PureClarity offers two distinct display modes for rendering recommendations in Magento 2.x. Understanding these modes helps you choose the best approach for your specific requirements and technical constraints.Documentation Index
Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.pureclarity.com/llms.txt
Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
Accessing Mode Configuration
Navigate to Stores > Configuration > PureClarity and locate the “Mode” section.
Display Mode Options
Client-Side Mode (Default)
Recommended for: Most standard implementationsProcessing location: PureClarity servers
Template management: PureClarity admin console In client-side mode, all recommendation data and HTML rendering occurs on PureClarity’s servers. When a customer visits your site, JavaScript requests recommendations directly from PureClarity and displays them in real-time. How it works:
- Page loads with PureClarity JavaScript
- Recommendations requested from PureClarity servers
- Complete HTML returned and inserted into zones
- No additional Magento processing required
- Faster page loads - No server-side processing delays
- Reduced server load - Offloads recommendation processing
- Real-time updates - Content changes immediately in PureClarity admin
- Global CDN delivery - Fast content delivery worldwide
- Simplified implementation - No complex server-side customizations
Client-side mode is the standard implementation and works well for most e-commerce sites without complex pricing rules or customer-specific restrictions.
Server-Side Mode
Recommended for: Complex pricing, custom restrictions, or advanced customizationsProcessing location: Your Magento server
Template management: Magento templates with PureClarity data In server-side mode, PureClarity provides product SKUs and recommendation logic, but Magento handles the final data assembly and HTML rendering using current store data. How it works:
- Page loads and triggers server-side recommendation request
- PureClarity returns SKUs and recommendation metadata
- Magento processes SKUs with current pricing, inventory, and rules
- Custom templates render final HTML with live data
- Complete recommendations inserted into page
- Live pricing integration - Real-time price calculations
- Customer-specific data - Personalized pricing and availability
- Complex business rules - Custom logic and restrictions
- Full template control - Complete customization of appearance
- Inventory accuracy - Current stock levels reflected
When to Choose Each Mode
Client-Side Mode Best For:
- Standard pricing - Fixed prices without complex rules
- Public catalogs - Same prices and availability for all customers
- Fast implementation - Quick setup without custom development
- High traffic sites - Reduced server load requirements
- Global audiences - CDN-delivered content for speed
Server-Side Mode Best For:
- Dynamic pricing - Customer group pricing, volume discounts
- B2B features - Account-specific pricing and catalogs
- Complex inventory - Multi-location, reserved, or allocated stock
- Custom restrictions - Product visibility rules beyond standard Magento
- Advanced integrations - ERP systems, custom pricing engines
Technical Implementation Details
Client-Side Implementation
- PureClarity script loads asynchronously
- Recommendations request product data from PureClarity
- Complete HTML inserted into zone containers
- No Magento processing required
Server-Side Implementation
- Magento processes recommendation requests
- SKUs retrieved from PureClarity
- Product data loaded from Magento database
- Custom templates render final output
- HTML inserted into zone containers
Server-side mode requires additional template development and configuration. See Server-Side Mode Guide for detailed implementation instructions.
Performance Considerations
Client-Side Performance
Advantages:- Faster initial page load - No server-side processing delay
- Cached content - CDN delivery and browser caching
- Parallel loading - Recommendations load independently
- Reduced server load - Offloaded processing
- JavaScript dependency - Requires client-side JavaScript
- Network requests - Additional API calls to PureClarity
- Content delay - Slight delay before recommendations appear
Server-Side Performance
Advantages:- No client dependencies - Works without JavaScript
- SEO friendly - Server-rendered content for crawlers
- Complete control - Full optimization possibilities
- Server processing - Additional load on Magento servers
- Database queries - Extra product data retrieval
- Page load impact - Potential slowdown during processing
- Scaling challenges - Increased resource requirements
SEO and Accessibility
Client-Side SEO
- JavaScript-dependent content may not be indexed
- Asynchronous loading can delay content visibility
- Modern crawlers generally handle JavaScript well
- Fallback content can provide basic SEO value
Server-Side SEO
- Server-rendered content is immediately indexable
- No JavaScript dependency for search engines
- Complete control over meta tags and structured data
- Better accessibility for non-JavaScript environments
For SEO-critical recommendation content, consider server-side mode or implement proper fallback content for client-side implementations.
Migration Between Modes
Client-Side to Server-Side
Migration requirements:- Template development for recommendation rendering
- Custom logic implementation for pricing and rules
- Testing and validation of recommendation accuracy
- Performance optimization for server-side processing
Server-Side to Client-Side
Migration considerations:- Template simplification - Remove server-side logic
- Pricing validation - Ensure client-side pricing is acceptable
- Testing recommendations - Verify recommendation quality
- Performance monitoring - Check for improvement
Configuration Best Practices
Mode Selection Strategy
- Assess requirements - Pricing complexity, customizations needed
- Evaluate technical resources - Development capabilities
- Consider performance - Server load vs. page speed priorities
- Plan for scalability - Future growth and complexity
Implementation Guidelines
- Start simple - Begin with client-side unless requirements dictate otherwise
- Test thoroughly - Validate recommendations in both modes during evaluation
- Monitor performance - Track impact on site speed and server load
- Document decisions - Record reasoning for mode selection
Troubleshooting Mode Issues
Client-Side Troubleshooting
Recommendations not loading:- Check JavaScript console for errors
- Verify PureClarity script loading
- Confirm zone placement HTML
- Test network connectivity to PureClarity
- Clear browser cache
- Check PureClarity admin for campaign changes
- Verify feed data is current
- Test with different browsers
Server-Side Troubleshooting
Slow page loads:- Profile server-side processing time
- Optimize database queries
- Check server resource usage
- Review custom template efficiency
- Verify Magento product data
- Check custom pricing logic
- Test template rendering
- Validate recommendation SKUs
Related Configuration
Zone Implementation
- Adding Zones Using HTML - Direct template integration
- Adding Zones Using Widgets - Widget-based placement
Advanced Features
- Server-Side Mode - Detailed server-side implementation
- Product Attributes - Custom product data
- Category Attributes - Category customizations
Performance Monitoring
- Dashboard Overview - System performance metrics
- Feed Status - Data synchronization monitoring
