Simply put, it’s an architecture for building an eCommerce site that separates the complex backend development from the frontend, more user experience focussed functionality of your site. The purpose of headless commerce is to provide an infrastructure where you can control all of the front-facing design elements of your site like branding, colors, images and text while the developers on the other end have total control over the meat of your site, the things that keep it running smoothly that could also interfere with the user experience and design in a more traditional environment. The way that headless commerce works is with the use of powerful APIs, or application programming interfaces, that can connect two separate systems to each other seamlessly to create an alternative to the all-in-one traditional commerce approach. This allows businesses to try out new integrations for their site without impacting the complex systems that are working in the background, to learn more about APIs and how they work, click here to read our blog post.
Headless vs Composable Commerce
You’ve probably heard the term “composable commerce” thrown around recently, this is an evolution of the term headless commerce. Headless commerce and composable commerce are similar, but not the same. Headless commerce is simply the separation between the frontend and backend systems, while composable commerce is the total separation of every aspect of the commerce operating system. This development infrastructure provides total flexibility and agility when implementing changes to your site, without impacting any other aspect.
Headless vs Traditional Commerce
Composable commerce and headless commerce are not one-size-fits-all solutions. The best approach to your development strategy should involve a combination of headless and traditional commerce. Traditional commerce solutions have been the standard for established businesses because it offers a seamless turn-around when building a new site that involves much less time and resources from your team. The downside however is that traditional all-in-one commerce doesn’t necessarily allow for as much flexibility to make quick changes.
The Benefits of Headless Commerce
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Flexibility
The main benefit for businesses looking to hone in on the commerce solution that works best for them is flexibility. When it comes to meeting changing customer needs, you will often have to find quick solutions that don’t involve a ton of complex backend development work. Depending on who your customers are, flexibility could be a huge benefit.
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Time
Tricky backend development takes resources, but also lots of time. It can take a few months to accomplish new integrations for emerging technology that your developers aren’t familiar with. Headless commerce removes some of the challenges that cost precious time for your team.
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Complex Integrations
If you’re interested in implementing new technology, headless commerce allows you to do so without impacting the backend systems. Headless commerce allows you to support emerging tech that improves the customer experience and your brand identity without any interruptions or complex development work.
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Control
You don’t have to use only what’s offered by a theme or whatever your platform provides with headless or composable commerce. You have total and complete control over all design aspects and can let your imagination run wild. This allows you to pick out elements you want to incorporate into your site without wasting any time on the ones you don’t need.
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User Experience
Because you’re focussing only on aspects of your site that impact the experience of using it, headless commerce provides the perfect environment for a unique and solid user experience. You can implement tools that offer more personalization for your customers and any other complex integrations that will improve your customer experience without the hassle.
What Solution is Right for Your Business?
Composable and headless commerce is a great solution for many businesses, but it may not be the best solution for you. An approach many businesses take has involved a combination of traditional and headless commerce, with many of the benefits of flexible frontend design in tandem with a full-stack backend. Headless commerce is great for businesses that want a lot of control and flexibility, but that poses a challenge for businesses that don’t want to hire a full team of web developers to keep up. You shouldn’t have to waste any of your team’s time on complex eCommerce integrations when they could be focussing on what matters, providing value to your customers. If you’re looking for the commerce solution that’s right for you, set up a consultation with Virid so we can discover the solution that’s best for you.
Final Thoughts
If you think headless commerce might not be the best fit for your needs, a traditional approach is always a safe option if you don’t know where to start. Many agencies offer eCommerce platforms that offer many of the capabilities you will need to get started quickly, and sometimes they offer services and support that will take care of any of the complex eCommerce integrations you want to implement on your site as well. Team Virid’s eCommerce platform marketAgility 7.0 is an all-in-one traditional commerce approach that offers not just an award winning platform, but also continued support and services to help you every step of the way. If you don’t currently have a team of eCommerce experts or are looking to outsource some of those tricky tasks you don’t have enough experience to accomplish on your own, schedule a consultation today to get started.