Headless ecommerce, like many emergent technologies over the last few years, has still not gone entirely mainstream. It’s not universally on the tip of the tongues of even the most experienced ecommerce directors and managers, although there are plenty of examples to be seen online.
And with headless ecommerce, like a religion that many proselytise with the zeal of the newly converted, there are a range of approaches that operate like sects within this very broad church.
What is headless ecommerce?
So, let’s start at the beginning. What is headless ecommerce anyway? A headless ecommerce solution essentially decouples the front-end user interface, or “presentation layer” of an ecommerce site from the back-end gritty ecommerce functionality, offering flexibility and innovation potential. Essentially, you’re splitting your site down the middle. On the one hand, this offers huge potential wins in addressing these two elements separately. On the other, it also comes with some real challenges.
Headless ecommerce platforms
Also, what type of headless approach will you adopt? The more relaxed proponents (like headless Anglicans) would be happy to use an established ecommerce platform like Magento/Adobe Commerce, BigCommerce or Shopify as the back end (all support headless integration) supplying all that rich ecommerce functionality you get out of the box with a custom front end.
However, the Ultras would call this heretical and insist a true decoupled solution can only be made out of composable tools using best of breed products for the back end such as Medusa.JS and incorporating different tooling for order management, catalogue, payment and so on. In fact, they won’t even call this headless and refer to it as ‘Composable Commerce’. A discussion for another day… Instead, let’s take a look at its advantages and disadvantages.
The benefits of headless ecommerce
- A Flexible Architecture. Standard (or, to use the pejorative “monolithic” used by those who are wholly converted to the headless paradigm) ecommerce sites have their front and back end intrinsically linked and effectively tied to templates. When separated, it allows businesses to create unique, customised digital experiences. advanced personalisation for customers across devices and channels, enhancing engagement leading to increased conversion rates. Ecommerce professionals can experiment with creative designs and user journeys without being limited by backend constraints.
- Omnichannel Capability. Based upon a single backend, businesses can deliver consistent shopping experiences across multiple touchpoints, such as websites, mobile apps, smart devices (like your TV), and even voice assistants. This centralisation ensures seamless integration and data synchronisation.
- Improved Performance. A decoupled architecture can lead to faster load times (by using a lightweight front end using JavaScript (improving load times which Google really likes) and smoother user experiences, akin to Progressive Web Applications (PWAs). These benefits contribute to an enhanced User Experience (UX) and better search engine optimisation.
- Scalability and Agility. Headless solutions enable businesses to scale their front-end and back-end systems independently. In ongoing development terms, this supports concurrent development, speeding up changes. It also makes it easier to accommodate traffic surges or introduce new sales channel
- Freedom. Online companies can choose the technologies that best suit their needs for the front-end and back-end, avoiding vendor lock-in and leveraging modern development frameworks.
Right. Those are the headless ecommerce benefits and they are extremely impressive benefits at that, let there be no doubt. Many of these points represent an ecommerce Holy Grail and something sought after by every online business’s Knight-errant. Or Ecommerce Manager as they like to be called. But is there a downside? Of course there is. Few things are that pure and simple:
The cons
- High Costs. Boy, building one of these headless ecommerce solutions can be pricey. The implementation and maintenance of headless ecommerce systems are expensive. Development costs will be at least 6 figures with ongoing expenses for an ecommerce platform and/or tools to augment the solution
- Technical Complexity. Headless builds are complicated. They require significant expertise and skill sets. Development teams need to manage APIs, front-end frameworks, and back-end systems that dwarf what is required but standard (or “monolithic” ecommerce platforms
- Longer Build Times. If headless solutions cost more and are extremely complex then, guess what? They take longer to build. Whilst once in place they can be quicker (if not cheaper) to apply change, any initial build is going to be a time-consuming process, especially when APIs are being put in place. Few but the simplest ecommerce sites are quick, but with headless…? Just make sure you understand the implications on your timelines
- Team Training and Learning Curve. Transitioning to a headless setup involves training teams on new workflows, especially when managing separate systems for content, products, and customer interactions. This adjustment period can slow operations, and this is an overhead on any busy ecommerce outfit
- Lack of Unified Support. In traditional platforms, one vendor often provides comprehensive support for all components. In a headless setup, different parts of the stack (front end, back end, APIs) might be managed by separate vendors or teams, complicating troubleshooting and potentially leading to finger pointing among those providing the solution. This is particularly compounded when running an orthodox ‘Composable Commerce’ solution
There endeth the lesson. As an agnostic, those are some of the pros and cons I’ve identified, but there are plenty more. As experts in headless commerce development, we’d be happy to talk through our experience and guide you on your ecommerce crusade.