The Ultimate Guide About Headless BigCommerce

eCommerce platforms with a headless system are becoming increasingly popular, offering brands more scaling options. One such popular headless eCommerce platform is BigCommerce.

By going headless with BigCommerce, you can enhance your store’s performance and scalability while giving customers a personalized and seamless shopping experience. If you already have a BigCommerce store and are looking to improve it or are considering re-platforming to a headless architecture, this guide is for you.

In this guide, we’ll explore the benefits of headless BigCommerce and provide you with actionable steps to help you make the transition.

Whether you’re new to headless or a seasoned veteran, this guide will provide you with the knowledge and resources you need to take your eCommerce game to the next level. So let’s dive in!

What is Headless BigCommerce?

Headless BigCommerce allows you to decouple the frontend and backend of your online store to operate them independently and allows you to build a unique storefront.

[Image Source: BigCommerce.com]

By using BigCommerce as a headless platform, you can connect to any frontend technology of your choice and use APIs to integrate the backend and frontend systems seamlessly.

This approach enables you to build custom functionality to meet your specific business requirements. BigCommerce’s API endpoints can power various aspects of the commerce offering, including product search, content management, billing, and payments.

Furthermore, you can integrate microservices such as API-led CRM integration and ERP integration to streamline customer journeys and handle specific tasks such as payments and cataloging.

A typical headless architecture on BigCommerce can include BigCommerce as the core platform for customer data and admin, a CMS for content management, a search solution such as Azure Search, an order management system like Moltin, and a subscription billing solution.

This way, merchants can leverage the best-in-class technologies to create the optimal eCommerce experience for their customers.

How Headless BigCommerce Works?

The headless approach in BigCommerce is a powerful solution that allows you to create a completely customized online presence.

It is achieved through BigCommerce APIs, enabling the frontend and backend to communicate and exchange data.

JavaScript frameworks like React or Angular are used to build the frontend of a headless BigCommerce store, and developers can create a custom look and feel for the store without disturbing the backend.

The backend in this headless approach continues to run on BigCommerce’s platform, which provides all the necessary eCommerce functionalities, such as managing products, orders, and customer data.

This headless infrastructure setup of BigCommerce allows for greater flexibility and scalability in developing and maintaining your online store.

Why Should You Go Headless with BigCommerce?

With the ability to customize, integrate and automate different areas of your web store, BigCommerce is one of the best headless commerce platforms that can help you quickly create an engaging digital storefront.

By leveraging BigCommerce’s robust API layer, you can easily connect your existing eCommerce system and other third-party systems to create a unified customer experience.

Additionally, with BigCommerce’s mobile-first approach, you can ensure your customers can access the same user-friendly experience on any device. Ultimately, incorporating headless BigCommerce allows you to drive more conversions.

More online eCommerce platforms are investing in headless technologies to improve the efficiency of their platform and provide their customers with a personalized shopping experience.

Recent research by Forbes showed that in 2021-2022 $1.65 billion of funding was raised for developing new headless technologies to make online commerce more enjoyable and easy to manage.

Users nowadays expect a seamless shopping experience and fast-loading web pages. According to a study by Akamai, an improvement of one second in page load time can lead to a 10% increase in conversions. Another study by Google found that 53% of mobile users abandon a site that takes longer than three seconds to load.

These statistics are a clear call why you need to offer a fast and smooth user experience in your eCommerce store. And you can achieve this by going headless with BigCommerce.

Pros & Cons of Headless BigCommerce

Headless BigCommerce has helped online retailers in a big way by offering them more flexibility in their operations, which allowed them to provide a better shopping experience to their customers.

This powerful platform has its share of pros and cons, and you should know about them to make an informed judgment about whether migrating to the new Headless setup will be a profitable decision on your part.

Pros

The top benefits of using headless architecture on BigCommerce include the following:

1. Flexibility to Connect to Any Front-End

Headless Bigcommerce gives you the flexibility to connect to any frontend of your store and create a personalized, unique online store experience.

By decoupling the backend from the frontend, it allows you to customize your store’s user experience in ways that were not previously possible.

It provides you the ability to configure, manage, and monitor your entire ecommerce infrastructure without the need for extensive coding.

This allows you to focus on more important tasks, such as improving the customer experience, increasing customer engagement, and optimizing product sales.

2. Ability to Build Custom Functionality

Adopting a headless model allows you to take your BigCommerce store to the next level by allowing you to build custom functionality tailored to your specific business requirements.

For example, you could add custom product filters, create a unique checkout process, or integrate with third-party services such as chatbots or loyalty programs.

Whether you have a small business presence or you are looking to expand your digital presence, the flexibility of BigCommerce makes it beneficial for your needs.

3. Improved Scalability Options

Headless Bigcommerce offers you greater scalability and flexibility to handle increasing site traffic and deliver unified customer experiences across multiple channels.

