Significance of Software TenancyLightspeed Retail operates on an architectural principle known as MultiTenancy. Instead of each customer having their own instance of the software (which is the case for OnSite), a single instance of the software runs on a server that each customer (tenant) accesses. Each customer has their own database of information which allows for everyone to use the same software instance but only manipulate their individual data.

Web Store is offered in both multi-tenant and single tenant environments. The environment that Web Store is in will affect the level of customization you wish to apply with your theme and how how portable it can be.

There are 3 different environments:

• Lightspeed Retail (Multi-tenant)
• Lightspeed OnSite (Single tenant)
• Lightspeed OnSite (Self hosted)

If your theme uses functionality that requires custom controllers (and/or models) to be created, then your client base will be limited to OnSite stores, as only these stores have access to core Web Store folders and files where controllers and models reside.

If your theme customizations can be achieved solely using CSS overrides to achieve its look and feel then your theme can be used in any environment. This is the recommended route for theme development since the risk of requiring theme changes after a Web Store update is much lower.