Custom headless commerce platform development for brands that truly want control of their e-commerce
We build headless commerce platforms for brands that want to go beyond standard Shopify or WooCommerce: a bespoke frontend with exceptionally fast performance, a freely chosen commerce engine, and integrations with PIM, OMS, ERP and CRM. MACH architecture where it makes sense: not as a buzzword, but as a pragmatic choice.
When headless commerce truly makes sense, and when it doesn't
Headless commerce is not a silver bullet. For some brands, a good Shopify theme is faster, cheaper and just as effective. For others, headless is the only route to the desired customer experience and operational scale. An honest assessment is the first question.
Headless is a good fit when
We often advise against headless when
Our approach: from platform selection to production launch
We work in clearly defined phases with measurable deliverables. At the end of each phase you know exactly what has been built, what it cost and what the next step involves.
Discovery & platform selection
2-4 weeks: business goals, channels, integrations and KPIs are defined. We test 2-3 commerce engines (Shopify Plus + Hydrogen, commercetools, Saleor, BigCommerce, Medusa) against your requirements and provide a reasoned recommendation with a TCO comparison.
Architecture & integration design
3-5 weeks: the data model, integration flows (PIM, OMS, ERP, CRM, payment, shipping), event architecture, identity & access, performance budget and observability are documented. Only then do we start building.
MVP storefront on the core catalogue
2-4 months: a first storefront covering the product categories that drive 80% of traffic. End-to-end: product detail, listing, search, basket, checkout, order confirmation, account. Performance is built into the pipeline from day one.
Integrations live
In parallel: PIM feed, stock sync, price sync, order sync to OMS/ERP, CRM events. Each with dual-write or compare mode between old and new systems, so data integrity can be validated before cutover.
Soft launch and gradual rollout
5-10% of traffic moves to the new platform via feature flags or CDN routing. We monitor KPIs: conversion, AOV, page speed, error rate. We scale up gradually to 100% only once the thresholds are met.
Decommissioning the old platform
The old platform is switched off only once all SKUs, customers, orders and integrations have moved over. A stable 6-12 month parallel run is normal at enterprise level.
Commerce engines we regularly recommend, and why
No religious wars. We advise what suits your scale, team and growth path. Here are the ones we choose most often.
Shopify Plus + Hydrogen / Remix
For brands that want to keep the mature Shopify checkout but want a storefront that is considerably faster than standard themes. Inventory, orders and payments stay in Shopify; the storefront is custom. Pragmatic, quick to go live, lower TCO than fully headless.
commercetools
For enterprise B2B and brands with complex pricing, multi-tenant or multi-brand setups. Fully API-first, strong catalogue modelling, B2B features out of the box. High flexibility comes with higher licence costs and a steep learning curve.
Saleor
Open-source, GraphQL-first, Python backend. A strong option for brands that want to self-host or keep control of licence costs. Community and development speed have grown considerably in recent years.
Medusa
Open-source, Node.js, modular. Strong for brands that want to fork their commerce engine or extend it substantially. At Appfront, a popular choice for niche products with unusual business rules.
BigCommerce + Catalyst
A middle ground: the SaaS reliability of BigCommerce with a modern storefront (Catalyst, GraphQL, Next.js). For brands at medium volume that don't want the full commercetools investment.
What we choose less often
Magento (Adobe Commerce) remains powerful but is heavy to operate; we rarely choose it for new greenfield projects. Salesforce Commerce Cloud usually only fits where the entire Salesforce suite is already in use.
Tech stack for headless commerce
Pragmatic choices with strong vendor neutrality. We don't want you locked in two years from now to a supplier that has doubled its prices.
Storefront frameworks
Next.js (App Router), Remix, Astro for content-heavy brand pages, Hydrogen for the Shopify stack. Always TypeScript.
CMS / content
Sanity, Storyblok, Contentful for brand content. Directus or Strapi where self-hosting matters.
Search & discovery
Algolia, Typesense, Meilisearch for product search. Klevu or Constructor for merchandiser tooling on larger catalogues.
Payment & fraud
Mollie, Stripe, Adyen, Klarna. Riskified or Signifyd for fraud screening in B2B scenarios. PSP-agnostic abstraction so you can switch providers.
