Headless eCommerce is becoming the standard in the new era of eCommerce. This type of eCommerce allows for a more personalized experience for the customer and a more efficient way of managing your online store.
The headless approach of eCommerce also provides several benefits for businesses, such as the ability to scale more efficiently, improved security, and a more streamlined checkout process. In short, headless Commerce is the way of the future, and if you’re not already on board, now is the time to get started.
What is headless eCommerce?
Headless eCommerce is a decoupled approach to eCommerce, where the front-end and back-end are entirely separated. This means that the front end (the part of the website that the customer interacts with) is built using a programming language like React or Angular, and the back end (the part of the website that stores data and processes orders) is made using a different language, like PHP or Node.js.
Why is the headless eCommerce approach becoming so popular?
There are a few reasons why the headless approach is trending these days:
1. Flexibility and Scalability.
Unlike traditional commerce, headless commerce separates the front end and back end. This means that they can be developed independently of each other, which makes the overall development process more flexible. It is also easier to scale the website as the front and back ends can be mounted separately.
2. Improved Integration
Another benefit of headless commerce is improved integration. Since the front and back end is entirely decoupled, it’s easier to integrate with third-party applications and services. For example, you can easily integrate with a CRM system or a shipping service.
3. Enhanced Customer Experience
One of headless commerce‘s enormous benefits is its enhanced customer experience. With traditional eCommerce platforms, the platform’s capabilities limit the customer experience. But with headless eCommerce, the sky’s the limit. You can create truly unique and personalized customer experiences that are impossible with traditional eCommerce platforms.
Headless Commerce Tips to Maximize ROI
To help businesses make the best of their headless efforts, Voxturrlabs experienced eCommerce developers shared some tips. Here are some valuable pieces of advice.
1. Launch multiple customer touchpoints
Headless solutions decouple business data from a single web front end and can be distributed through a mobile app, social media, smartwatch, or smart speaker. Using a headless approach, you can develop a multi-channel presence, target different audiences, and use additional messaging depending on their characteristics.
2. Test UI elements dynamically
There is no need for any front-end templates when using a headless solution, so no pre-built UI design is enforced. When you create a headless website, you are free to design any visual and navigation experience. Analyzing user behavior and testing different UI concepts will help you identify the brand style that will appeal to customers.
Gaurav Lakhani, An eCommerce development expert at VoxturrLabs, advocates gradual migration to a headless architecture:
“Let’s begin with the parts of your eCommerce application that are crucial to the launch of other touchpoints (for example, the checkout) and then gradually move on to other areas. As a result, the investment will be distributed evenly.”
Are there any drawbacks to headless commerce?
The biggest drawback of headless Commerce is that it’s more complex than traditional eCommerce platforms. This is because two different systems (the front end and back end) need to be developed and maintained. Another drawback is that not all eCommerce features are available out of the box.
The headless approach is still relatively new, so there is a lack of maturity in the ecosystem. Because of this, fewer headless eCommerce solutions and services are available than for traditional eCommerce platforms.
Despite these drawbacks, headless commerce is becoming the new era of eCommerce. It’s more flexible and scalable and allows for enhanced customer experiences. So if you’re looking to stay ahead of the curve, headless eCommerce is the way to go.
Top 3 Headless eCommerce platforms you need to consider
Headless eCommerce platforms provide the perfect solution for businesses that want to focus on their front end without compromising on back-end functionality. Here are the top 3 headless commerce platforms that are expected to dominate the market:
1. Adobe commerce(Magento Commerce)
Magento Commerce, now Adobe Commerce, provides developers with the ability to deliver custom applications that are highly personalized to the customer’s needs. This personalization can be enabled by experimentation. Magento’s modular system architecture enables investigation without disrupting the operations of other parts of the system.
Headless Magento‘s inventory management features let you keep track of your inventory levels across multiple locations so that you can ship inventory to the right store at the right time. You can configure management settings globally, per source and product, and obtain a live count of your retail stock.
Adobe commerce’s analytics dashboard lets you see key data points in scatter and bubble charts. As well as exporting data directly to people’s inboxes, you can see average order value, lifetime value, retention rates, and others.
2. Shopify Plus
Shopify Plus is a headless eCommerce platform that lets you separate your front-end design from back-end infrastructure. The headless Shopify approach enables you to publish your brand to any channel and make any device a venue for your brand. You can use your business software and content management systems to engage customers through custom storefronts like kiosks, wearables, vending machines, and billboards.
Shopify Plus gives you complete creative control over every customer touchpoint to create a cohesive experience. It also speeds up your site performance with a web app that reacts like a native mobile app. You can also integrate all your business systems, like ERP, PIM, CRM, CMS, and design frameworks.
Additionally, Shopify Plus has a wide range of features, such as automatic order tracking, automatic shipping, and automatic inventory updates, making it one of the best tools for enterprises that want to grow quickly.
3. BigCommerce
An eCommerce solution like BigCommerce enables businesses of all sizes to create and customize online stores. As well as offering excellent performance and scalability, it provides users with a centralized dashboard for managing their day-to-day operations. The platform comes with various templates and designs for your storefront, making it easy to start.
However, Headless BigCommerce’s biggest complaint is that more themes are available with other platforms. A headless eCommerce back-end like BigCommerce can be a solution to this issue.
If you want to build a headless commerce website, you can integrate other systems with BigCommerce’s REST and GraphQL API endpoints. You can easily incorporate CRMs or personal information managers using any of the latest front-end frameworks. You can set up a store with a custom interface if you don’t want to use one of BigCommerce’s themes.
Final Verdicts!
As the eCommerce industry grows and changes, so does how businesses operate. There has been a shift towards a headless approach in recent years, and this trend is predicted to continue in the coming years.
Headless eCommerce is predicted to become the norm as businesses seek to gain a competitive edge in the coming years. So what does this mean for the future of eCommerce? If you’re looking to stay ahead of the curve, it’s time to start considering a headless approach for your eCommerce platform.
FAQ
1. Why should businesses choose headless commerce?
Headless commerce offers a variety of UX-related advantages that make it suitable for every type of online business. In addition to custom APIs, flexible content, and push notifications, headless e-Commerce solutions have an advanced architecture.
2. What are the best practices for headless e-commerce?
There are a few key best practices for headless e-commerce:
1. Use a Content Management System (CMS) to manage your content. This will allow you to easily make changes to your site without having to code or hire a developer.
2. Use a Headless eCommerce platform to power your online store. This will allow you to easily integrate your store with your CMS and other third-party applications.
3. Use a Web Application Firewall (WAF) to protect your headless eCommerce site from attacks. This will help keep your site secure and ensure your customers’ data is safe.
3. What are the pros and cons of a headless eCommerce implementation over a traditional one?
E-commerce trends change rapidly, often faster than companies can keep up with them. Most businesses are limited by their platform at some point in their growth. However, headless Commerce is built on a flexible foundation. With its decoupled architecture, the headless system can seamlessly upgrade whenever a new front-end design or layout trend emerges. There is no change in the connection to the database.
4. What is its role in supporting an omnichannel strategy?
In order to facilitate communications between the front-end and back-end of multi-channel eCommerce platforms, many eCommerce platforms support a middle layer. Headless architecture connects disjointed commerce systems and creates a centralized platform that holds all data.
