Online business owners are always on a hunt for the right strategies or ideas that can drive them to better results and hike up the productivity of their business to a new level. And nowadays, the term “Headless e-commerce” is gaining popularity in the online world and letting several webshop owners wander from one site to another to learn more about this newly introduced term.

This headless e-commerce holds impressive features, comprising the ease of customization of the front-end evolution & excellent UI (User Interface). Business owners welcome this new approach, showing their high-interest.

There is a lot more to discuss this latest technology in the digital market. This latest trend has been embraced by well-known online brands to present the customer with a great shopping experience.

Probably, several questions tickling your mind, such as, “what is headless e-commerce?” or “how would it be helpful for your online business?” or “what are the benefits of this technology?” and many more. If you are in the same situation, then in this article, we have covered up all your queries mentioning the negative and positive picture of headless. So, what are you waiting for?

Go through this blog to find answers to all your questions.

Headless E-Commerce- The Modern Approach

Headless is a new strategy that has transformed the overall working of your e-commerce platform. We all know that every online platform has its two functional ends i.e. front end and the back end, having its one feature and functionality.

The front end of the website acts as a medium between the user & the portal whereas, the backend holds the website data & manages the entire working of the website tasks, including the data processing, business logic, checkout processes, inventory & account management. Over the years, the front-end and back-end of the portal had been handled from the same control panel. It is essential to break this traditional approach to offer the customer a better experience on your virtual platform. The introduction of the all-new strategy of headless has filled the gaps that the old platform is missing. Read below to learn more about this term, “Headless.”

Know What Headless E-Commerce is

Headless is entirely a new approach that de-coupled the front end of a portal from its back end flooded with information. With the headless strategy, each end of the portal can work independently without any interference. For front-end, you have an excellent UI expert to work with, whereas a back-end expert manages the functionality of other ends of the portal.

Allowing both the website ends to work independently brings more flexibility in its overall performance & provide the customer with a better experience as well. With this headless approach, now a developer can customize the portal to keep evolving the purchasing experience of consumers on your platform. Such ease leads the business owners to say a big yes to headless e-commerce.

Now you are aware of the concept of headless approach in e-commerce, so why not take a deep dive to know how it is better than the traditional architecture of e-commerce portals.

How Headless is Better Than The Traditional Full-Stack Architecture of E-Commerce?

Without going through the entire architecture of e-commerce websites, we have roughly discussed the portal structures to differentiate how headless e-commerce is better than the traditional approach of full-stack. The architecture of e-commerce websites includes the two approaches, first is Full Stack Architecture & the second is headless e-commerce.

Full Stack Architecture

Full Stack architecture is the standard approach that is most commonly used by the mobile webmaster for app developments. Since the evolution of mobile apps became a “latest” factor in the tech world, the full-stack has been pushed forward because of its high usage. Developers create an ecosystem with online websites at the center, incorporated with an integrated storefront. Hence, the portal gives the individual platform, including mobile & web separately. If we conclude the topic then it basically improves the back-end functioning of your e-commerce platform.

Headless E-Commerce

Next on our list is Headless e-commerce architecture that separates the front end of the online store from its back-end. Hence, both the functional halves of the portal work on one’s own. Because it doesn’t hold a similar centralized system, so it displays the working of two different parts separately. If we say clearly, then deliverables are handled with the assistance of APIs, which develop a standard front-end User Interface that handles the performance of all the platforms.

Because both the end of the e-commerce platforms function separately, so it is flexible too, which makes it better than the full-stack architecture of e-commerce platforms.

Reasons Why Choose Headless E-commerce Over the Full-Stack

Below, we have mentioned the reasons how Headless e-commerce is ideal for you as compared to traditional approaches. Take a look:

Ease of UX Customization

This adaptable approach of headless commerce leads you to the best outcomes, resulting in encouraging the customer to purchase and turn their experience into a good one. On the other hand, traditional frameworks don’t include such features. Hence some compromises are unavoidable.

Separate Front & Back-end Architecture

It is one of the best features of headless e-commerce as it has a separate back-end & front end that brings flexibility in e-commerce functioning and presentation. As we have also discussed earlier, full-stack has both functional halves at the center, so they are not separated and also prevent companies from making changes as they wish to do. But with the separated functional halves offered by headless e-commerce, you can easily make the necessary changes and give the user a better experience.

