What Is Headless Architecture? The Benefits of Headless Commerce Solutions

What Is Headless eCommerce?

Headless eCommerce solutions provide a powerful way for an enterprise—or even a fast-growing small business—to provide flexibility for developers. Using such a platform allows businesses to change customer-facing front-end applications without needing to worry about the integrity of the back-end platform itself. Headless commerce vs traditional platform options make up and important step of moving forward.

Customize the Way You See Fit

The concept behind headless architecture is quite simple: it separates logic and function. In a mechanical analogy, it's something like providing a car with an engine and a chassis, without anything else. The car is fully customizable beyond this point, and you can choose the arrangement of seats, upholstery, wheels, sunroof, and even what the car looks like on the outside.

How Headless Works

The best headless eCommerce solutions provide the same freedom of choice, customization, and tailoring, allowing you to choose any kind of user interface. You start with a functional framework (like the chassis and engine, just the basic components needed for a working vehicle) and then the traditional eCommerce APIs on top for aspects of your business such as eCommerce, website, progressive web app, chat programs, etc.

Headless commerce solutions offer the robust and advanced capabilities of eCommerce without limiting the options for the consumer. The best headless solutions well for a variety of needs, and headless eCommerce APIs can be added to match both online and brick-and-mortar venues. New options can be added or removed as needed, including:

• Multiple eCommerce sites: With headless commerce architecture, each site—including the user interface—can be altered without consideration of the headless platform.
• Mobile devices and tablets: Headless solutions let you easily add support for custom mobile apps.
• Omnichannel sales opportunities: With headless commerce architecture, you can customize sales channels without worrying about altering the back-end.
• In-store sales and point-of-sale system: Headless commerce lets you easily add in-person headless checkout options.

The entire system enables customers and staff to interact with custom front-end capabilities on the same headless eCommerce solution. This is an immensely powerful solution when you want to expand your eCommerce channels.

Headless-based architecture can be incorporated with most modern headless CRM (customer relationship management) and CMS (content management system), so if you're interested in headless BigCommerce, headless WordPress, or headless Shopify options, keep reading.

The Benefits of Headless Architecture

A headless eCommerce platform has many advantages that eCommerce SaaS and off-the-shelf solutions lack. Here are the most common benefits of headless that growing companies and enterprise businesses are seeing.

Speed

The speed at which changes can be made is a huge advantage when moving to this type of architecture. Because front-end developers don't need to worry about the architecture of the back end, they don't have to wait for permission to change front-end applications for eCommerce sites, mobile apps, carts, user dashboards, etc. Being able to move independently can help the front end stay at the cutting edge of design and UX/UI.

Ease of Integration

When you're using the best headless software architecture, you have complete control over what the front end will look like. Most eCommerce platforms—including some decoupled eCommerce platforms—are limited when it comes to front-end customization. Making changes to these “locked” front-end tools (I.e., CRM and CMS) can be labor-intensive and lead to messy workarounds that headless integration can avoid.

Improved Scalability

One of the primary benefits of a headless commerce system is improved scalability. Because the front-end and back-end are decoupled, it's easier to scale up or down specific components of the website or app as needed.

For example, if traffic to the website is spiking during a sale or promotion, the back-end infrastructure can be scaled up to handle the increased traffic, without affecting the front-end presentation layer. This results in a faster and more responsive user experience, which is crucial for keeping customers engaged and driving conversions.

Faster Websites

Another benefit of headless is faster websites. With a decoupled architecture, the front-end presentation layer can be optimized for speed and performance, without being slowed down by the back-end logic and data management. This is especially important for mobile users, who expect fast load times and smooth navigation.

According to Google, 53% of mobile users will abandon a website if it takes more than three seconds to load. By optimizing the front-end presentation layer for speed and performance, businesses can keep customers engaged and reduce bounce rates.

More Effective Marketing

Headless solutions also offer benefits for marketing. Because the front-end presentation layer is separate from the back-end logic and data management, it's easier to integrate with third-party marketing tools and platforms.

This allows businesses to more effectively track customer behavior and engagement across different channels, such as social media, email, and mobile. With a unified view of customer data, businesses can create more targeted and personalized marketing campaigns, which can drive higher engagement and conversions.

