E-commerce has revolutionized the shopping experience with its advanced qualities and ability. However, to ensure a perfect shopping experience, handling the issues that users experience is crucial. In 2013, Direk Hoireg coined the term “headless” to describe an approach that can make e-commerce faster, more reliable, and more engaging with headless e-commerce solutions.
“Headless commerce is a great way to speed up your ability to launch new commerce initiatives, get to market faster and test and learn at a much faster pace.” – Brian Walker, Chief Strategy Officer at Bloomreach
What is Headless E-commerce?
Headless e-commerce refers to separating the front end and back end from each other. It enables them to function independently, providing advanced flexibility in terms of customization and integration with outer platforms. It allows creating changes in the front end by using the required APIs without changing the back-end platform.
Likewise, We can replace the back end without disturbing the user-facing aspects of the website. This approach enables companies to provide a better shopping experience. While also easing the process of mixing with other systems and services.
To assist you in picking the right headless e-commerce solutions platform for your website, we will conduct a complete analysis and comparison of the best headless e-commerce platforms today. Stay tuned for insights that will assist you in picking the perfect solution to enhance your online business!
Comparison Of The Best Headless E-Commerce Platforms
1. Progressive Web App (PWA) Studio
Magento PWA studio is helping to progressive web apps and storefront solutions for integration with the back end by using APIs. Progressive web apps are useful for web stores to stop the need of forming separate native mobile apps for Android or IOS. PWAs can work as a native mobile app that covers almost all the elements that native mobile apps contain.
Compatibility with Other Platforms
The designers Primarily designed Magento PWA Studio to work with Magento back end, especially versions 2.3 and above. However, the Studio includes several tools that designers can utilize to build front-end frameworks. Using the storefront developed by PWA Studio in Integration with any CMS platforms such as WordPress, Joomla, Shopify, and BigCommerce.
Furthermore, using the PWA Studio with a CMS platform other than Magento would require customization and development to ensure smooth integration.
Cost-effectiveness and Turnaround time
PWA Studio is an open-source tool, which means it is free to use for anyone who wants to develop a PWA front-end solution. However, building a PWA front-end solution can be difficult and require technical knowledge and creator support. As a result, to ensure the success of your project, it’s important to hire Magento developers who have experience working with PWA Studio and can provide the necessary.
The cost of hiring developers may vary based on the project needs and many other factors required to develop the custom front end for your CMS platform.
Additionally, the development time can also vary based on the project conditions. The development process can take anywhere from 4 to 6 weeks for a simple project, while more complex projects may take months to complete. It is crucial to factor in the development time and cost when considering building a PWA front-end solution using PWA Studio.
Scalability
Built with React and Redux technologies, PWA Studio can handle high traffic loads, making it capable of giving superior performance even under heavy usage. The designers of this platform have ensured that it connects effortlessly with Magento and other CMS platforms, giving exceptional scalability and the ability to handle massive traffic volumes while giving an excellent user experience.
Latest Version and updates
The Magento PWA studio project was developed using the React and Redux frameworks and introduced in 2018. Since then, the development team has provided numerous updates to make it more useful for users. The current and latest version of PWA studio is 13.0.0, released in January 2023.
Community Support and Resources
PWA Studio has a vibrant community of creators and users who offer support and resources to those looking to learn more about the platforms and provide solutions for headless e-commerce development. Here are some resources you can access for community support and information on PWA Studio:
- PWA Studio’s official documentation offers detailed information on how to get started with PWA Studio.
- PWA Studio GitHub repository is the central location for the latest code, documentation, and community resources.
- Magento Community Forums offer a space for developers and users to connect and ask questions related to PWA Studio and Magento.
- Magento DevDocs offers comprehensive documentation and resources on PWA Studio.
How it is different from other headless e-commerce solutions?
PWA Studio is an open-source PWAs and storefront solution that comes with sets of tools and libraries. It is one of the best headless e-commerce platforms to develop a custom front–end to blend with any headless supported CMS like Magento, Bigcommerce, WordPress, or Shopify.
Developers can use it to create e-commerce marketplaces or stores, which offer vendors and customers better experiences.
