Headless Commerce
Headless Shopify
What it is
Your storefront, completely custom. Shopify powering everything underneath.
A headless Shopify build separates your customer-facing storefront from Shopify's commerce backend. Your frontend, built in Next.js or Shopify Hydrogen, talks to Shopify via the Storefront API, pulling products, managing cart state, and sending customers through Shopify's checkout.
The result is a storefront with none of the performance or design constraints of a traditional Shopify theme, and none of the operational risk of abandoning Shopify entirely.
Start a conversation →The stack
Technologies we build with
Next.js
Our primary framework for headless Shopify builds. Static generation means near-instant page loads, and React gives your team a modern, maintainable codebase.
Shopify Hydrogen
Shopify's own React-based framework for headless commerce. Purpose-built for the Storefront API with streaming, caching, and built-in Shopify primitives.
Gatsby
A GraphQL-powered static site generator that pairs well with Shopify for content-heavy storefronts, ideal when SEO and build-time data fetching are priorities.
Shopify Storefront API
The GraphQL API that powers every headless Shopify build. Products, collections, cart, and checkout, all exposed securely to your custom frontend.
CMS integrations
Connect any content platform
Sanity
A flexible, structured content platform. Ideal for teams who need full control over content modelling and real-time editorial workflows.
Contentful
Enterprise-grade headless CMS with strong API support and a mature ecosystem. A reliable choice for larger teams with complex content structures.
WordPress (headless)
If your team already lives in WordPress, we can use it as a headless CMS via WPGraphQL, keeping editorial workflows familiar while the frontend runs on Next.js.
Cloudflare EmDash
Cloudflare's edge-native CMS, built for speed and global delivery. A compelling option for brands who want content served from the edge with zero latency.
Shopify Metaobjects
Shopify's own structured content system. Great for keeping everything inside a single platform: products, content, and custom data, without a separate CMS.
Any headless CMS
We're not prescriptive. If you have an existing CMS you're happy with, we'll connect it. The Storefront API is agnostic, and what matters is what works for your team.
Why headless
What you get
Performance that converts
Every 100ms of load time costs conversions. Headless storefronts built on Next.js serve pages as pre-rendered static HTML, delivering sub-second loads even at scale.
Total design freedom
No theme constraints, no Liquid limitations. Your storefront looks and works exactly how your brand and customers need it to, not what a Shopify template allows.
Shopify reliability underneath
Checkout, payments, inventory, and fulfilment all run through Shopify. You get the custom frontend without leaving behind the platform you trust.
Built to scale
Static generation and edge caching means your storefront handles traffic spikes without breaking a sweat, making it ideal for high-volume brands and flash sales.
Content flexibility
Pair your headless Shopify store with any CMS, Contentful, Sanity, or Shopify's own Metaobjects, so marketing teams can move fast without developer bottlenecks.
Future-proof architecture
A headless architecture separates your concerns cleanly. Swap components, upgrade the stack, or add new channels, without rebuilding from scratch.
How we work
Our process
Discovery & architecture
We map your requirements, integrations, and performance targets before writing a line of code. The right stack decision upfront saves months later.
Design & prototyping
High-fidelity Figma prototypes reviewed with your team. Every component, interaction, and edge case signed off before build begins.
Frontend build
Next.js or Hydrogen build with the Shopify Storefront API. Clean, documented, component-driven code your team can own.
Shopify integration
Products, collections, cart, checkout, customer accounts: all wired and tested. Third-party integrations (loyalty, reviews, search) connected here.
Performance & QA
Core Web Vitals testing, cross-browser and device QA, load testing. We don't ship until Lighthouse scores are where they need to be.
Launch & handover
Phased go-live with monitoring in place. Full documentation and training so your team can manage and build on top of what we deliver.
FAQs
Common questions
When does headless Shopify make sense?
Headless is the right call when performance is a commercial priority, when your design requirements exceed what Shopify themes can deliver, or when you need to serve your storefront across multiple channels (web, app, in-store). For smaller stores with standard requirements, a well-built Shopify theme is often faster to ship and cheaper to maintain.
Next.js or Hydrogen: which do you recommend?
Both are excellent. Next.js is our default choice, with the largest ecosystem, strongest community, and the most flexibility for integrations and CMS choices. Hydrogen is Shopify's own framework and is worth considering if you want Shopify-native conventions baked in and are comfortable staying closer to Shopify's roadmap. We're experienced with both and will recommend based on your specific situation.
Can I still use Shopify's checkout?
Yes, and we'd strongly recommend it. Shopify's checkout is PCI compliant, conversion-optimised, and handles every payment method your customers expect. Headless builds keep Shopify checkout intact while giving you a completely custom storefront experience.
How long does a headless build take?
A focused headless build typically runs 8–16 weeks depending on complexity, number of integrations, and the pace of design sign-off. We scope each project properly before committing to a timeline.
What does it cost to maintain?
Ongoing costs are lower than people expect. Vercel (the typical hosting platform for Next.js) is affordable at scale, and because the codebase is clean and well-documented, development work is straightforward. Many clients run a retainer with us for ongoing improvements.
Ready to go headless?
Let's talk.
We've built headless Shopify storefronts for brands that needed more than a theme could offer. If performance, design freedom, or scale is holding you back, that's exactly what we solve.
Start a project →