The headless website has been a hot topic among developers and the online world. It allows the website to have outstanding performance at an optimal cost.
Besides the strengths in performance and cost, it also has many other strong points that can assist businesses in customer care, stimulate conversion rates, etc.
So what is a headless website, its benefits, and what platforms support it? Scroll down to learn more!
What Is A Headless Website?
A headless website refers to a website with a decoupled architecture. This means that the presentation layer (frontend) is built separately from the management layer (backend).
Thanks to this unique structure, it is now possible for developers to freely edit the back-end without worrying about incidentally impacting negatively on the frontend, and it also works the other way around.
Traditional websites often have a block structure. Every component in it is closely linked. So any change at the back or the front affects the other part of a website, limiting the capabilities of its own development.
Headless Website Architecture
As mentioned in the definition, a headless website has a decoupled structure. The presentation layer and the support layer are not directly attached. Instead, developers will create APIs to link these layers.
To easily understand this technology, imagine the frontend and backend are two islands, and API connects them. The data is passersby, and it will move between the islands through the bridge – API.
Besides APIs, often headless websites also have a headless CMS. This is a content management system hosted in the cloud. Admins can dynamically distribute content in the CMS to the frontend through APIs.
Top 3 Excellent Headless Website Examples
Many experts have recognized the potential of headless technology for e-commerce. And many large companies have applied this technology to their online stores.
Nike
Nike is one of the world’s leading brands that have chosen a headless website early. Recognizing the growth of mobile usage, Nike chose this as a mobile-first approach, following its goal of stimulating more revenue from this channel.
And the fact shows that this is a brilliant decision when their mobile sales channel’s conversion rate increases significantly.
Venus
Venus Fashion is a global women’s clothing retailer. Before switching to a headless website, Venus’s online store was not appreciated when only 15.25% of pages could load in under 1 second.
After building a new website, the speed increased remarkably, with 72.75% of its pages loading in less than 1 second. The business’s conversion rate substantially increases by 24%.
Redbox
Redbox specializes in providing online streaming services. Therefore, they need to have a memorable homepage to attract customers to buy services.
To acquire this goal, Redbox used headless technology. They kept their backend intact and turned their frontend into a Single Page Application.
Consequently, their homepage became much more interactive. The revenue also increased after this web rebuild.
5 Notable Headless Website Benefits
No customization limit
This is one of the biggest strengths of a headless website. It has unlimited customization possibilities. In particular, modifications usually won’t affect the database, so there’s less work to worry about.
Business owners are free to design the frontend to suit their brand. After completing the design and construction, they’ll use APIs to connect the presentation layer to the backend.
Better customer experience
E-commerce now requires businesses to be quick and up-to-date with new trends. Because the front and backend are separated, they can be changed individually. For instance, an owner can deploy reward programs easily without touching the backend, reducing the time and effort invested in website management.
Moreover, when the backend needs maintenance, it won’t affect the web’s frontend, eliminating the case of downtime. In other words, adjustments in the backend won’t impact your user’s experience.
Shortened time & cost to market
Many experts have affirmed that backend building is the most time-consuming step. Research claims that this step accounts for 85% of the total website development time.
Headless website developers will now be able to focus on building the support layer since there is no specific frontend. Since they start at the finish line, the website’s time-to-market will be significantly reduced.
Moreover, headless commerce also means businesses can build their site for cheaper costs. Only the backend fee is required; the other expenses related to the frontend (like hosting or licensing fees) can be customized as desired. This will make it easier for you to control your budget.
Sometimes, there will be mandatory features for traditional websites, even if you don’t need them. This can inadvertently increase costs. With the headless approach, you can exclude these fees.
Easy technology integration
Besides the above unique capabilities, the convenience of technology integration is also a plus point for headless websites. It can connect with many useful technologies today, such as CRM or CMS.
To make things easier to understand, we will give a specific example. Let’s talk about the email function.
You can send emails to customers using the standard website’s email features. However, the operations will take much more time and effort than using an email automation extension.
This is solvable with headless e-commerce. All you need to do is integrate the backend with a third-party email extension like MailChimp, then connect it to the frontend through an API. The ease of integration promises a web to be future-proof as businesses can incorporate new technology into their online store.
Omnichannel selling
According to a survey, 9 out of 10 consumers think they will continue to shop online after the Covid19 pandemic.
As a result, diversification in sales channels is becoming more critical than ever for businesses. This will help them reach more customers and stay competitive by providing the best experience.
A headless website will be a great assistant for you. It allows you to build the right frontends for optimal sales funnels. You are free to rethink the purpose of each channel, and optimize or even redesign it without restricting the customer’s shopping process.
Reputable Headless Website Builders
Magento
Magento is a leading platform to build e-commerce websites.
It supports headless websites from Magento 2.3 version. With a headless web, your store will get a boost in speed and performance. It will also have separate facades designed for mobile and desktop devices.
Alternatively, you can build by PWA Studio. This will get you a headless Magento PWA, an online store with an app-like look, feel, and function. It brings profitable features like add-to-home-screen, push notification, offline mode, etc.
Shopify
Shopify is an online store-building platform with a considerable market share globally. Its policies and tools for building headless e-commerce are also advantageous.
With headless Shopify eCommerce, you will be able to design fast, attractive storefronts for both desktop and mobile interfaces with GraphQL Storefront API. Besides store appearance, it will also improve your web performance with faster speed, additional features, etc.
However, there are still some downsides. Once the conversion is completed, some default functions may no longer be available.
BigCommerce
BigCommerce also provides software as a service to other businesses. The company’s services revolve around online store building, SEO, etc.
Here are some good features of BigCommerce’s headless solutions: You are free to run multiple stores simultaneously on different frontend solutions with just one account. In addition, the API choices of this brand are pretty diverse, for example, API for payment, login, category, etc.
A Credible Headless Website Development Agency
Many web-building agencies are adding building services to their portfolios to meet the market demand.
However, not all of them are experienced and qualified to create quality products. In fact, some companies have excellent skills, but their working process is cumbersome and unprofessional. This can cause an increase in the product’s time to market.
If you are having trouble finding a reliable companion, then Tigren is the answer for you.
We have a professional developer team, dedicated customer support, and an optimized construction process. Our process is optimized to help complete your website in the shortest time with minimal cost.
With over ten years of providing website technology solutions, we have experience working with diverse industries and partners. We can customize budgets and level services to suit you best.
Contact us to start your project now!
Bottom Line
Customer expectations of e-commerce businesses are increasing. Traditional websites are becoming obsolete. They are no longer able to satisfy customers. Moreover, the barriers to entry into the e-commerce market are pretty low, so competitors appear more and more. Online businesses need to be different from their opponent to attract buyers.
The headless website with advantages in many aspects, such as time-to-market, flexibility, and development cost, seems to be the most promising solution for firms.
Read More:
Headless Technology Dictionary: All Must-read Definitions In 5 Minutes
What Is A Headless eCommerce Website and How Does It Affect eCommerce?
Headless CMS Explained: Definitions, Examples, Pros And Cons
Headless Commerce Ultimate Guide: Definition, Architecture, Examples, Benefits
