Headless Shopify Development
Break free from theme limitations. Build the premium digital experience your brand deserves.
Headless commerce separates your storefront (what customers see) from your backend (Shopify's commerce engine). This gives you complete creative freedom while keeping Shopify's operational reliability. Build editorial experiences. Create unique interactions. Deliver sub-second page loads. All while Shopify handles products, checkout, and orders.
✓ Trusted by D2C brands doing $5M+ annually
Is Headless Right for Your Brand?
Headless commerce is not for everyone. It's a significant investment that makes sense in specific situations.
You Should Consider Headless If:
Your Brand Identity Demands It
Premium fashion, luxury goods, design-led brands—if your brand positioning requires a distinctive digital experience that themes cannot deliver, headless is the answer.
Visual Storytelling Is Your Competitive Edge
Editorial layouts, lookbook experiences, scroll-based narratives, immersive product presentations—these require custom frontend development.
You're Scaling Beyond $5M Annual Revenue
The investment in headless ($50-150K+) requires sufficient revenue to justify the cost. Below $5M annually, optimize your existing theme instead.
Mobile Experience Is Critical
If 80%+ of your traffic is mobile and you need app-like performance, headless delivers sub-second page transitions that themes cannot match.
You Should Wait If:
- You're still finding product-market fit
- Your revenue is under $5M annually
- Standard theme functionality meets your needs
- You lack technical resources for ongoing maintenance
- Speed to market is more important than uniqueness
Our Headless Commerce Solution
We build production-ready headless storefronts that combine creative excellence with technical performance.
Frontend Framework
Next.js 14 with React, TypeScript, and Tailwind CSS. Server-side rendering for SEO, incremental static regeneration for performance, image optimization built-in.
Shopify Integration
Shopify Storefront API for products, cart, and customer data. Checkout remains on Shopify for security and payment processing. Real-time inventory sync.
Content Management
Sanity or Contentful for editorial content, campaign pages, and rich media. Visual editing for non-technical team members.
Performance Optimization
Edge caching via Vercel or Cloudflare. Image optimization with WebP/AVIF. Code splitting and lazy loading. Target: <1s page loads.
Mobile-First Design
Touch-optimized interactions, gesture navigation, infinite scroll, native-app-like transitions. 60fps animations on mobile devices.
Developer Handoff
Complete source code and documentation. Deployment pipeline setup. Team training and knowledge transfer. Ongoing support plan.
What You Get
Complete Storefront
- Homepage with editorial flexibility
- Collection pages with filtering and sorting
- Product pages with dynamic layouts
- Cart and checkout integration
- Customer account portal
- Search functionality
- Multi-currency/multi-language support
Content Management & Analytics
- Visual page builder for marketing team
- Editorial content management
- Campaign page creation
- Performance monitoring dashboard
- Analytics integration (GA4, Segment)
- A/B testing infrastructure
- Content preview environments
How We Build Your Headless Store
Phase 1: Discovery & Strategy
(3-4 weeks)- Deep dive into brand identity and vision
- Audit existing site and identify pain points
- Define technical requirements and integrations
- Design system architecture and API planning
- Performance benchmarks and targets
Deliverable: Technical specification, project timeline, risk assessment
Phase 2: Design & Prototyping
(4-6 weeks)- Design system creation (typography, colors, components)
- Key page designs (desktop, tablet, mobile)
- Interactive prototype with real interactions
- Accessibility standards (WCAG 2.1 AA)
- Mobile and desktop user flows
Deliverable: Complete design system, high-fidelity designs, interactive prototype
Phase 3: Development
(10-14 weeks)- Next.js application and design system setup
- Shopify API and CMS integration
- Core pages (homepage, products, collections, cart)
- Advanced features (accounts, personalization, search)
- Performance optimization and accessibility audit
Deliverable: Fully functional headless storefront
Phase 4: Content Migration & Launch
(3-4 weeks)- Product data and content migration
- Media optimization and upload
- Comprehensive QA and load testing
- Security audit and user acceptance testing
- Deployment, DNS setup, and team training
Deliverable: Live headless store, documentation, training
Headless Commerce Pricing
Headless is a significant investment. Here's transparent pricing based on project scope.
Standard Build
Timeline: 5-7 months
Mid-market D2C brands ($5-25M annual revenue)
- Discovery and strategy phase
- Complete design system
- Next.js storefront development
- Shopify Storefront API integration
- CMS setup (Sanity or Contentful)
- Product, collection, cart, checkout pages
- Customer account portal
- Mobile-responsive design
- Performance optimization
- Launch support
Premium Build
Timeline: 6-9 months
Premium brands ($25-100M annual revenue)
- Everything in Standard, plus:
- Advanced animations and interactions
- Custom product configurators
- Personalization engine integration
- Lookbook/editorial experiences
- AR/VR integration
- A/B testing infrastructure
- Multi-region/multi-currency setup
- Extended post-launch support
Enterprise
Timeline: 9-12 months
Enterprise brands ($100M+ annual revenue)
- Multi-brand/multi-store architecture
- Advanced ERP/system integrations
- Custom middleware and APIs
- White-glove development process
- Dedicated project team
- Priority support SLA
Ongoing Maintenance
Essential Support: $2,000/month
- Bug fixes and updates
- Shopify API compatibility
- Performance monitoring
- Monthly analytics review
Growth Support: $5,000/month
- Everything in Essential
- Feature development (10 hours/month)
- Conversion optimization
- A/B testing management
- Quarterly strategy sessions
Real Results: Premium Fashion Brand
The Challenge
- Theme templates felt generic
- Lookbooks were static blog posts
- 6-second average page load times
- Editorial content difficult to manage
The Solution
- Next.js headless storefront with custom design
- Sanity CMS for editorial content
- Interactive lookbooks with product hotspots
- Optimized for mobile-first experience
"The headless rebuild transformed how customers experience our brand. We can now execute campaigns in hours, not weeks. The mobile experience feels like an app."
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does a headless build take?
Standard builds take 5-7 months from kickoff to launch. Premium builds take 6-9 months. Timeline depends on complexity, integrations, and content readiness. We provide detailed timeline during discovery.
Can I use my existing Shopify store?
Yes. Headless keeps your existing Shopify backend (products, orders, customers, checkout). We just rebuild the customer-facing frontend. Your Shopify admin stays the same.
How much do hosting costs add?
Hosting a Next.js headless store on Vercel or Netlify typically costs $500-1,000/month depending on traffic. This is separate from the development cost and Shopify plan fees.
Can my team manage content after launch?
Yes. We set up a visual CMS (Sanity or Contentful) so your marketing team can update content, create campaign pages, and manage editorial sections without code.
What about SEO?
Server-side rendering in Next.js means excellent SEO. Often better than theme stores because of faster load times and cleaner HTML. We implement all technical SEO best practices.
Can I add features later?
Yes. One advantage of headless is flexibility. Want to add AR try-on? Custom quiz? Advanced personalization? We can add features without rebuilding the entire store.
Do you offer payment plans?
We structure payments in milestones: 25% on signing, 25% after design approval, 25% mid-development, 25% on launch. Custom payment schedules possible for enterprise clients.
Let's Build Something Exceptional
Whether you're certain headless is right or still evaluating options, we're here to help you make the best decision for your brand.
✓ No pressure. Honest guidance. • ✓ Response within 24 hours