Ecommerce
What is headless commerce and when does it make sense?
Headless commerce decouples the front-end presentation layer from the back-end commerce engine (catalog, cart, checkout, orders), connecting them through APIs. This lets you build custom storefronts with modern frameworks (Next.js, Remix) while using a commerce platform (Shopify Hydrogen, commercetools, Medusa) for business logic. It makes sense when you need a custom UX that your platform's templates can't deliver or when selling across multiple channels from one back end.
Key Considerations
- Headless adds significant development cost and complexity — only justified when template-based platforms genuinely limit your business
- Shopify Hydrogen + Oxygen gives you headless with Shopify's ecosystem, reducing the "build everything yourself" burden
- You lose built-in theme ecosystems and app integrations — every storefront feature requires custom development
- Performance is the main win: purpose-built front ends on edge networks consistently outperform monolithic platform storefronts
- Evaluate total cost of ownership over 3 years including development team, hosting, and maintenance — not just platform fees