No Need of Re-platforming

If you want to add a new feature on your platform, then you have to migrate to an all-new platform which is called re-platforming. This re-platforming leads you to bear the high cost & invest your time as well. This is the major drawback of the traditional approach of full-stack. But, headless e-commerce needs no re-platforming. This modern approach has the data migration features, allowing you to build a new back-end layer & move the existing data to the disjoint interface. Such ease makes this headless e-commerce an ideal approach to follow.

The above-listed points point toward the things that you should go headless for your e-commerce store. All these points are the ideal reason why you should say yes to the modern headless e-commerce approach. If you are not just convinced of these reasons, then you must check out the positives and negatives of headless e-commerce.

Positives Of Headless E-Commerce

While reading the blog, you may have a good idea about how productive is choosing the headless approach for your e-commerce store. The below-listed points are some pros of headless e-commerce, which will illustrate the value of this headless e-commerce. Take a look:

Flexibility

The first on our list is flexible integration. Headless e-commerce allows you to focus on a particular service. It is all possible because of the set of tools that can be united from the multiple channels. If you want to make any changes to the platform in the future, then you can easily do it with more flexibility using the tools provided.

Customizable

Headless e-commerce is flexible than the UX from those traditional frameworks which are flooded with pre-packaged themes, etc. Yes, headless e-commerce is customizable. Because headless e-commerce has two separate functional ends, so you have the complete freedom to come up with the improved design of the front-end without affecting the working of the back end.

Speed

Because headless e-commerce has a separate front-end & back-end, the overall operation of the store becomes easier that also lands you with some other benefits, including the utilization of less time and energy. Headless e-commerce improves the functionality speed of your online platform. This pro makes this modern approach, the ideal one to choose from.

Impressive Outcomes

With the word, impressive outcomes, we mean more reach and customer engagement. When you go headless for your webshop store, then you can increase the customer engagement on your platform. By doing this, your store can be easily accessed from different touchpoints. It enhances the customer experience. Now they can access your store easily. Its perfect example is the self-checkout technology, which gives the customer the complete ease to purchase the products without navigating to e-commerce sites. Such technology doesn’t waste your valuable time waiting in line in the store. Hence, it improves the experience of customers.

Separate Functional Halves

Headless technology has the decoupled front-end and back-end architecture that not just improves the overall working of your store but also increases the reach & engagement. It has a common front and back-ends system that points towards the thing that the content-rich presentation layer can’t be split up from the business side of things. On the other hand, the headless approach offers absolute flexibility, hence you can make changes whenever you want it to. Because you are now offered with separate work ends, you are allowed to make necessary changes easily, especially when you want to gain the attention of customers. Such flexibility in e-commerce presentation makes this platform a perfect one to choose.

Negatives Of Headless E-Commerce

Yes. This modern approach is known for its several benefits. Simultaneously, it is not free of flaws. There are a few drawbacks of headless e-commerce that one should not overlook. So, what are you waiting for? Check out the below-listed points:

Initial Setup Costs

When it comes to implementing this new technology, a user has to bear the initialization cost. In such a case, one has to keep in mind its initial costs as they have to invest a lot in the development of the front-end. If we say clearly, then the overall process is to evolve the front-end & incorporate all the services of your online store. It will allow your data to be rendered by the visual end with the assistance of API calls to the e-commerce layer. Such incorporation of data makes the work easy for the small business having a small team and tight budget.

Managing Multiple Tech Stacks

Next on our list of drawbacks is the proper management. When you continue with this approach, it becomes necessary to manage the overall operation of an e-commerce platform. Such management can append to your operating expenses as you have to handle the functionality of both ends working on different platforms. For those businesses which have a smaller team of experts, it is not easy to carry out the operation of headless e-commerce. It will take time to meet the requirements of your business & the capability of the team.

Limited Control

Because the data is stored in the presentation layer and there is less control over it, so here the urge develops for further technologies to serve as the head. In simple words, the functionality is limited to the extent that CMS allows regarding the integration of third-party apps. So, when you are going headless e-commerce, then it is always advised to check if CMS support or not.

Final Words

Headless e-commerce is the impressive technology that is gaining the vogue gradually because of its advanced features, making it perfect to choose to improve the functioning of your business. But at the same time, it also holds its pros and cons which assist in making the right decision, whether you should go with it or not. Online business owners are always on the hunt for better strategies and approaches that can serve their business to the best and help them to gain more reach and engagement. In this blog, we have covered everything that will assist you in knowing how good headless e-commerce is & why you shouldn’t go with it.