Headless Commerce - A Guide to Decoupled E-Commerce

Last updated: November 20, 2024

There's a common misconception that migrating to headless commerce is a slow, complex process. In reality, it's quite the opposite. By decoupling the frontend from the backend, headless architecture allows for parallel development workflows. Frontend devs can iterate quickly on the UI/UX without being bottlenecked by backend processes, potentially accelerating your launch timeline.

At its core, headless commerce is about separation of concerns. It splits your e-commerce stack into two main parts: a headless CMS or frontend framework for content and UI, and a separate backend for business logic and data management. This architectural shift moves away from monolithic, all-in-one platforms towards a more flexible, API-driven approach.

In this guide, we'll dive into the technical details of headless commerce:

Architectural comparisons: Monolithic vs. Headless vs. Composable commerce
Technical benefits and potential pitfalls
Popular headless commerce platforms and their tech stacks
Step-by-step migration strategies: from monolith to headless

Let's cut through the hype and get into the technical details of headless commerce.

What is headless commerce?

In essence, headless commerce is about decoupling your frontend from your backend. It's like splitting your monolithic e-commerce app into two separate services:

Frontend: Your presentation layer (React, Vue, Next.js, etc.)
Backend: Your business logic and data (product catalog, inventory, orders)

These two communicate via APIs, typically RESTful or GraphQL.

Why bother? A few reasons:

Frontend devs can iterate quickly without touching backend code
Backend team can scale and optimize core services independently
You're not locked into a specific tech stack for either end

It's not all roses though. You'll need to handle:

API design and management
Potentially more complex deployments
Syncing data across services

Stripe is a great example of this architecture in action. Instead of building payment processing from scratch, you just integrate their API. Your frontend makes calls to Stripe's backend, handling complex payment logic without cluttering your codebase.

// Example: Using Stripe API in your frontend
const stripe = Stripe('your_publishable_key');
stripe.createPaymentMethod({
  type: 'card',
  card: elements.getElement('card'),
}).then(function(result) {
  // Handle result.paymentMethod or result.error
});

Headless commerce vs. traditional e-commerce

Traditional e-commerce platforms were a straitjacket for developers. You'd inherit their entire tech stack, frontend to backend. Want to use your favorite JS framework? Tough luck. Need custom checkout logic? Prepare for a headache.

Headless commerce flips this on its head. It's all about decoupling:

Frontend: Build with whatever tools you love. React, Vue, Svelte - it's your call. Backend: Pick a solid e-commerce engine that handles the heavy lifting. Middle: APIs are your new best friend. REST, GraphQL - dealer's choice.

This separation isn't just architectural eye candy. It has real benefits:

Performance: Optimize your frontend without backend constraints. SSR, code-splitting, the works.
Flexibility: Swap out components without a full rebuild. New payment provider? Just update the API calls.
Scalability: Frontend and backend can scale independently. Black Friday traffic? No sweat.

But heads up - it's not all smooth sailing. You'll be juggling more services, managing API contracts, and potentially dealing with data sync issues. It's powerful, but it's also more complex.

Bottom line: Headless commerce gives you the freedom to build exactly what you need, how you need it. It's more work upfront, but for most devs, the payoff in flexibility and control is worth it.

Traditional e-commerce website	Headless commerce website
Monolithic e-commerce platforms have slower performance than headless sites that decouple the two layers due to their code dependencies.	Headless commerce enables faster and more agile frontends using best-of-breed solutions independent of the backend stack. They use a single-page application or progressive web app that provides instant browsing speeds.
E-commerce sites are forced to use frontend tools of a monolithic platform that have limited control over design and functionality.	Full customization of design and functionality, though it requires developer expertise.
Proprietary frontends are locked to their platform, restricting flexibility even if they offer API-first frontends.	Frontend that is portable across backends, providing flexibility to replatform in the future.
Support for new endpoints or devices requires custom development, unlike headless systems.	Easily supports new channels and endpoints like mobile devices.
Overall, the development team has limited control over the site compared to the flexibility of headless systems.	Full control over all aspects of the website.

Headless commerce vs. composable commerce

Headless commerce is the first step: it decouples your frontend from your backend, connected via APIs. Composable commerce takes this further, breaking down the backend itself into microservices. With headless, you're free to swap out your entire frontend; with composable, you can mix and match individual backend services (payment, inventory, etc.) as needed. Think of headless as splitting your monolith in two, while composable turns it into a full microservices architecture.

Tip: Dive deeper into composable DXP.

What is composable commerce?

Composable commerce is headless commerce on steroids. While headless separates frontend from backend, composable breaks down the backend itself into microservices.

Instead of just swapping out your frontend (like using React with Shopify's backend), composable lets you mix and match backend services too. Want Algolia for search, Builder.io for CMS, and Stripe for payments? Go for it.

Each service exposes its functionality via APIs, creating a LEGO-like architecture. You're not locked into one vendor's ecosystem; you can cherry-pick the best tools for each job.

The trade-off? More flexibility and scalability, but also more complexity in managing multiple services and APIs. It's like going from a monolith to a distributed system - powerful, but requires solid DevOps chops to wrangle effectively.

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Benefits of headless commerce

Performance Boost: Leverage modern JS frameworks to build blazing-fast frontends. Say goodbye to template-induced bloat.
Agile Development: Microservices architecture means you can iterate faster. No more waiting for the entire stack to deploy.
Cleaner Code Structure: Separation of concerns on steroids. Frontend and backend teams can work independently without stepping on each other's toes.
Developer Freedom: Choose your own adventure. Want to use React, Vue, or the next hot framework? Go for it.
Scalability: Backend as a service means you can focus on building features, not managing infrastructure. Scale becomes someone else's problem.
API-First: Design your system around clean APIs. This forces good architecture and makes future integrations a breeze.
Frontend Flexibility: As the frontend landscape evolves, you can adapt without touching your core business logic.

