Headless commerce separates the front-end presentation layer from the back-end ecommerce functionality, allowing greater flexibility and customisation.

Traditional vs Headless

View Comparison

Traditional: Front-end and back-end tightly coupled. Easier to manage but less flexible. Template-based design.
Headless: Front-end completely separate. Custom-built experiences. API-driven. More development required.

Benefits of Headless

  • Complete design freedom
  • Faster page load speeds
  • Easier multi-channel selling
  • Better developer experience
  • Future-proof architecture

Drawbacks of Headless

  • Higher development costs
  • Requires technical team
  • More complex to maintain
  • Longer time to launch

When Headless Makes Sense

Consider headless if you need highly custom experiences, have development resources, sell across many channels, or have outgrown template limitations. Most businesses do not need headless.

Headless Options

Shopify Hydrogen, Commercetools, BigCommerce headless, and custom solutions. We typically recommend optimising traditional Shopify first before considering headless.