Increased Conversion Rates

Another benefit of headless commerce is increased conversion rates. By optimizing the front-end presentation layer for speed, performance, and usability, businesses can create a more engaging and intuitive user experience. This is especially important for mobile users, who are increasingly using their devices for online shopping in your eCommerce store.

According to a survey by Think with Google, 40% of smartphone users will leave a website if it takes too long to load, and 61% will leave if they can't find what they're looking for. By creating a fast and user-friendly front-end experience, businesses can reduce bounce rates and drive higher conversion rates.

Implement Omnichannel

Headless  also makes it easier to implement an omnichannel strategy. With a decoupled architecture, businesses can create custom front-end experiences for different devices and channels, while still maintaining the same back-end data and functionality. This allows businesses to provide a consistent and seamless customer experience across different touchpoints, such as mobile, desktop, social media, and in-store.

By providing a unified view of customer data and behavior, businesses can also create more targeted and personalized experiences, which can drive higher engagement and conversions.

Easier on Developers

Finally, headless is easier on developers. With a decoupled architecture, developers have more flexibility to create custom front-end experiences and optimize for different devices and channels, without being restricted by the limitations of a pre-built theme or platform. This allows for a more agile and scalable eCommerce solution, as well as faster time-to-market for new features and improvements.

Because the front-end and back-end are separated, changes to one component will not affect the other, which makes testing and development easier and more efficient.

The Challenges of Headless eCommerce

While headless eCommerce offers a range of benefits, it also comes with its own set of challenges that businesses should be aware of. Here are some of the key challenges associated with headless software architecture:

Technical Complexity

One of the biggest challenges with headless eCommerce is the technical complexity involved. Because the front-end presentation layer is decoupled from the back-end logic and data management, developers need to have a deep understanding of both front-end and back-end technologies in order to build and maintain a headless eCommerce solution. This can be a significant challenge for businesses that don't have in-house technical expertise or resources.

Integration Issues

Another challenge with headless eCommerce is integration issues. Because the front-end presentation layer is separate from the back-end logic and data management, integrating different components and third-party tools can be more difficult than with a normal online store platform. This can result in longer development times and higher costs for businesses.

Lack of Out-of-the-Box Functionality

Headless commerce solutions typically don't offer the same level of out-of-the-box functionality as normal eCommerce platforms. This means that businesses may need to build custom solutions for features like product recommendations, search functionality, and payment processing. While this can provide greater flexibility and customization, it can also be more time-consuming and expensive for businesses.

Higher Costs

Finally, headless eCommerce can be more expensive than traditional eCommerce platforms. Because the development and maintenance requirements are more complex, businesses may need to invest more in technical resources and expertise to build and maintain a headless eCommerce solution. Additionally, because a headless solution typically doesn't offer as much out-of-the-box functionality, businesses may need to spend more on custom development to achieve the same level of functionality as a traditional commerce engine.

How Headless Commerce Supports Omnichannel Retail

Headless commerce supports omnichannel retail by allowing businesses to create custom front-end experiences for different channels and devices, while still maintaining a unified back-end system for managing data and functionality. This means that businesses can provide a consistent and seamless experience for customers across different touchpoints, such as mobile, desktop, social media, and in-store.

Adaptability

With headless architecture eCommerce, businesses can easily create custom front-end experiences that are optimized for specific channels and devices. For example, a mobile app may require a different user interface than a desktop website, and a social media eCommerce store may require a different layout and product display than an in-store kiosk.

By using a headless platform, businesses can create these custom experiences without having to compromise on the underlying data and functionality.

Customer Behavior Tracking

In addition to creating custom experiences for different channels and devices, headless commerce also allows businesses to track customer behavior and engagement across different touchpoints. This provides a unified view of customer data, which can be used to create more targeted and personalized experiences for customers.

For example, if a customer adds an item to their cart on a mobile app, but abandons the cart before completing the purchase, the business can use this data to retarget the customer with a personalized email or social media ad, encouraging them to complete the purchase.

Integration

Another way that headless commerce supports omnichannel retail is by enabling businesses to easily integrate with third-party tools and platforms. This allows businesses to more effectively track customer behavior and engagement across different channels, and to create more targeted and personalized experiences.

