11 Platforms for Headless Commerce

Headless commerce separates the frontend from the backend of a brand’s web presence in an API-first architecture. Headless technology can provide significant advantages in design and performance, particularly for an evolving omnichannel sales environment. Moreover, brands can save time and money integrating existing content with new ecommerce sites and otherwise tailor content for each customer.

Here is a list of platforms that facilitate a headless approach for ecommerce merchants. There are options for both frontend and backend.

Vue Storefront

Vue Storefront is a frontend platform for headless commerce. Connect to any backend and merge with third-party tools. Vue Storefront provides a single app to provide a unified, mobile-first experience. The open-source version of Vue Storefront is the core product in an entire ecosystem of solutions, including Vue Storefront 2, Shopware PWA, and Storefront UI.

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Commercetools

Commercetools offers a cloud-native, headless commerce platform that separates frontend and backend functionality. Its API approach helps retailers design unique and engaging digital commerce across all touchpoints. Access a catalog of 300-plus API endpoints to use á la carte. Engage with your customers via websites, mobile apps, voice assistants, augmented- and virtual-reality applications, social networks, and others.

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Contentful

Contentful is a platform for unified content in a single hub to publish everywhere, with open APIs that sync with other tools. Write faster and publish on more channels with a built-in Markdown editor and embedded media library. Integrate with in-house applications or third-party cloud software directly in the web app.

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Contentstack

Contentstack is a headless CMS with an API-first approach. It is designed for editors to update content without needing a developer. Features include real-time collaboration, asset and workflow management, and versioning. Contentstack provides a useful library of step-by-step tutorials to build a wide variety of designs, such as an ecommerce site using Contentstack and Commercetools.

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Chord

Chord is a headless API-first ecommerce platform designed for smaller direct-to-consumer ecommerce companies. Chord’s backend empowers teams to build deeper and richer custom commerce experiences that evolve with the business. Get a holistic understanding of each customer from across every function of your business to enable the right conversations with the customer at the right time. Learn more about Chord from co-founders Henry Davis and Bryan Mahoney in a recent interview with our podcast host, Eric Bandholz.

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Amplience

Amplience is an API-first, headless content management platform for enterprise B2C and B2B commerce companies. Create dynamic content and experience at scale. Build sophisticated experiences without developer input. Schedule, create, and deliver from one place and preview across multiple contexts and channels. Amplience serves more than 350 of the world’s leading brands, including Crate & Barrel, Tumi, Traeger Grills, Argos, OTTO Group, Primark, and Very Group.

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Sanity

Sanity is an open-source headless CMS built on JavaScript and React.js. Sanity features real-time collaboration and multi-user real-time editing. Sanity integrates with Shopify, BigCommerce, Snipcart, and other leading ecommerce vendors. Use Sanity’s localization capabilities to tailor content to specific market segments for a more relevant and compelling shopping experience. Sanity has a sample commerce frontend built with Vue that integrates with Snipcart via APIs to provide shopping cart functionality.

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Strapi

Strapi is a Node.js-based open-source headless CMS. Strapi lets you create APIs from a user-friendly admin panel. Access API files at any time and edit them manually. Design the “content type” structure according to your needs with dozens of available fields and mix-and-match possibilities. Includes advanced filtering, sorting and pagination, and policies for managing authentication.

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Snipcart

Snipcart is a low-footprint ecommerce platform for developers. It provides the cart and checkout. The rest of the frontend is up to you. Using RESTful API, JavaScript API, and webhooks, users can supercharge their ecommerce platform integration. Connect with inventory management systems, drop-shipping services, email marketing platforms, point-of-sale providers, CRMs, and more.

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BigCommerce

BigCommerce provides headless implementation with its commerce engine decoupled from its presentation layer, giving merchants the ability to simultaneously run multiple stores across multiple frontend providers, all from a single BigCommerce account. Deliver API-driven experiences through your CMS, application, device, or custom frontend. Access integrations and APIs for WordPress, Drupal, Bloomreach, Deity Falcon, and Adobe Experience Manager.

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Shopify Plus

Shopify Plus provides the backend infrastructure for your frontend customer touchpoints to sell on all the digital mediums your customers use while managing it all from a single backend. Plug in the tools and systems your business counts on, such as an ERP, PIM, CRM, and CMS. Design fast, engaging storefronts for web, mobile, video games, and beyond with the GraphQL Storefront API. Let your developers build with the languages and frameworks they already know.