How to Get Started with Shopify Headless Commerce

So you want to get started with Shopify Headless Commerce, but you're not sure where to begin.

It's a good question! We've all been there. You know that you need to make some changes to your business, but you're not sure what those changes are, or how they'll impact your company. And then you get overwhelmed and give up before you even start—which is such a shame!

But don't worry: we're here to help. We've put together a list of the first steps that anyone can take toward unleashing their Shopify Headless Commerce potential.

So let's get started!

What is Shopify Headless Commerce?

Shopify Headless Commerce is the next generation of ecommerce. It's a new way to interact with your customers, and it has tremendous potential to drive sales and growth. But what exactly does that mean? 

In short, Shopify Headless Commerce allows you to offer an unparalleled shopping experience—one that's personalized, seamless, and optimized for conversion. With this new approach to online selling, you can deliver the best possible customer experience while still maintaining control over every aspect of your business.

A headless eCommerce platform has been decoupled, removing all front-end components (including templates and themes). This means that you can now use the same back-end tools to manage both your online store and your website. 

In other words, Shopify Headless Commerce allows you to run multiple websites from a single platform—a huge time saver when it comes to managing content across multiple channels.

Things to Consider Before Switching to a Headless Storefront

There are a few things to consider before making the switch to a headless eCommerce platform. Some of the most important include:

Assess Whether You Have Access to Adequate Staff, Tools, and Funding to Complete the Project

If you’re a small business, it may be better to wait until your business has grown into a larger organization before making this kind of big change. 

Headless Commerce can be complicated and time-consuming for some merchants, so make sure that your team has the skills and resources needed to implement this type of system.

For example, if you’re switching from having a traditional website to a headless eCommerce platform, it’s important to make sure that your developers have experience with this type of architecture. If not, they may need additional training or resources before they can begin coding the new site.

If you’re planning to switch from an existing platform, make sure that the transition will be seamless for your users. For example, if you have a traditional website and plan to move to a headless commerce platform, you may want to consider migrating some of the content on your old site into the new one. This way, customers won’t lose their shopping carts when they visit your new site for the first time.

You should also consider how your customers will interact with the new site. If you’re moving from a traditional website to a headless commerce platform, for example, make sure that users know how to find their old carts as well as how to create new ones on the new site.

Decide Whether or Not You Want Full Control of Your Website

A headless storefront unlocks every possibility you can think of where your CMS and other aspects of your website are concerned. However, if you're already happy with the current limitations of your CMS, then going headless may not be a good option for you.

After all, the whole point of using a headless commerce platform is to have more control over your website. So if you're happy with what you have, then it's probably not worth the time and money it would take to switch over.

Furthermore, a headless storefront will take a ton of effort, time, and resources to not only set up but maintain. 

So if your business model is a little less complicated, then headless may not be the best option for you. After all, it's not as simple as just creating a few pages and adding some products. 

You'll need to build out all of the pages that are required for a full-fledged eCommerce site and ensure that everything is fully functional before going live with your headless storefront.

Approach It From Your Customer’s Point of View

One of the hallmarks of a headless storefront is providing a better user experience by creating an experience that's more intuitive and personalized for your customers.

As such, if your website is currently impeding your ability to provide an excellent customer experience, then you should consider a headless storefront. 

The key to making this transition is understanding what your customers want and being able to build a website that meets those needs. You can do this by asking yourself some questions, such as: 

• What are the most common questions my customers have? 
• Can I provide them with a better experience than they have now through my website? 
• How can I use data analytics to personalize their experience?

The Benefits of Going Headless

With a headless storefront, you can provide your customers with a more responsive and personalized experience. This can lead to an increase in sales, as well as better customer satisfaction. To understand why this shift benefits both you and your customers, it’s important to know what makes each model different.

Complete Control

Headless platforms allow your developers to build a framework that is as unique as your company brand. You can use your developers to create a storefront that perfectly matches your brand, rather than being limited by what the platform offers. 

This gives you complete control over how the site looks and functions. Customized for Customers Headless platforms also allow you to tailor products and services based on customer needs. 

With a headless solution, your developers can use data analytics to identify patterns in how certain customers interact with their sites—and then make changes accordingly. 

This means that your customers will have a better experience while they are on your site. It also gives you the ability to offer different services based on their needs, which gives you an advantage over competitors who don’t have this capability.

You Can Create a Content Management System That Users Will Find Easy to Use

One of the biggest benefits of a headless CMS is that you can create a content management system (CMS) that users will find easy to use. A headless CMS allows developers to build out their platforms so that customers don’t have to think about how they manage their content—they just do it. 

This means that your customers won’t have to worry about whether or not they are using the right tools for their needs; they can simply focus on creating great content and managing it once it has been created. 

