Untangling an ecommerce frontend choked by too many APIs

Challenge

An ecommerce site had grown a dense web of API calls — overlapping endpoints, redundant fetches, and waterfall requests on critical pages. The storefront felt slow, backend load was inflated, and every new feature risked adding more latency. The problem was not “add servers”; it was architectural noise on the client and integration boundary.

Approach

• Mapped the request graph for key journeys (PLP, PDP, cart/checkout) to find duplicate and sequential calls.
• Consolidated and composed APIs — fewer round trips, clearer contracts, and shared data where possible.
• Introduced caching, batching, and parallelization where appropriate; eliminated dead or low-value calls.
• Aligned frontend and backend on a thinner critical path so product work no longer stacked latency by default.
• Validated wins with before/after timing and perceived performance on real devices.