2. Shopify Hydrogen and Oxygen
Shopify Hydrogen is one of the best Progressive Web Apps (PWA) and headless e-commerce solutions that allows for the creation of a storefront for online vendors. It is a fully custom front-end development solution that can merge with Shopify’s back-end systems.
On the other hand, Shopify Oxygen is a hosting solution designed to power the Hydrogen storefront. It means Shopify Oxygen provides the hosting for the storefront developed using Hydrogen. With Shopify headless e-commerce solution, vendors can ensure that the Hydrogen storefront is always available, fast, and dedicated.
Together Shopify Hydrogen and Oxygen offer a complete solution for creating a fully customizable and powerful Shopify headless e-commerce store. By using the benefits of PWAs and Headless e-commerce, vendors can provide a better shopping experience to their customers while also enjoying the flexibility and scalability offered by the Shopify platform.
Compatibility with Other Platforms
Shopify Hydrogen headless solution, a top PWA and storefront development solution, only works with Shopify and operates modern web technologies. Moreover, it is ideal for creating a custom storefront, using it with any other CMS platform would require significant customization and could adversely impact performance and user experience. However, it is possible to mix it with other platforms despite being mainly designed for use with Shopify.
Cost-effectiveness and Turnaround time
Shopify has different plans to develop an e-commerce store with them which start from basic, advanced, and Shopify plus if you have any of these Shopify plans you can use the Shopify hydrogen and oxygen without paying any extra cost. Since it is very technical to develop the Storefront by using Shopify’s technology, you have to hire a Shopify professional which can cost you as per your needs.
The development time for developing a store on Shopify depends on the project requirements. When using a pre-developed template, it can take only a few hours or days. However, if we develop a custom Storefront for integration with a detached back end, it may take several weeks or even months for Shopify headless e-commerce store.
Scalability
Furthermore, Shopify has recently introduced the Shopify hydrogen headless solution, a new platform architecture designed to enhance the scalability and performance of their platform. Hydrogen is developed to be a modular and adjustable architecture that can scale to handle large volumes of traffic and trades.
Using Graphql, Shopify Hydrogen uses web caching to load data virtually, even at low internet speeds.
Latest Version and updates
Shopify announces the react-based PWAs and storefront development tool Shopify Hydrogen in 2021 to make things easier for users. Thereafter, Shopify provides many updates to enhance its performance the current and latest version of Shopify Hydrogen is 2023.1.5. There have been not any updates in Shopify Oxygen since its released.
Community Support and Resources
Since Shopify Hydrogen launched in 2021, community support is still growing. However, Shopify provides all the advice and help on their official website to help their users with development issues. We can find the GitHub repository for Shopify Hydrogen, where all the details are available.
There are some helpful resources to get to know about Shopify’s Hydrogen
- Shopify’s official website has many documents to set up Shopify Hydrogen and Oxygen.
- Shopify Hydrogen Github repository also provides many details of the latest version and recent codes.
- Shopify support service is also available to provide solutions for headless e-commerce development.
How it is different from other headless e-commerce solutions?
Shopify Hydrogen and Oxygen is a significant project started by Shopify to provide Shopify headless e-commerce solution. This platform offers creators complete freedom to customize and develop headless e-commerce stores by using its features. It is largely designed to work with Shopify’s back-end system, to use instead of other CMS platforms.
Shopify provides many features and development solutions to its users. If you are thinking of using all these features, Shopify hydrogen, and oxygen will be the best option for you. Because this platform enables developers to seamlessly combine a custom front-end system with a headless Shopify back-end system.
3. VueStorefront
VueStorefront is a potent, independent development tool that enables the building of PWAs and storefronts that are uniform with any CMS platform. Its development involved the use of Vue.JS, Node.js, and Graphql, making it easy to merge with different CMSs. In addition, VueStorefront boasts a protean and customizable architecture, which makes it an ideal choice for companies with the best headless e-commerce platforms.
Compatibility with Other Platforms
Its tools and libraries enable easy integration with any CMS platform, making it specific to use VueStorefront a standalone solution. Businesses can use VueStorefront to develop custom front-end systems that work easily with their current CMS platforms.