This is a huge benefit, especially because it means that your customers won’t have to spend time and money on training their teams in the use of their new CMS. Most users will be able to create content without issue and then manage it with ease.

Furthermore, it also helps you distribute content across channels with ease. You can publish content to social media and other channels without worrying about whether or not your customers will be able to find the information you're sharing at the right time.

You Can Customize Every Part of Your Website

A headless storefront can help you make your website more personalized. You can create a personalized experience for each and every customer, ensuring that they have access to the information they need in an easy-to-use format.

Want to change the way your checkout looks? No problem. You can customize every part of your website, from the way it looks to how it functions. Your customers will appreciate the personal touch and also be able to find what they're looking for without any trouble.

This also means that you're able to make changes to the website quickly and easily. If a new style is trending or a feature becomes popular, you can update your site with ease. This allows you to keep up with the latest trends in eCommerce without having to worry about updating your site constantly.

Furthermore, you can also make changes as you like. For example, if you notice that your site could function better with an additional feature, you won't have to worry about themes and templates holding you back.

You Can Boost Your Page Speed

The key to a good eCommerce site is to have a fast loading speed. This means that when someone visits your website, they're able to find what they're looking for as soon as possible. The faster your site loads, the better chance you have of converting visitors into customers.

If your site loads slowly, your customers will become frustrated and leave to shop at a competitor's website. Research shows that conversion rates drop by an average of 4.42% with each additional second of load time, making page speed a critical factor in the customer experience.

In order to boost your page speed, you can use a tool like Pingdom or Google PageSpeed Insights. These tools will show you where your site is slow and how you can improve it. If you're looking for an easy way to speed up your eCommerce site, I recommend using Cloudflare. 

Cloudflare has many benefits including security and performance improvements, but one of the best features is its free CDN (Content Delivery Network).

Boost Your Conversions

One of the biggest benefits of going headless is that it can help you boost your conversion rate. When you’re selling products or services online, one of the most important things you want to do is increase the number of sales you make, and that means increasing the number of people who actually buy something from your site.

The problem with most e-commerce sites is that they don’t offer all the information about a product or service at once—instead, they force users to click through several pages and fill out lots of forms before they can actually buy what they want. This is frustrating for customers and it can lead them to give up on their purchase altogether.

With a headless architecture, you can put all that information in one place so it’s easy for your customers to find what they need—and then they’ll be more likely to complete the purchase process! 

The headless architecture makes it possible to create a single, unified experience for your customers. They won’t have to jump around between different sites or apps; instead, they can access all of their information in one place. 

You can also use this technology to create new products and services based on the data you already have about your customers—without having to start from scratch!

The Drawbacks of Going Headless

While headless architecture is a great tool to have on your team, it’s not perfect. The main downside to this technology is that it can be difficult to implement correctly—especially when you don’t have the right development team in place! If you’re thinking about going headless but aren’t sure how to get started, it might be worth investing in some expert advice first.

You Can't Do It Without Developers

Developers are often the backbone of a company, but they can also be one of the biggest weaknesses. When you have a headless design, you are relying on your development team to take your design and turn it into an actual product—and that's not always easy.

In fact, many companies have found that going headless can actually be detrimental to their success because of this reliance on developers. If you don't have a good team in place or if they're not up to snuff, you're going to have trouble getting your product out there.

It's important to have a good development team on your side if you plan to go headless. If you are unsure of whether or not your team is up to snuff, you can always reach out for some expert advice first.

If you're not sure what to look for in a development team, we have a few tips. First of all, make sure that they're familiar with your industry and know what's currently working for other companies. 

If you're going headless, you'll want them to be able to create something that will stand out from the competition. It's also important that they have experience in this area because it can be difficult to know exactly what goes into creating an effective product without having done it before yourself.

If you don't have any experience in this area, it can be difficult to know what to look for in a development team. You'll want to make sure that they're familiar with your industry and know what's currently working for other companies. If you're going headless, you'll want them to create something that will stand out from the competition.

It's also important that they have experience in this area because it can be difficult to know exactly what goes into creating an effective product without having done it before yourself. If you don't have any experience in this area, it can be difficult to know what to look for in a development team. 

You'll want to make sure that they're familiar with your industry and know what's currently working for other companies.

At Webinopoly, we have experience in creating headless CMS systems for various industries, including eCommerce and travel. We know what works and what doesn't, and we can help you create a system that will stand out from the competition.

Our team is made up of experienced developers and designers who know what it takes to create a high-quality product that will stand the test of time. We have the skills and knowledge necessary to create an effective headless CMS system for your company, including: 

• Knowledge of how to create a headless CMS system that is easy for content creators and editors to use
• Experience in creating effective user interfaces
• Experience in creating a content management system that is easy to use for end users and editors 
• Experience in creating a CMS that can be used for both eCommerce and travel companies

It's Quite Expensive

Headless CMS systems can be quite expensive. They are often built on top of existing content management systems, and they require a lot of custom code to get them working properly. 