As your business grows and the number of products, customers, and orders increases, you can scale the BigCommerce backend easily to handle the increased load without impacting the frontend.

This level of scalability and consistency allows you to properly meet your needs and help you to grow your business more efficiently and effectively.

4. Use Microservices to Streamline Customer Journey

You can use microservices to automate certain tasks, such as managing payments, cataloging items, and other customer journey aspects.

Not only does this help ease the burden on your staff members, but it can also increase customer satisfaction by providing a more streamlined experience.

In addition, microservices can help improve security as they are isolated components, making your store less vulnerable to attack. By using microservices, you can create a more efficient and secure customer journey experience.

5. Faster Store Performance

You can significantly improve the performance of your store by implementing a headless BigCommerce architecture.

This type of architecture allows for the decoupling of the frontend and backend of the store, enabling the frontend to retrieve the necessary data more efficiently.

Decoupling the store’s two layers allows the frontend to retrieve only the necessary data without having to wait for the backend to process the whole page.

It allows for lesser server loads and a better overall user experience.

6. Better Personalization and Customization

Using a headless strategy with BigCommerce offers you enhanced opportunities to improve the personalization and customization of your customer journey when they visit your store.

By utilizing headless commerce, you can take advantage of powerful features like dynamic product recommendations, advanced analytics, and AI-driven marketing.

These features allow you to create highly personalized experiences for your customers that are tailored to your individual preferences.

With headless Bigcommerce, you can also quickly and easily configure your store’s design and layout, allowing you to improve the overall look and feel of your store.

Cons

Being a new player in the headless space compared to other platforms, BigCommerce also has some limitations. You must know about these and understand how to manage these limitations.

1. Building a headless commerce platform requires significant technical experience and resources to connect and integrate various microservices. It can be challenging for businesses without dedicated development teams.

Solution: Additional resources and development efforts required. You can solve this issue by seeking the help of professional BigCommerce development agencies or hiring dedicated development teams with the expertise to build and maintain a headless commerce platform.

2. With headless architecture, you will lose the ability to use some of the native features available on the BigCommerce platform that come out of the box.

Solution: To overcome this issue, you need to weigh the pros and cons of headless commerce and decide if the benefits outweigh the potential loss of some native features. You can also use plugins and apps to fill in the functionality gap.

3. Due to the need for additional resources, development effort, and additional cost for integrating different microservices, headless commerce can be more expensive than traditional eCommerce platforms.

Solution: To address this, you can plan your headless commerce projects carefully, prioritize your needs, and budget accordingly. Also, using cloud-based services can help in reducing infrastructure costs.

When Should You Go with Headless BigCommerce?

Businesses of all sizes across various industries that want greater control over the user experience of their online store and the flexibility to integrate with multiple third-party systems and services can go with headless BigCommerce.

There are several reasons you might choose to build a headless BigCommerce store.

• Customization: If you have specific requirements that are not met by traditional eCommerce platforms or a complex use case requiring more control over the frontend.
• Scalability: If you expect your business to grow and anticipate a large amount of traffic, headless commerce can provide the scalability and robustness to handle it.
• Omnichannel: Headless commerce enables merchants to deliver consistent and personalized customer experiences across multiple channels, such as websites, mobile, social media, and more.
• Flexibility and Agility: Headless approach allows for flexibility and agility, enabling merchants to quickly adapt to changing customer needs and business requirements.
• Integration: If you want to integrate with third-party services and technologies that are not available through traditional eCommerce platforms, headless commerce allows for easier eCommerce integration.
• Personalization: Headless approach allows for more granular personalization of the customer journey, which can help to increase customer engagement and conversion rates.

Ultimately, whether or not headless BigCommerce is the right choice for a business depends on its specific needs and goals. However, it can be the right choice for businesses that want more control over their frontend, scalability, and flexibility.

How to Go Headless with BigCommerce?

BigCommerce offers flexibility for you to go headless. You can use one of the following methods to migrate successfully to headless architecture.

DIY (Do-It-Yourself)

You can choose to go headless with BigCommerce by building your frontend yourself, but it does require some technical expertise and resources.

This option provides you with the greatest degree of control over your frontend but also requires a high investment of time and resources.

If you choose the DIY approach, it’s important to clearly understand your frontend design needs and choose a technology stack that is suitable for your business. You’ll also need to develop a detailed migration plan that outlines the steps you need to take to move to headless commerce, including a timeline, budget, and resources required.

If you face any challenges during the process, it’s recommended to seek the help of a professional BigCommerce development agency.

Go with an Agency

Taking the help of an agency to implement BigCommerce headless API can simplify the process and ensure a smooth transition. An agency with experience in headless commerce can provide expertise and resources to help you navigate the technical aspects of migrating your store.

