Magento Headless Commerce: Benefits, Strategies, and Examples

Headless is now a “buzzword” marking the future of eCommerce in the right direction. This technology redefines customization to the next level and entrusts brands with a tailored customer experience. 

Businesses can quickly adapt to new technology touchpoints, add personalizations, and shape a seamless buying journey. The best part is it eliminates the constant technical headaches of making changes in the backend with the power of Magento Headless technology. 

This guide talks about everything related to Magento Headless commerce in detail. It also covers how brands can implement this technology to stand apart from their competitors.   

Difference between Headless Magento Commerce & Traditional Commerce Architecture

Here are some of the key differences between headless and monolithic architecture (traditional commerce architecture).

Benefits of Headless Magento eCommerce Solutions

Here is the wide range of benefits you can enjoy on your website architecture with a headless Magento setup.

1. Higher Flexibility Of Customizations

• Magento is an open-source platform where modifications and maintenance require an appropriate coding effort. A small change can lead to errors and bugs in the entire system.  
• With the headless approach, the back-end and front-end layers are decoupled making it easy to change in any layer without disturbing the other.
• This allows the developers to test different Magento features without interfering with the backend. Several teams of the company like the IT team, content team, social media team, etc., can work on different parts of the website simultaneously without any hassle. The team can conduct quick changes to both the layers. 

2. Omnichannel Experience

• One of the top benefits of headless commerce is that it allows you to expand your horizons to different channels seamlessly. 
• The revolutionary approach permits you to test new markets easily. Your reach is not limited to mobile apps, websites, or tablets. 
• You can grab new opportunities by extending your reach to IoT devices, smart watches, etc. The powerful tools in the headless CMS (Content Management System) allow you to manage all the content easily which is not possible with traditional ecommerce platforms. 
• You can manage everything from a single dashboard connected to Magento CMS.
• On top of all this, you have to apply the same storefront design to all devices in the traditional architecture. 
• The concept of Headless Commerce allows you to design different heads for specific devices which further increases their responsiveness. 
• You can optimize the storefront design to offer a superior shopping experience to the customers.

3. Ease Of Storefront Development

• In traditional ecommerce platforms, the store design is limited to pre-defined templates which limits the customization level. 
• The headless approach gives full freedom to developers to choose the best frameworks for UI design and leverage the power of their built-in features.
• There are no restrictions when it comes to theme design for your storefront. The store owners can use the drag-and-drop facility to make the changes without tangling in any coding.

4. Improved Speed

• Another good reason for opting for headless commerce is that it offers quicker page load time. The backend and frontend of the store are separated making the store more flexible and lightweight. 
• On top of this, the headless PWA (Progressive Web Apps) storefronts will replace the traditional storefronts and connect them to the Magento backend for higher performance and greater speed.

5. Higher Degree Of Personalization

• The Headless Magento approach allows the storeowner to enjoy content unification while offering separate heads across different channels. This further increases the degree of personalization. 
• They can create storefronts for different county segments to improve marketing tactics. It will be easy to collect the data in one place and analyze it to get a better understanding of the new markets.

Drawbacks of the Headless Magento Approach

1. Increased Launch Time To Market

• The headless store requires more customization which increases the technical work and elongates the overall launch time of the store to market. 
• A headless Magento store takes more time to complete than a traditional Magento website.

2. More Development Efforts

• Creating and developing a complete store with multiple storefronts requires higher development efforts. The team has to build Magento custom themes, integrate third-party extensions, and accommodate custom features into the store.  This increases the overall efforts and time to complete the headless solution for any Magento company.
• You can partner with a reputed headless Magento partner to get the correct solutions and reduce the stress on your in-house team.

3. Costly For SMBs (Small and Midsize Businesses)

• Headless architecture requires professional expertise and more effort in overall store deployment. These factors further increase the overall cost of the project. 
• The innovative approach is an ideal choice for large enterprises that can easily afford the migration process.
• On the other hand, small and medium-sized businesses should analyze their needs and the customization level before the shift to headless architecture. Without proper analysis, they can quickly go beyond their target budget.

Strategies for Making a Shift to Headless With Magento

Magento is a robust eCommerce platform that caters to your backend needs. You have to pick suitable front-end technologies related to your brand’s needs. Here are a few strategies to help you with your front-end requirements.

1. Leverage PWA

Did you know? 

Approximately 49% of data comes from smart mobile devices. 

• The brand in the eCommerce domain should offer an excellent mobile user experience to reap better profits and grab new opportunities.
• The mobile web can cause several issues and hinder the overall performance if it is not optimized properly. 
• Several companies in the market don’t have the time and resources to create offline mobile apps for their brands. 
• Switching to PWA is the only thing to reap the benefits of the lucrative market.
• The PWA is delivered through the mobile web but its behavior resembles a native app. 
• A PWA is reliable, fast, and completely secure. The content in the apps is downloaded progressively which improves the user experience of all the customers.

2. Develop A Custom Adaptive Framework

• If your company has the time and resources to develop a headless framework you can create a custom interface for your store. 
• This will give you more control over the customizations with which you can offer even more personalized experiences to the customers.
• Have a team that has technical expertise in creating a custom storefront. You will require developers in your team who are efficient in working with frameworks like React.js, Vue.js, etc.
• If you don’t want to go through the new hiring and training process of existing staff, then you can work with a reputed agency that can design a storefront.

3. Integrate Magento Store With Headless CMS

• You can create a highly responsive and user-friendly shopping experience with the robust ecommerce capabilities of Magento and the agility of headless CMS. 
• This approach facilitates easier integration with various technologies and services, improving site performance and scalability. 
• You will benefit from the seamless content management and deliver personalized and dynamic content across multiple channels.

