What is headless commerce?

Headless commerce separates the storefront a customer sees, the head, from the commerce engine that handles products, carts, and orders behind it. The two talk through APIs, so you can change the look without touching the machinery.

Traditional platforms fuse the front and back together, which makes the storefront hard to customize. Going headless frees the design team to build any experience, web, app, kiosk, social, all powered by the same commerce core.

The payoff is speed and flexibility. You can redesign the customer experience, or sell in a new channel, without rebuilding the engine underneath.

Sthenos builds tailored stores, like a customized ecommerce platform for a clothing and accessories brand, and most start with a free proof of concept. Explore our ecommerce solutions.

Related terms: social commerce, order management system (OMS), subscription commerce.

Is headless commerce right for every store?

Not always. It shines when you need a highly custom or multi channel experience. A simple store may not need the extra flexibility.