A business may use a third-party email marketing platform to send personalized product recommendations to customers based on their browsing and purchase history. With a headless platform, it's easy to integrate these third-party tools and platforms, and to use them to enhance the overall omnichannel experience for customers.

Manage from a Single Platform

Finally, headless commerce supports omnichannel retail by allowing businesses to easily manage their back-end data and functionality across different channels and devices. This means that businesses can maintain a consistent inventory, pricing, and product catalog across all touchpoints, without having to manually update each channel separately. For example, if a product goes out of stock, the business can update the inventory in its back-end system, and this information will be automatically updated across all channels and devices.

Headless CRM and CMS Solutions

Employing headless commerce architecture is an excellent way to make your front-end and back-end capabilities more flexible. Clarity Ventures can show you how to make your platform more efficient.

• One-way updates: Communication tends to be one-way when it comes to headless eCommerce systems. This is beneficial because global changes made on the back end can be pushed to all front-end APIs. It's also advantageous because front-end developers across all headless eCommerce APIs don't have to worry about butting heads with back-end code on the platform itself.
• Flexibility: Because the front-end and the back-end are decoupled from each other, it's much easier to switch APIs in and out as a business grows. Instead of starting from scratch with a completely new eCommerce platform (or spending the time and money to integrate old information to the new platform), the headless eCommerce platform can retain back-end information while front-end APIs are changed.
• Omnichannel: Starting with a solid eCommerce “chassis” can support diverse headless eCommerce APIs. While the front-end customer interaction might be very different—multiple sites, multiple physical locations, multiple payment methods—these channels can all be controlled by, and feed back into, the headless platform.

Completely Scalable and Versatile

Another significant aspect is the ability to start out with something relatively simple that can be fully scaled or leveraged to an omnichannel capability. This is especially useful in instances of multiple branding requirements or different mediums and brands that need to consume the same set of functionalities.

In that case, the functionality and data have to be consistent across different devices and mediums (like a website, a point-of-sale system, or a mobile app). The best headless business platforms efficiently enable this harmony while eliminating the need to build a very expensive and custom system.

Another kind of common use case for headless commerce architecture is when a business already has the essentials: a really nice site, a well-branded offering, a high conversion rate, an optimized and/or fully customized eCommerce website, mobile, and possibly a point-of-sale system. Since these can't stand alone, all of them can be brought together with a robust eCommerce solution that can effectively eliminate the need to change the established basics of the site or mobile device.

Instead, it would seamlessly interact within that already existing application by using the APIs. Just think back to the car example: the custom parts you already have can be placed on a fresh chassis.

What's really advantageous about a headless CRM eCommerce program is that a headless developer can surgically insert very robust functionality into already existing designs and user experiences with APIs. For example, let’s assume a site already has products and catalogs but not the ability to actually purchase those products. That ability can easily be added thanks to headless commerce solutions, along with a checkout and a user dashboard associated with those products and orders.

A headless eCommerce platform is a great scenario to leverage in order to spin up and incorporate a robust eCommerce offering while reducing the overhead. It’s a much more adaptable option compared to a monolithic or typical eCommerce offering, where you not only have the eCommerce functionality that's built out, but also the content management system (CMS) with all of the branding, styling, and design. Headless CMS eCommerce becomes an obvious solution.

One of the key prerequisites for headless platforms is to possess the required offerings within the APIs, along with detailed steps and instructions on how to deploy the headless architecture functionality. In addition, it would ideally provide support and resources to actually complete the deployment or provide a concierge and white-glove deployment of those offerings as needed.

Change One Thing (Without the Worry of Changing Everything)

What's really advantageous about a headless CRM eCommerce program is that a headless developer can surgically insert very robust functionality into already existing designs and user experiences with APIs. For example, let's assume a site already has products and catalogs but not the ability to actually purchase those products. That ability can easily be added thanks to headless commerce solutions, along with a checkout and a user dashboard associated with those products and orders.

A headless eCommerce platform is a great scenario to leverage in order to spin up and incorporate a robust eCommerce offering while reducing the overhead. It's a much more adaptable option compared to a monolithic or typical eCommerce offering, where you not only have the eCommerce functionality that's built out, but also the content management system (CMS) with all of the branding, styling, and design. Headless CMS eCommerce becomes an obvious solution.

