Headless or not?

When should you actually invest in headless commerce?

Headless is one of those buzzwords that pops up in almost every e-commerce strategy these days. “Headless is the future,” “Go headless, or fall behind!”

But is it really the right path for everyone?

The short answer is no. The longer answer? Keep reading!

What is headless commerce, really?

In traditional e-commerce, the front end (what the customer sees) and the back end (where all the logic, content, payment, and inventory data reside) are combined in a single system. In a headless setup, the two are separated. Instead, they communicate with each other via APIs.

This is what you get:

• No limitations when building the frontend (what the visitor sees and interacts with)

• Possibility to connect multiple types of interfaces to the same backend (web, app, smart watch, screens in store)

• Faster launches of new interface versions without touching the logic in the backend.

It's like having a store where you can change the front window whenever, wherever.

When should you consider a headless solution?

Headless is not for everyone, but for some businesses, it is a trrue gamechanger. These are some scenarios for you to consider when looking into a switch and if it is worth the time and money:

1: You have high standards for design and front-end performance

Do you want to create a super fast, responsive and visually unique experience that stands out from the crowd which can't be delivered by the templates in Shopify etc? Then, headless might be the key.

2: You exist on different platforms

... and more is on its way. Do you run an e-commerce, an app, physical stores and maybe even an embedded store on partner platforms? In that case, a unified backend will save time.

3: You want to be quick to join new inventions

Do you want to be able to do experiments with new techniques, test PWA (progressive web apps), launch landing pages quickly and all that without a backend breaking down? In these cases, headless gives you a tremendous amount of flexibility.

4: You got big tech team or external tech partners

Headless is not possible without developers. This is no plug-and-play-solution. But if you got the right team (or an external partner), this might be the new way of running the business.

When headless is not the way to go (at least for now)

Headless might sound like a cool thing, but it isn't for everyone and it's certainly not for free to implement.

These are some signs on that headless might not be the solution for you right now:

1: Your budget or calendar is limited

Headless means more integrations, more decisions, more technical dependencies. This is a construction, not a click. You need time, a load of cash and most of all internal resources for it to be possible and solid.

2: Your product portfolio is quite simple and your current setup works fine

If your current setup is running smoothly and most importantly, your customers are happy, why change it? If your product is of a more simple nature with no need of advanced tools to present it, then headless might not be worth the investment at this moment.

3:Your business is very young

When you are still working on finding a fit between product and market, or when you are in the midst of building a completely new customer base, it is usually more important to focus on marketing, customer journeys, and content, rather than system architecture.

A very simple rule of thought

Go headless when your needs can't be satisfied with a traditional CMS, not just because it's trendy.

When headless reaches its full potential

1: A global brand with local variants in different countries:

➡️ Headless makes it really easy to manage different languages, currencies and product range with centralized control.

2: An e-commerce integrated with a content driven brand

➡️ You are able to combine e-commerce with a powerful CMS tool (like Contentful or Sanity) to achieve inspiring storytelling.

3: A supplier with complex price models and B2B-channels

➡️ Easier to customize logics, integrations and UI for different customer segments.

What's the price tag?

Headless usually entails:

• A steep cost of development, initially

• Recurring costs for operation, maintenance, and API traffic

• More complex costs regarding staff/developers and external partners

It is, with that said, important to do the math on ROI and not to join the headless frenzy just because everyone else does it.

Something in between?

If you are curious about headless but isn't ready to invest in it fully just yet, then you might be interested in a solution somewhere in the middle of headless and non headless. Composable commerce, where you create different modules that can be replaced over time, makes it possible to begin with a light version of headless and grow into it.

This is an example on how to do it

1. Use Shopify as backend

2. Connect it to a custom frontend built in Next.js

3. Add CMS for content

... and continue building it from there.

Summary

Headless commerce is best suited for e-retailers with high demands on flexibility, speed, and customized design, especially if you work with multiple channels. Headless commerce places higher demands on resources and technical expertise, which can often be an unnecessary challenge for smaller companies where the focus should instead be on building customer relationships. The most important thing is not to be first, but to choose what actually solves your problems.