Headless Commerce: What Is It And Why Should You Care?

In recent years, there’s been a lot of talk in the eCommerce world about “headless commerce.” But what is headless commerce, exactly? And why should you care? 

Headless commerce is a term you might be hearing more and more as eCommerce continues to grow and change. 

But what is the headless commerce definition, really? In short, headless commerce is a way of decoupling the backend systems of an eCommerce website from the front-end user experience. In other words, it’s a way of separating the “head” (the administrative part of the site where products are managed, etc.) from the “body” (the part of the site that users see and interact with). 

Why would someone want to do this? There are a few reasons. 

• First, it can make it easier to manage a website since the frontend and backend systems are not intertwined. 
• Second, it can make creating a custom user experience easier since you’re not beholden to the limitations of whatever backend system you’re using. 
• Finally, it can make your site more scalable since you can easily add or remove functionality without affecting the rest of the site.

In this blog post, we’ll attempt to answer your most pressing questions about going headless. 

What Is Headless Commerce?

In a traditional eCommerce setup, the site’s front end (what the shopper sees and interacts with) is tightly coupled with the back end (where all the vital data is stored). This can make it challenging to make the frontend- changes without impacting the backend—and vice versa. 

Headless commerce decouples the front end from the back end, allowing them to operate independently of one another. This gives businesses much more flexibility when it comes to making changes to their websites. It also makes it easier to integrate with third-party applications and services. 

Why Should You Care?

If you’re running a traditional eCommerce setup, making minor changes to your website can be a huge undertaking. With headless commerce, on the other hand, making changes is much easier and less time-consuming. This means you can experiment with your website design and functionality without worrying about breaking something on the backend. 

Another significant advantage of headless commerce is that it’s much easier to integrate with third-party applications and services. If you want to add a live chat widget or incorporate customer reviews from another site, you can do so without worrying about compatibility issues. 

The Pros of Headless Commerce 

Headless commerce is not suitable for everyone, but it’s worth considering if you’re looking for ways to improve your eCommerce website. Let’s take a closer look at some pros and cons so you can decide if headless commerce is proper for you. 

• Increased Flexibility: As we mentioned before, one of the main benefits of headless commerce is increased flexibility. This is because you’re not limited by the capabilities of your backend system when designing your site’s front end. For example, if you want to add a new feature or redesign your website, you can do so much more quickly with headless commerce since you’re not reliant on your back end to provide that functionality. 
• Better Performance: Another benefit of headless commerce is improved performance. Decoupling your front end from your back end allows you to take advantage of different technologies. For example, you might use PHP for your rear end but ReactJS for your front end. This means each can be optimized for better performance. 
• Greater Scalability: Finally, headless commerce can be more scalable than traditional eCommerce approaches. This is because adding new functionality or products does not affect the rest of your site the same way with a more conventional system. Headless commerce can help you save time and money in the long run by making it easier to scale your business up or down as needed. 
• Lower TCO: Because you can select only the technologies you genuinely need in an out-of-box fashion, you no longer need to pay for functionalities you don’t need. For example, a high-code frontend solution (like Vue Storefront) can save up to 8 months in development costs. This can equate to almost $500k in savings.

The Cons of Headless Commerce 

• Increased Complexity: One downside of headless commerce is that it can be more complex than traditional eCommerce approaches. This is because there are now two separate systems (the front end and the back end) that need to be integrated and coordinated. This can lead to increased development costs and longer project timelines. 
• Limited Functionality: Another potential downside of headless commerce is that some out-of-the-box functionality might no longer be available. For example, if you’re using a traditional eCommerce platform, certain features might only work if used in conjunction with the platform’s proprietary backend. With headless commerce, however, those features might no longer work since they’re not designed to work with a decoupled front. As such, you might need to either develop custom solutions or do without certain features or select a new provider altogether. 
• Riskier Implementation: Finally, implementing a headless commerce solution can be more complex than a conditional approach. This is because there’s always a chance that something could go wrong when integrating two disparate systems. If not done correctly, this could lead to decreased performance, limited scalability, or even data loss. 

As you can see, there are pros and cons to using headless commerce for your eCommerce business. It’s essential to weigh all factors before deciding if this approach is right for you. If you choose to go ahead with headless commerce, be sure to partner with an experienced development team with extensive experience with this approach. Doing so will help minimize risks and ensure a successful implementation.

Conclusion 

Headless commerce offers a lot of advantages for eCommerce businesses. It allows for greater flexibility, scalability, and personalization—all of which are essential for any business that wants to compete in today’s market. It might be time to consider switching if you’re currently running a traditional eCommerce setup. Doing so could save you time and headaches in the long run.