Additionally, it is a very powerful option over PWA studio and Shopify headless e-commerce solutions.
Cost-effectiveness and Turnaround time
VueStorefront is a free and open-source tool that enables companies to develop PWAs or front-end systems without any license or platform fees. However, developing front-end solutions for headless e-commerce using VueStorefront requires technical expertise and the assistance of a professional developer.
The cost of hiring a professional developer for creating a custom front end can vary based on specific project requirements. It is important to note that hiring a skilled developer can help ensure the development process is efficient and effective.
Similarly, the development timeline for a headless e-commerce store depends on the project’s needs. Developing a custom headless store requires technical expertise and vast development work. So the development time can range from several weeks to several months.
Scalability
Vuestorefront is a highly scalable solution to work with any CMS platform to handle more traffic & easily pass API connections. It can easily manage all traffic and payment processing because of the Vue.js and Node.js technologies used in the development. This makes it one of the best headless e-commerce platforms to develop faster and more engaging storefront solutions for your CMS platform.
Latest Version and updates
Since its launch in 2017, Vuestorefront has experienced numerous updates to enhance its performance and features. A vast and active community of developers currently maintains the platform and continues to work on adding new features.
Vue Storefront 1.12.3 is the most recent and updated version of Vuestorefront, updated and released in 2021.
Community Support and Resources
Vuestorefront has a vast and vibrant community that helps to resolve any bugs or issues. To assist users and provide the necessary information, Vuestorefront offers development and customer support through its official website. Additionally, the Vuestorefront team often updates and maintains multiple GitHub repositories that contain useful setup files, facilitating the onboarding process for users.
How it is different from other headless e-commerce solutions?
VueStorefront is a universal and standalone tool that can seamlessly merge with any back-end CMS platform. With the support of a large community of developers, VueStorefront offers a cost-effective solution for building powerful and customizable storefronts.
VueStorefront is an excellent choice for companies looking to develop a high-quality storefront on a tight budget. It is one of the most recommended headless e-commerce solutions to develop the custom front end for your custom CMS platform.
4. ScandiPWA
Developers can create PWAs and storefronts using ScandiPWA’s open-source theme for Magento. ScandiPWA is able to craft the front-end user interface and combine it with the back-end database. ScandiPWA employs modern technologies such as React, Redux, and GraphQL to create the theme, for a better mobile-friendly user experience.
Compatibility with Other Platforms
ScandiPWA is initially designed to work with Magento as a front for e-commerce applications. It uses Magento’s APIs to access data from the backend, such as product information and customer details. While it is possible to use ScandiPWA with other CMS platforms, this would require significant development effort to customize and combine its APIs with other backend systems.
However, Using ScandiPWA with other platforms could reduce its efficiency and lead to a better user experience.
Cost-effectiveness and Turnaround time
ScandiPWA is a free and open-source Magento theme. However, technical expertise is required to customize and merge the theme with the backend. As a result, to ensure the success of your project, it’s important to hire developers who have experience working with PWA Studio and can provide the necessary support
Developers can create a PWA-based storefront in less time and at a lower cost by using ScandiPWA from scratch. However, if you want to use ScandiPWA with a different CMS platform, you would need to hire a developer.
Scalability
ScandiPWA ensures optimal user experience by creating a PWA-based solution that delivers high performance, It can easily access devices, such as mobiles, computers, laptops, and other gadgets, making it highly adjustable. Furthermore, ScandiPWA can handle high traffic, enabling e-commerce stores to operate more quickly and engagingly for users.
Latest Version and updates
In 2018, Scandiweb released ScandiPWA, a PWA storefront development tool intended for Magento to create seamless e-commerce experiences. Developers constantly update the platform to add new functionalities and address any reported bugs or issues. It helps to ensure that the platform stays updated and performs better.
Developers recently updated the latest version of ScandiPWA to 6.1.1 in January 2023. Moreover, they fixed numerous bugs and revised them from React to Preact.
Community Support and Resources
ScandiPWA is supported by a good community that provides assistance and error rectification, continually improving the theme’s ability for users. Primarily developed for Magento, many Magento developers highly recommend this PWA-based theme. However, you can access various resources to receive helpful community support for ScandiPWA.