OMS / fulfilment
Shopify Order Management, Fluent Commerce, custom middleware to ERP, Sendcloud for logistics routing, ShipStation for shipping labels.
Analytics & CRO
GA4, Matomo (privacy-first), Heap, Mixpanel for product analytics. VWO or Optimizely for A/B testing at storefront level.
Performance is a feature, not an afterthought
Speed at storefront level drives conversion. We build with a performance budget from the start, monitored in CI/CD.
Edge rendering & caching
Static pages are prerendered at the CDN edge (Vercel, Cloudflare, Netlify). Dynamic data is handled with SWR patterns and targeted invalidations. ISR/PPR where it makes sense.
Image optimisation
Responsive images in AVIF/WebP, lazy loading, correct dimensions, blur placeholders. CDN image services (Imgix, Cloudinary, Vercel Image) for on-the-fly transforms.
Lighthouse budget in CI
Pull requests that worsen LCP, CLS or TBT are blocked. Performance is not a post-launch project; it is a release criterion.
Streaming SSR
Above-the-fold content reaches the browser quickly, with longer queries streamed afterwards. Perceived speed is higher than the technical TTFB suggests.
Prefetching & predictive routing
Next pages are preloaded based on intent (hover, focus, viewport). When applied correctly, site navigation feels like a native app.
Real-user monitoring
Not just synthetic Lighthouse, but also RUM via SpeedCurve, Vercel Speed Insights or Datadog RUM. Real users on real networks are the ground truth.
Frequently asked questions about headless commerce platforms
What exactly is headless commerce?
Headless commerce decouples the storefront (frontend, what the customer sees) from the commerce engine (backend, where products, orders and checkout run). The frontend communicates with the backend via APIs, so you can use the same commerce data for web, mobile, kiosks and marketplaces, and build the frontend in whichever modern stack you prefer.
What is the difference between headless and MACH architecture?
MACH stands for Microservices, API-first, Cloud-native, Headless. Headless commerce is part of the broader MACH approach, in which each component (commerce, CMS, search, payments, OMS) is a specialised best-of-breed service with APIs. Not every headless project is fully MACH; sometimes a hybrid approach with a single commerce engine is the pragmatic choice.
Is headless commerce more expensive than a Shopify theme?
Initially, yes. The storefront has to be developed rather than bought, and integrations are bespoke. In the longer term (2-3 years) headless can prove more cost-effective thanks to better conversion, lower CRO friction and the ability to build across channels. So only build headless if the business case stands, not simply because it is modern.
How long does a headless commerce project take?
An MVP storefront on a core catalogue typically takes 4-6 months. Fully migrating from a legacy commerce platform, including integrations, takes 9-18 months depending on complexity. We work in phases with visible results along the way, not big-bang projects.
Which commerce engine should we choose?It depends on scale, team capabilities and business model. Shopify Plus + Hydrogen for brands that value speed and pragmatism. commercetools for enterprise B2B with complex pricing. Saleor or Medusa for open source and cost control. We carry out a vendor-neutral comparison for your context.
What about SEO with headless?
Better than with many template-based platforms, provided it is done well. Server-side rendering or static generation, structured data (Product, BreadcrumbList, Offer), canonical tags, hreflang for multiple locales and a correct sitemap are standard parts of our setup. Edge rendering often delivers better Core Web Vitals than classic SaaS platforms.
Can you replace an existing platform without downtime?
Yes. We work with gradual traffic routing (CDN rules or feature flags), parallel integrations with dual-write during the migration, and thorough validation before we switch over. A typical cutover runs in phases, by category or by locale.
What if we want to hand over maintenance to our in-house IT team?
This is a standard part of the engagement. We work in mixed teams, record architecture decisions in ADRs, write runbooks and carry out knowledge transfer. By the end of the project, your team should be able to run the platform, with our remote support for whatever still needs it.
Ready to move your e-commerce from templates to custom development?
We start with a platform strategy conversation. You receive an honest assessment of whether headless suits your situation, a well-founded platform choice and a realistic picture of scope, costs and timeline. No sales pitch.
Looking for a more concrete picture of the possibilities? On applatenmaken.com, see Building a commerce platform.