Here are a few things to consider when working with an agency:

• Evaluate their experience: Look for an agency with experience in implementing headless commerce and BigCommerce specifically, as they will be better equipped to handle the technical challenges of migrating your store.
• Assess their methodology: Review the agency’s approach to migrating to headless BigCommerce, and ensure that it aligns with your business objectives and budget.
• Evaluate their communication and collaboration: The agency should be able to effectively communicate and collaborate with your internal teams throughout the migration process.
• Check their portfolio: Review their past work and case studies to understand the kind of projects they completed and the best practices they follow.

By working with a reputable agency, you can leverage their expertise and resources to smoothly migrate your store to headless BigCommerce with minimal disruption to your business.

Frontend-As-A-Service

Using Frontend-as-a-Service (FaaS) to go headless with BigCommerce is a convenient and cost-effective option that can simplify the migration process.

FaaS providers offer a pre-built frontend already connected to BigCommerce’s APIs, allowing merchants to quickly and easily move their store to a headless architecture.

FaaS can be an efficient and cost-effective way to migrate to headless BigCommerce. But it provides the least control over the frontend. You’ll have limited customization options, limited integration capabilities, and limited control over the technology stack. So, it is important to carefully weigh the advantages and disadvantages of FaaS before making a decision.

Essential Checklist for Migrating to Headless Commerce

When considering a headless commerce solution for your business, it’s essential to consider some key factors to make an informed decision. Here are some points to consider:

Check the platform’s flexibility: When selecting headless commerce platforms, choose one that’s flexible enough to meet your ever-changing needs. Whether you need custom integrations or are looking for an all-in-one solution, there are plenty of options.

You must research each one thoroughly and check their features closely before deciding which one will work best for you.

Check out Security: From the security perspective, the first thing to consider is whether or not the platform can handle PCI-compliant checkout without sacrificing flexibility. If so, then this should be marked off your list of requirements.

Additionally, look into authentication protocols like OAuth and SAML that will allow users access while keeping their data secure. Lastly, consider if the platform has additional features, such as tokenized payments and fraud protection, that can boost security further.

Check Built-in Capabilities: You must check built-in capabilities such as real-time shipping information and order statuses. This will ensure that your customers are always aware of their current status throughout the entire buying experience.

Consider Your Business/Revenue Model: You must also look for the business/revenue model when you migrate to headless commerce. For example, if you operate a business with a complex pricing structure, such as subscription-based models or tiered pricing, you’ll want to ensure that the headless commerce platform you choose supports these pricing models.

Similarly, if you sell products with many variations, such as size and color options, you’ll want to ensure that the platform you choose supports easy management of these variations.

These points will help you understand what to expect and what to consider in advance while deciding whether headless commerce is the right fit for you and your business.

Popular Headless BigCommerce Store Examples

1. Cocktail Courier:

Cocktail Courier is an eCommerce store that delivers cocktail ingredients and mixers to customers. By using headless BigCommerce, this site obtained a beautiful design and improved site speed. Apart from that, they also improved the shipping options.

2. Four Pillars Gin:

Four Pillars Gin is a maker of premium gin based in Australia, known for its focus on distilling gin with an Australian flavor profile and using Australian botanicals. With headless commerce abilities they designed a horizontal scroll feature to display their products with high-quality imagery.

3. Black Diamond Equipment:

Black Diamond Equipment is a manufacturer and retailer of outdoor equipment specializing in climbing and skiing gear. They used BigCommerce headless API to create a stunning hero section and product pages with videos without slowing the website speed.

4. Ted Baker:

Ted Baker is a luxury fashion brand based in the UK, known for its formal wear and fashion accessories, such as clothing, shoes, bags, and jewelry. With headless commerce, they improved their customer experience by grouping product categories in grid form. They also enhanced their blog page.

5. Just Sunnies:

Just Sunnies is an eCommerce retailer that offers a wide range of sunglasses from various brands and a selection of prescription glasses.

This website presents customer reviews in a carousel format to attract new potential customers. Improved page loading speed allows customers to browse more products in less time.

6. GOREWEAR:

Gorewear is a sportswear and streetwear brand; they offer a wide range of clothing, such as t-shirts, hoodies, and pants, as well as accessories like hats and bags. They are known for their bold, eye-catching designs that combine athletic and streetwear influences. The measuring charts and a product video give their product page a unique identity.

Wrapping Up

We hope this ultimate guide gave you an in-depth view of how to build a successful and secure headless BigCommerce store and leverage the many benefits it can bring.

With this information, you can now understand why it is so popular and how to implement it for your online store. And you now know the powerful options for customizing, managing, and scaling your store through BigCommerce’s APIs and other solutions.

If you need professional help with headless infrastructure setup or building an entirely new BigCommerce headless store, you can contact WebDesk Solution, a top BigCommerce development company with immense experience in this field.

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