- ScandiPWA’s source code is available on GitHub for developers to collect available details.
- The documentation is available on its official website which covers all aspects of the platform.
- ScandiPWA’s community forums provide a platform for users and developers.
How it is different from other headless e-commerce solutions?
ScandiPWA is a very powerful and the first open-source theme of Magento, it doesn’t require extra effort to build a storefront. It is a pre-built theme that allows making customization to merge it with CMS platforms.
If you plan on using Magento as your back-end CMS platform, ScandiPWA is an excellent suggestion. However, if you intend to use a different or custom CMS platform, it may not be a savvy option.
5. Hyva theme
Hyva is a storefront solution theme specifically designed for building headless eCommerce stores. It is an open-source theme and mainly focuses on working efficiently with Magento 2, it helps to separate the integration process from the back-end system.
Hyva offers a range of powerful storefront development features that provide a seamless user experience to customers, Hyva uses modern technologies such as React, Redux, and GraphQL to build fast and optimized storefronts. Additionally, it offers flexible customization options and a modular architecture that allows for easy changes and the addition of features.
Compatibility with Other Platforms
The Hvya theme is designed to work with Magento 2 as a front-end solution for a decoupled back end to develop a headless e-commerce store. While it is designed for Magento 2, it is compatible to work seamlessly with Magento’s back-end system.
However, mainly it is designed to work as a storefront solution for creating headless e-commerce stores, so by using the APIs and making some customization we can combine it with any other CMS platform such as Shopify, Bigcommerce, Drupal, and any other custom CMS platform.
Cost-effectiveness and Turnaround time
One of the advantages of using Hyva is that it is one of the headless e-commerce solutions that does not require significant upfront investments. However, to take full advantage of the Hyva platform, it is advised to hire a technical Magento 2 developer who can help with the development and integration process.
Overall, Hyva is a pocket-friendly e-commerce solution that can help companies save money and reduce development time compared to building a storefront from scratch.
Scalability
Hyva was built using modern technologies such as React, Redux, and GraphQL, which provide the necessary scalability and flexibility, to build a headless e-commerce storefront that can handle raised traffic and data. Hyva allows organizations to scale their storefront separately from their backend systems, which can help reduce the strain on the overall work.
It reduces the loading time of the pages and makes it almost instantly, which provides the best users experience to customers and help to scale the businesses.
Latest Version and updates
Hyva was tossed in 2021 since then it has become one of the first choices of designers to develop a PWA-based storefront solution for headless e-commerce stores. The development community of Hyva has made many updates to fix the bugs and make them more capable.
The latest version of the Hyva theme is 1.1.13 which is previously released.
Community Support and Resources
Hyva benefits from a growing community of users and developers who contribute to its development and offer support to others. Here are some resources you can use to find community support and resources for Hyva:
- Hyva’s source code is hosted on GitHub.
- The Hyva documentations are available on the official website.
- The Hyva blog offers regular updates on the theme’s development.
How it is different from other headless e-commerce solutions?
Hyva is another open-source theme to develop a reliable storefront for Magento 2 and other CMS platforms, we can use this theme with other headless supported back-end CMS platforms. But it will work smoothly with Magento 2 and above because it was mainly designed to work with Magento’s back-end system.
If you are picking Magento 2 over any other CMS platforms you can keep this headless e-commerce solution on your favorite list.
Final Words
In conclusion, headless e-commerce is a powerful approach that allows online vendors to provide a seamless shopping experience.
All the above solutions can build a headless e-commerce store, but it depends on conditions and the functionality for projects that your business requires. Where PWA studio, ScandiPWA, and Hvya theme are helpful to develop a Magento e-commerce store, Shopify hydrogen headless solution and Oxygen are consistent with Shopify, and Vuestorefront can easily be merged with any CMS platform.
Additionally, if you are looking for a loyal and experienced partner to provide headless e-commerce solutions for your business, TBI can assist you. Our team of skilled developers has vast experience in creating custom and scalable headless e-commerce platforms to help companies. Contact us today to discuss your needs and learn more about our services.
