Headless commerce when it earns its keep. I build storefronts on Hydrogen, Next.js + Shopify Storefront API, and BigCommerce headless — choosing the platform and framework based on your catalog, traffic, and team, not the trend cycle.
Headless commerce is the right tool for a specific shape of problem: brand experience that demands more than a theme can give, multi-region routing, complex merchandising, content + commerce blended in one storefront, or a frontend stack the company has standardized on for non-commerce reasons.
It is the wrong tool when a templated theme would do the job. The cost of headless is not just the build — it is the ongoing maintenance, the additional surface area, the reduced compatibility with apps in the platform ecosystem.
I will tell you which side of the line your project sits on during the scoping call. I have shipped both headless and templated commerce, and I have killed half-finished headless projects that should never have started.
First question: should this be headless at all? Honest answer in 30 minutes.
Hydrogen vs Next.js vs your existing stack. Search, PIM, ERP integrations mapped before code.
Staging URL from week one. Friday demo standing meeting.
Redirect map, soft launch on a subset of traffic, full cutover when metrics hold.
$25,000+ for headless storefronts. Audit + recommendation only at $3,000.
10–20 weeks depending on integrations.
Hydrogen if you are committed to the Shopify ecosystem long-term, want Oxygen edge hosting, and the Hydrogen v3+ feature set fits. Next.js + Storefront API if you have multi-platform considerations or already have a Next.js codebase. Both are valid. Both ship to production today.
Theme-layer apps stop working. Admin-side apps keep working. Storefront-data apps that expose data through the Storefront API keep working. App audit is part of scoping.
Use the platform-hosted checkout. Bypassing it on Shopify is a PCI nightmare and on most platforms violates terms of service. Customize within the bounds the platform offers.
Often, but not automatically. A well-tuned Liquid theme on Shopify CDN can be very fast. Headless gives you more control — including the control to make it slower if not done carefully.
Yes. Migrations are scoped separately based on catalog complexity, customer history volume, and the URL structure of the legacy store.
30-minute call, fixed-price proposal in 48 hours. No commitment until you sign.