the Lightspeed admin area:
- Log into Lightspeed eCom admin
- Go to Settings - Apps
- Create or locate an API integration
- Store the generated client ID and secret on a private backend only
The exact integration depends on the Lightspeed plan and API features available to this store. The first technical check should confirm product, variant, inventory, cart, customer, and sale-data access.