Bonus: All this tech goodness translates to better UX, which makes the business folks happy with higher conversion rates. Win-win.

Headless commerce platforms

When selecting a headless commerce platform, start by examining the strengths and limitations of leading options to assess fit. The platform can significantly influence headless implementation, so evaluate vendors based on your specific needs and priorities.

Understanding the benefits and drawbacks of headless commerce systems is crucial, as they can offer powerful APIs to create ecommerce experiences but may require custom code and developer involvement.

Shopify: known as the most popular monolithic, all-in-one SaaS commerce platform. However, Shopify also lets teams use its commerce platform in a headless manner. Where data such as product details, images, inventory, and pricing can be delivered by APIs. Teams that start with a Shopify storefront often use Shopify “headlessly” before they decide to either go fully composable or with a dedicated headless-only commerce platform. With Shopify Hydrogen, they bridge the gap between the React ecosystem and Shopify to build blazing-fast storefronts optimized for e-commerce.

BigCommerce: an API-first solution that can be seamlessly integrated into wider tech stacks and partnerships. Robust headless options for platform flexibility and extensibility. It can handle certain complexities or use cases that Shopify cannot and is a best-in-class B2B solution.

Salesforce Commerce Cloud: a leading enterprise e-commerce solution with a robust feature set to support complex, enterprise-grade scenarios such as multi-storefront, advanced discounting, and onsite merchandising. It requires technical depth, either by staffing, partnerships with tech companies, or a capable agency partner.

commercetools: focuses on enterprise-scale, customized commerce needs where flexibility and API-based integrations are a priority. It’s API-first, cloud-native, and built using microservices architecture, allowing high scalability and flexibility. For more information, visit our commercetools hub.

Kibo: focuses on creating the most intuitive composable digital commerce platform supporting experiences that span order management, e-commerce, and subscriptions. For more information, visit our Kibo integration page.

Commerce Layer: provides a robust transactional API that enables multi-market e-commerce, global scalability, and front-end flexibility. The API handles all transaction processing during order lifecycles and payment status changes. For more information, visit our Commerce Layer hub.

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See Integrations for additional headless platforms: VTEX, Bizzkit, Elastic Path, and more.

Why go headless with headless commerce architecture?

Headless commerce significantly improves e-commerce development. By decoupling the frontend and backend, developers can optimize each layer independently. This separation leads to better performance - achieving sub-second load times that directly impact conversion rates. With every 100ms delay potentially costing 1% in conversions, performance becomes crucial.

The API-first approach enhances integration capabilities. Developers can easily incorporate best-of-breed services for search, personalization, or inventory management without overhauling the entire system. This flexibility is valuable for implementing microservices architectures or scaling components independently.

For high-volume e-commerce sites, the performance gains often outweigh the implementation costs. Headless commerce provides the tools to build not just visually appealing storefronts, but robust, high-performance architectures capable of handling significant load. It enables the creation of systems that are fast, scalable, and maintainable - addressing key challenges in modern e-commerce development.

Where to start with headless commerce?

There are two primary strategies for transitioning to headless commerce: full replatforming or gradual migration. Here are some tips for a phased approach.

Take an incremental approach to headless migration

Don't do a full rewrite. Follow an incremental migration approach, focusing on high-value pages first. This lowers barriers to entry and gets results faster.

Validate ROI through testing

Test and prove ROI. Make pages headless one at a time and compare performance. Use data to justify further migration.

Reuse content across headless and legacy sites

Create and iterate reusable content. Content management should output both headless data and code for legacy pages during the transition.

Select a platform to support incremental adoption from hosted to headless

Choose a platform that supports incremental adoption. Search for the flexibility to use headless and legacy together, like A/B testing features.

Maintain architectural flexibility

Choose a platform that's language and framework-agnostic to maintain flexibility. This approach lets you use current tech like Next.js or Svelte and easily adopt new tools as they emerge. Look for solutions with API-first design to support multiple frontends (web, mobile, IoT), robust scalability to handle traffic spikes across devices, and strong extensibility for integrating third-party services. The goal is to build an adaptable architecture that can evolve with the tech landscape without requiring frequent overhauls.

Headless commerce use cases

Headless commerce allows brands to choose the ecommerce platform that works best as the engine for their online store while also working with the frontend of their choice, be it a CMS, a DXP, a PWA or a custom solution.

Below are examples of amazing brands that moved faster with Builder.io, adopting a headless content management system to improve e-commerce functionality.

Fabletics

By migrating to a modular, component-based, multi-brand e-commerce storefront, TechStyle Fashion Group improved marketing workflow efficiency by 75% across its brand sites like Fabletics.

Everlane

With Builder.io, Everlane accelerated workflows to ship new products 4x faster and reduced site update times by 90%, enabling faster delivery of modern e-commerce experiences.

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Builder.io Visual Development Platform

At Builder.io, we offer a powerful combination of user-friendly visual tools, collaboration-friendly features, and efficient publishing capabilities. We have a Google Chrome extension to quickly help you edit content within the web browser and Visual Copilot that converts Figma designs into clean code. You can incrementally adopt our Visual CMS or rebuild your frontend from scratch using any tech stack.

Talk to our team