The world of e-commerce is constantly changing, and staying ahead of the competition requires flexibility, customisation, and scalability. With platforms like Bigcommerce and Shopify Plus leading the charge in headless commerce, businesses now have access to powerful tools that separate the frontend user experience from the backend operations. But what exactly is headless commerce, and how can it benefit your business?
What is Headless Commerce?
Headless commerce is a decoupled architecture where the frontend (what customers see) is separated from the backend (where data and functionality live). This separation allows businesses to create highly customised and flexible customer experiences without being limited by the constraints of traditional e-commerce platforms.
One of the key benefits of headless commerce is that it empowers brands to innovate quickly. You can completely overhaul your frontend user experience without impacting the backend. By using headless architecture, businesses can:
Customise the frontend experience with greater freedom: You're not restricted by the templates of traditional platforms, giving you more control over your branding, design, and user experience.
Scale more effectively: Decoupling allows you to manage backend processes, such as inventory and order management, while updating or scaling the frontend independently, ensuring smooth operations during traffic spikes.
Integrate third-party services seamlessly: Whether it’s a powerful CMS like Contentful or frontend frameworks like Next.js, headless commerce lets you easily plug in and play with the best tools available, creating a truly composable architecture.
Improve performance across devices: By optimising frontend delivery through technologies like server-side rendering (SSR) or static site generation (SSG), headless solutions can significantly improve load times on both mobile and desktop, enhancing SEO and overall user experience.
Top headless e-commerce platforms
BigCommerce stands out in the headless commerce space for its robust API capabilities and strong focus on scalability. As a SaaS platform, it enables businesses to manage backend operations while giving developers complete freedom to build custom frontend experiences using any framework or CMS.
It also supports seamless multi-channel selling, integrating easily with platforms like Amazon, eBay, and various social media channels. Designed to handle high traffic and growing order volumes, BigCommerce is well-suited for scaling enterprises. A key advantage is its no-transaction-fee policy, which helps businesses reduce operational costs as they grow.
Shopify Plus offers a powerful blend of user-friendliness and flexibility for headless commerce. Its admin interface allows non-technical teams to manage backend operations efficiently, while developers have the freedom to fully customise the frontend using modern frameworks like React or Angular.
The platform supports seamless omnichannel experiences across physical and digital storefronts, making it ideal for businesses looking to unify their customer journey. Additionally, Shopify Plus features a robust app ecosystem that includes advanced tools for AI-driven insights, marketing, and automation, helping businesses scale efficiently.
Both platforms excel in providing the tools necessary to create a flexible, composable architecture, whether you're looking for the technical flexibility of BigCommerce or the ease of use and speed to market offered by Shopify Plus.
Check out the full article by Monogram, they have extensive experience delivering headless e-commerce solutions tailored to their clients’ needs and have explained this topic in-depth.