3 Things To Consider While Shifting To Headless With Magento

Here are some elements that you need to take care of while going headless with Magento 2.

1. Third-Party Integrations

You may find some existing third-party modules or APIs not working properly with headless architecture. You have to customize or replace them to incorporate them into the new headless architecture. 

With the rising popularity of headless commerce, APIs are coming into the market increasingly that can be integrated with its architecture.

2. Developers

In the headless approach, you require different development and IT teams to cater to the needs of the backend and frontends for multiple channels. You need a full-stack developer team to handle the Magento backend. 

You also need help from Magento expert front-end developers who can work with the chosen frameworks of your storefronts and PWA.

3. Budget

Finalize the budget based on your customizations, requirements, and when it’s time to go live with the ecommerce store. 

Carefully analyze all the elements and then create a budget that can fuel the complete project without any unnecessary stress.

5 Best Magento 2 Headless Examples

The examples shared below best describe how Magento 2 Headless implementation is the best decision for your ecommerce store.

1. Kaporal

Beginning in 2004, Kaporal focused on their love for jeans and hustled hard when Magento 1 ended its life. The site then, leveled up to Magento 2 consisting of a headless PWA storefront for high site performance and speed. 

This drove their site with excellent flexibility and a good user experience that impressed their brand audience. The brand truly harnessed the power of a composable commerce approach for the seamless integration of multiple business solutions under one platform.

2. Zadig & Voltaire

Established in 1997, Zadig & Voltaire is a standout French fashion brand founded by Thierry Gillier. Built on a Magento headless PWA with a Vue storefront, it is famous for its edgy, rich, and chill vibe. 

The site showcases a minimalist design with smooth navigation and faster loading time. Its rock-inspired style and sleek looks make it quite popular in the eyes of customers. All visitors enjoy a smooth shopping experience on its stunning interface.

3. UK Meds

Revolutionizing healthcare access through easy medication prescription and delivery, UK Meds is helping patients directly who face issues with traditional providers. 

When their website needed support in meeting the growing demand, they used headless commerce. 

This helped them pair Magento with a PWA and custom APIs to transform their online presence with features like Trustpilot and Algolia. 

The company also witnessed a 23% rise in conversion, a 39% hike in revenue, and a 65% boost in transactions.

4. Rubik’s

There was a time when Rubik’s website was dealing with a puzzle: a complicated and inflexible backend. The site needed a scalable solution for overseas expansion, so they went headless with Adobe Commerce. Now, the site loads at an ultra-fast speed. 

This simple upgrade added numerous cool features like a sticky and mega menu, zoom-in features on product pages, rich media tutorials, and a promo code engine. The result? Rubik’s is now a feature-packed, super fast, and user-centric site ready for global growth.

5. Galerie de Beauté

A leading Greek cosmetic brand, Galerie de Beaute has quickly grown to 50 stores in under 20 years. Preparing for international growth, they upgraded their Magento site to improve speed and user experience. 

Switching to a headless PWA storefront has provided them with lightning-fast performance and compatibility across all devices. 

This adaptable and future-ready design ensures they can easily meet future business demands while delivering a seamless and engaging shopping experience. 

Improve your Store’s Customer Experience with Magento Headless Experts at Klizer

With eCommerce brands prioritizing customer experience, it is time to tap into an eCommerce experience that is both customer-centric and super adaptive. 

Blending Magento stores with Headless technology promises a consistent shopping experience across all online channels be it, mobile, marketplace, or social media!

Klizer delivers remarkable customer experiences by building a fast and omnichannel Magento storefront. Get in touch with our in-house expert team at Kilzer to get started with Magento Headless today. 

FAQs

What is Headless Magento?

Magento Headless is a headless architecture where the front end and back end of the website are separated from each other. 

In headless commerce, the frontend layer of the online store is built with the help of CSS, HTML, and Javascript which is completely detached from the backend layer which is powered by Magento technology. 

This headless approach allows the developers to use the best practices to leverage the power of the top web technologies to offer a better user experience in the front-end design and enjoy the perks of Magento in the backend.

Traditionally, Magento comes with a tightly integrated backend and front end. The headless commerce solution decouples both layers from each other and offers a higher degree of customization to store owners and brands on their eCommerce Magento stores.

How much does Magento headless development cost?

A headless Magento site may cost anywhere from $5,000 to more than $100,000.  There is no fixed cost associated with Magento headless development. 

It always depends on the project’s complexity and the number of tasks involved. Given below are all the factors that affect the total cost of making a headless Magento store.

• UI/UX and Storefront designs: You must define the number of storefronts to be created and their complexity. Also, what would you prefer using – a page builder, buying themes, or from scratch creation?
• Custom features and third-party integration: Share all your custom features list and integrations that you need in your store. 
• PWA implementation: PWA implementation is an ideal choice if you’re looking for a better mobile experience and performance using PWA for your headless storefront.
• API customization: This highly depends on how complicated your storefront is. 

What is the total time for complete Magento headless development?

Developing a headless Magento store can take anywhere between 1-6 months. This entirely relies on the project scope. You can connect with the expert Magento developers to get a quote for your custom development. 

Should I go for a headless Magento store?

The headless architecture does offer some great benefits for your Magento store but choosing it for your Magento store needs more consideration. In case you fall under any of the below categories, you should switch to the headless architecture.

• Your current Magento site faces issues related to slow speed, mobile performance, and customer experience.
• If you are planning to expand into international waters swiftly.
• Updating and refreshing site content has become a constant job.
• You want more store flexibility, efficiency, and agility in your existing store.