This means that if your company is looking for a headless CMS system, it's important to make sure that you have the budget necessary to pay for one. If not, then you might want to consider using an open source option instead.

Not to mention, you'll also need to deal with the costs of a development team to build the system for you. This can add up quickly and become a huge expense for any company, especially one with a small budget or that isn't used to paying developers.

If you're looking for a headless CMS option, it's important to make sure that you have the budget necessary to pay for one. If not, then you might want to consider using an open source option instead. Not only will this help you save money on development costs but it can also be a more cost-effective solution overall.

How to Switch to a Headless Storefront

If you're ready to make the switch from a traditional CMS to a headless one, then there are several things that you need to consider.

Decide if You Need to Switch to Another Ecommerce Platform

The first thing you need to do is decide if you need to switch from your current ecommerce platform. If your store is already built on a headless CMS, then chances are good that there's no reason for you to change platforms. 

For smaller businesses, adding APIs to your existing commerce platform may be the best route. On the other hand, many mid-market or enterprise companies opt for SaaS--software as a service; it's often less expensive and business leaders can focus on building their core competencies without getting bogged down in IT issues.

If you need to switch, there are many options available. Some of the most popular headless CMS platforms include:

• Shopify
• WooCommerce
• Magento

Choose Your Headless CMS

The next step is to choose a headless CMS. There are many different options, including Drupal and WordPress, but we recommend that you look for a platform that offers ecommerce as part of its core functionality. That way, you'll be able to take advantage of all the tools and features your new system has to offer.

For example, if you're building an ecommerce site, you'll want the CMS to be able to handle things like shipping and payment processing. You'll also want it to have a good search engine optimization (SEO) toolset so that your site will show up high in Google search results.

If you're a beginner, it's best to choose a CMS that has an intuitive interface and excellent support documentation.

The CMS that you choose should also have a large community of developers who create plugins and themes for it. This will ensure that you'll be able to find add-ons that meet your needs. If it doesn't have one, consider using an open source CMS instead.

Sync the CMS and APIs

The next step is to sync all of your data with the CMS and APIs. You can do this manually or use a tool like Zapier to automate the process for you. If you choose the latter option, make sure that your site's content management system is compatible with the APIs you're using so that they can communicate seamlessly with one another.

Once you've done this, you can start using the CMS to create your site and publish new content. You'll also want to set up a process for updating the API so that whenever you make changes on one end of the system, they are reflected on the other end as well.

When you're done, you'll have a fully functional content management system that can be used to manage your website and publish new content on an ongoing basis.

You'll also want to set up a process for updating the API so that whenever you make changes on one end of the system, they are reflected on the other end as well. When you're done, you'll have a fully functional content management system that can be used to manage your website and publish new content on an ongoing basis.

Frequently Asked Questions

Before anything else, let's take a look at some of the most commonly asked questions about Shopify headless commerce.

What is a CMS?

A content management system (CMS) is a tool that allows you to manage the content on your website. You can create new pages, posts, and products; edit and delete existing ones; or even update meta tags and other elements of your site's HTML code. Some CMSs come with built-in themes that allow you to customize the look of your site without having to learn how to code from scratch.

Should I go headless on Shopify?

If you're just starting out, it's probably not worth the trouble of switching over to a headless CMS. However, once your business starts growing and you begin to notice that managing everything through Shopify is slowing down your productivity (or even causing problems), then it might be time for you to consider moving over to a system with more built-in features. 

How does headless commerce work?

If you're familiar with headless CMS, then you'll know that it's a type of web development architecture where the content management system (CMS) is separated from the front-end user interface (UI). This means that you'll have more control over what your site looks like and functionality-wise, it's very similar to how a headless ecommerce store works.

Is headless commerce fit for all e-commerce stores?

Not at all. Headless commerce is a great solution if you want to build a highly customized e-commerce site that delivers the best experience for your customers. However, if you're just starting out and don't have much money to spend on development projects (or even don't know what's possible yet), then it might be best to stick with a more traditional CMS.

So, if you want to build a headless ecommerce store, what do you need? 

To get started with headless commerce, you'll need:

• A solid content strategy for your website
• A good idea about how the site should look and feel
• An excellent web development and design team

The Takeaway

Headless commerce is a great way to build a website that works with your existing e-commerce platform while allowing you to customize the user experience. It's a great choice if you want to build an online store that can scale your business by adding new features and functionality over time.

If you're looking for a reliable team to help you build a headless storefront, then look no further than Webinopoly. We have a team of highly skilled developers, designers, and e-commerce experts who can help you build your headless commerce website quickly and easily. We're here to help you get started on your new e-commerce project.