What is Headless?

Traditional Shopify: Theme controls everything. Headless Shopify: Shopify handles backend (inventory, checkout), custom frontend talks to it via API.

When to Go Headless

  • High traffic (100k+ monthly visitors)
  • Complex frontend requirements (animations, personalization)
  • Multi-channel (web, app, kiosk all from same backend)

Key Benefits

  • Performance: Lighthouse scores 95+ and sub-second page loads.
  • Flexibility: Use any frontend framework like Next.js or React.

Trade-offs

Higher upfront cost and the need for a dedicated developer for ongoing changes.