Headless commerce separates the storefront from the e-commerce engine. It promises speed, design freedom and multichannel selling — at a higher cost that is only justified in some cases.
What it is
The engine exposes data through APIs and a separate front end — often Next.js — builds the pages. Composable commerce assembles several specialised services.
Real benefits
Performance, design freedom, one catalogue for many channels, swappable building blocks.
The real cost of composable
Two applications to build and maintain, features to rebuild (promotions, accounts, checkout), several subscriptions, a more technical team.
Headless does not make a store better; it makes possible what a classic store cannot do.
When it fits — and when it does not
It fits multichannel sellers, demanding brand experiences, high traffic and teams with lasting technical capacity. It does not fit small single-channel stores or slowness caused by modules or hosting — see speeding up a slow PrestaShop store. Partial headless is often the best compromise.
Headless commerce: FAQ
Does headless help SEO?
It can, with very fast pages, if server rendering, tags and structured data are handled.
What does a headless store cost?
Noticeably more than a classic store of similar scope.
Get advice
Our PrestaShop agency in Paris builds both classic and headless stores. Let’s talk.