ADR 0003: Solidus for bespoke commerce demos
- Status: Accepted
- Date: 2026-09-11
Context
The demos exist to prove what template platforms cannot do: mixed commerce with course bookings and legal progression rules, three way fulfilment, stacking subscription and bulk pricing, per-currency price lists, commission resale. Shopify-class tools wall these off or force plugin roulette.
Decision
Every shop is a Solidus (Rails) build: full code ownership, native promotions, first-class customisation of checkout steps, shipping calculators and product models.
Consequences
Everything is buildable and provable; the demos double as reference implementations for client work. The cost is owning upgrades and security ourselves, which the shared stack across five shops amortises.