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Understanding Optimizely’s LTS vs STS Updates: What’s Right for Your Business?
Apr 23, 2025 • 3 Minute Read • Alain Marsolais, Technical Director
When managing a digital commerce platform, staying current with software updates is essential, but so is ensuring stability and long-term performance. Optimizely Configured Commerce offers two distinct update cadences to help businesses strike the right balance which include long-term support (LTS) and short-term support (STS).
These update options have different frequencies and represent different approaches to risk, innovation, and operational stability. LTS is geared toward organizations prioritizing predictability and low maintenance, while STS appeals to teams eager to take advantage of the latest features and enhancements as soon as they're released. Understanding the differences between these update models is key to choosing the right approach for your organization's digital strategy.
Let’s break down how Optimizely approaches long-term and short-term support, and what it means for your roadmap.
What's Optimizely's Long-Term Support (LTS) Update?
The LTS version is designed for customers in production environments, offering a more stable release cadence. It includes three platform updates per year, generally in January, May, and September.
Each LTS release consolidates all new features introduced in the preceding STS cycles. For instance, the January LTS version incorporates features from the release between September and December. This helps give the LTS stability, because the code in the LTS has been in production with some clients for at least a month.
Additionally, LTS versions support ongoing hotfixes and security patches throughout their lifecycle.
For example, the January LTS version may receive patches in January, February, March, and April, ensuring stability and security. This is important to recognize, we’ll explain more later.
Organizations using the LTS version have the flexibility to transition to the STS cadence if required.
For example, if an organization is on the January LTS version but wishes to adopt new features from the March STS release, an upgrade to STS is possible. However, once on the STS track, reverting to LTS isn’t feasible until the next LTS version that includes at least the current STS version. This restriction ensures compatibility, as the current LTS version may not include newly deployed features.
What's Optimizely’s Short-Term Support (STS) Update?
The STS version is for customers looking for the latest and greatest code that Optimizely has released. It provides monthly updates, which typically releases during the third week of each month, incorporating new features and hotfixes to previous releases. This enables implementation teams and marketing departments to leverage the latest functionalities as soon as they become available.
Comparison: So why wouldn’t everyone just want the latest and greatest?
The answer is stability, and more specifically hotfixes. Yes, we're back to that.
Optimizely’s hotfix policy is to release hotfixes only for the “current releases.” As we’ve described above, there are two and only two current releases—current LTS and current STS.
Here’s a scenario that illustrates the difference:
Imagine it’s March, and you upgraded your site in the January release. Now, you discover a bug that requires a hotfix to Optimizely’s base code.
- If you’re on the LTS release, no problem. You’re still on the current LTS version, and Optimizely will issue a hotfix.
- If you’re on the STS release, you’re no longer on the current STS release. By March, the current STS version is either February or March, depending on where Optimizely is in the release cycle.
To receive the hotfix, you’d have to upgrade to the current STS version (February or March). Optimizely won’t issue a hotfix for an older STS. Alternatively, you’d have to wait for the next LTS release in May. You can’t simply “jump” to the current LTS (January) because it doesn’t include the features from the January STS release you were on.
Conclusion: Stability or Speed?
Choosing between LTS and STS depends on your business needs and implementation strategy.
It’s a technical and strategic decision that comes down to your organization’s priorities. Is long-term stability and minimal disruption valuable, or do you need faster access to the latest features and innovations? There’s no one-size-fits all answer, but understanding the trade-offs is key.
Verndale can help you evaluate your goals, risk tolerance, and deployment strategy to determine the update path that best supports your business.
For more information, Optimizely’s official documentation is available as a resource.
Not sure which update path is right for your team? Let’s connect and map out a strategy tailored to your needs.