One of the key prerequisites for a robust headless eCommerce system is to possess the required offerings within the APIs, along with detailed steps and instructions on how to deploy the headless commerce architecture functionality. In addition, it would ideally provide support and resources to actually complete the deployment or provide a concierge and white-glove deployment of those offerings as needed.

What Should You Look for in a Headless Commerce Platform?

Headless commerce is an increasingly popular approach to eCommerce that offers businesses greater flexibility and customization in creating unique front-end experiences. With a decoupled architecture, businesses can create custom front-end experiences for different channels and devices, while still maintaining the same back-end data and functionality.

However, not all headless commerce platforms are created equal. Here are some of the key factors to consider when choosing a headless platform for your business:

• Flexibility and Customization: One of the primary benefits of headless commerce is greater flexibility and customization in creating unique front-end experiences. When choosing a headless commerce platform, it's important to look for a solution that provides a wide range of customization options, including the ability to create custom templates, themes, and layouts. Additionally, the platform should offer flexible APIs and headless integration, so that developers can easily connect with third-party tools and services.
• Scalability: Another key factor to consider when choosing a headless commerce platform is scalability. As your business grows and your traffic and sales volumes increase, you'll need a platform that can handle the increased demand. Look for a platform that offers robust scalability options, including the ability to scale horizontally or vertically, depending on your specific needs.
• Performance: Performance is another critical factor to consider when choosing a headless commerce platform. With a decoupled architecture, the front-end presentation layer can be optimized for speed and performance, without being slowed down by the back-end logic and data management. Look for a platform that offers fast load times and smooth navigation, particularly for mobile users, who expect fast load times and seamless navigation.
• Ease of Use: While headless commerce platforms offer greater flexibility and customization, they can also be more complex and difficult to use than regular eCommerce platforms. Look for a platform that offers a user-friendly interface and intuitive navigation, so that non-technical users can easily manage and update the front-end presentation layer. Additionally, the platform should offer comprehensive documentation and support resources, so that developers can quickly troubleshoot any issues that arise.
• Integration Capabilities: Integration capabilities are another critical factor to consider when choosing a headless commerce platform. Because the front-end presentation layer is separate from the back-end logic and data management, integrating different components and third-party tools can be more difficult than with a traditional eCommerce platform. Look for a platform that offers comprehensive integration options, including easy integration with third-party marketing, analytics, mobile apps, and payment processing tools.
• Security: Security is another important consideration when choosing a headless commerce platform. Because sensitive customer and financial data is being transmitted between the front-end presentation layer and the back-end logic and data management, it's essential that the platform offers robust security features, including encryption, secure authentication, and regular security audits and updates.
• Cost: Finally, cost is an important consideration when choosing a headless commerce platform. While headless commerce platforms can be more expensive than normal eCommerce platforms, they offer greater flexibility and customization. Look for a platform that offers transparent pricing, so that you can accurately estimate the costs involved in building and maintaining a headless commerce solution. Additionally, consider the costs of additional development and customization, as well as any ongoing maintenance and support fees.

Headless eCommerce Selection Criteria

When you're reviewing a headless eCommerce system, we recommend that you're not only looking at the physical capability. In other words, not just the interaction with your existing systems in a seamless way or the surgical insertion of the robust functionality into already—or mostly—completed different properties and digital mediums.

Consider the ability to leverage that continuously improving and robust functionality, as well as the support and the resources. Assess the ability to get immediate support, training, and guidance that aligns with your specific needs. Consider even the possibility of requiring actual execution of the implementation work and delivery of the custom solution that seamlessly incorporates the headless eCommerce solution for your existing team.

Find the Best Headless eCommerce Platform

In the link section below, we're going to cover additional topics relating to the facets of the best headless platforms for eCommerce businesses. We'll also compare headless architecture to decoupled eCommerce and talk about the differences between those two. We will analyze the general concept of each type of eCommerce and how its pros and cons relate to a traditional commerce platform.

We'll also have the opportunity to discuss Shopify's headless eCommerce, headless BigCommerce, headless WordPress, headless Salesforce Commerce Cloud, headless Adobe Commerce, and more.

Our team of friendly and knowledgeable staff would be very happy to discuss any questions you might have or a potential project that you may be evaluating. Feel free to contact us and receive complimentary resources and answers to help you along the way.