Headless commerce is one of the biggest trends in the world of business software. You might have heard of headless commerce, or even started researching the switch to a headless commerce model. We’ve put together this ebook to give you the insights you need to get started in the world of headless commerce, and to learn why ecommerce brands are turning to headless software models. 

We’ve previously covered headless software and microservices-based software stacks in our ebook — Headless Commerce & Microservices Explained.

Now it’s time to look at headless commerce stacks in more detail in our new ebook — Building a Headless Commerce Stack From Scratch.

Inside we walk you through what you need to know before building your own headless commerce stack. From the benefits headless commerce can bring to your business, to real-world headless commerce stack examples and models that you can use as you plan your own.

This blog post provides a quick overview of our new ebook.

The headless commerce model follows the same principles as all other headless software models — it builds systems out of separate headless software applications, or microservices.

These separate software applications connect via API (Application Programming Interface), which allows them to communicate with each other.

In comparison to the conventional monolithic software approach, which is inflexible and difficult to update, headless commerce creates highly flexible, customizable systems.

They provide a host of benefits for businesses:

Most headless commerce stacks follow the same underlying structure. Typical components within a headless commerce stack include:

Each of these components has a specific purpose within the wider stack. Where the frontend is responsible for the presentation layer (everything the customers sees and interacts with), the headless backend handles the behind the scenes workings of the ecommerce shop.

Then you have additional headless applications and microservices. They provide all sorts of additional functionality outside the standard features offered by headless backend systems.

There are microservices for everything from promotions (what we offer at Talon.One) to customer service support and VR ecommerce. The fact that all of these microservices can be combined together as one is the beauty of headless commerce.

As a starting point, it’s helpful to compare your business (and business objectives) to other common business models when planning your headless stack. This helps you make educated assumptions about what will work best for you.

Take the example of an agile startup business. The majority of startups share the same priorities when it comes to business development, financial planning and software longevity.

Startups need headless commerce stacks that fulfill their core requirements:

To meet these requirements, many startups choose to build their stacks around a core group of microservices. This allows them to meet their scalability and flexibility needs, while also giving them greater control over the cost of their stack (although incorporating many different microservices can quickly get expensive).

Our ebook explores three different models for headless commerce stacks based around different business models. We’ve rated each one across four different values — scalability, ease of setup, cost and flexibility.

You’ll find these insights plus much more in the ebook. Download your copy to help you as you begin the transition towards headless commerce.