Everything You Need to Know About Magento Headless Development

Introduction: 

If you’re a Magento user, you might have heard about the buzzword ‘headless commerce’. If not, you’re likely to lag behind in the competition. Headless commerce is a web architecture that demands the separation of a website’s frontend and backend. As many online merchants and retailers are relying on Magento 2 development services, opting for this transformation can bring a lot of additional benefits for their business.  

But why should you invest in Magento headless? Basically, to give your customers an enhanced and appealing shopping experience. Headless development allows for creating and plugging several UIs for various devices. Merchants can leverage this capability to boost speed and enhance the UI/UX on mobile phones. Once it becomes relevant, eCommerce business owners will add more various store frontends and boost sales conversions on those touchpoints. 

Headless is different from a monolithic approach, which means the website’s frontend is created on the backend. Most probably, your Magento store is monolithic. So, what is the problem? When you’re selling only through desktop, it works well as you supported only one sales channel. But, as mobile shopping is increasing day by day, monolithic websites fail to provide the same appealing shopping experience on mobile phones as on desktops. Therefore, it’s important to upgrade to deliver a better customer experience. 

In this blog post, you will know how Magento headless is different from the monolithic approach. You will also discover the options for the current and future scope of headless development. Lastly, you will also know about the common challenges and expenses associated with Magento 2 headless development.  

Also Check: Virtual assistant services

Magento Headless - How is it Different from the Monolithic Approach 

Let’s say you have been running your Magento store for years now. Your store might have a mobile-responsive storefront design. Most likely, you optimize your website periodically, but it is not performing as expected. 

So, is it comfortable to shop from your store via smartphones and desktops? How do you improve your store’s mobile conversion rate? These are some of the common challenges faced by Magento users, running their stores based on the monolithic architecture. 

Monolithic Architecture 

In simple words, any traditional eCommerce store is an integrated system in which the frontend (head) and backend are closely connected. Most online stores, including Magento stores, are currently running on this architecture.  

Eventually, this development approach has led to several critical issues, such as: 

• Slow Page Loading Speed on Mobile Devices 

The main reason behind this is the need to get an HTML-based document from the store’s backend whenever a customer navigates from page to page. So, basically, your store’s frontend is always generated on its backend. This is how all monolithic sites work. 

Moreover, such eCommerce stores constantly need Magento mobile optimization. However, this strategy may not bring the desired results when it comes to enhancing the page loading speed on modern devices. 

• Poor UI/UX Experience If Customers Shop Via Mobile 

Most online stores do not have separate frontends for different devices, including smartphones. This leads to several usability issues your target customers may encounter when shopping via mobile. For example, the header might consume a lot of space on the home page and product pages. Or, the above-the-field section on a product page might show little information about an item such as its image, name, price, or ‘Add to Cart' button. Therefore, a user is compelled to scroll down the page instead of viewing the required information right away. 

Regular Site Maintenance, Scaling, and Customization Becomes More Difficult 

To offer a unique and seamless user experience, you may want to add distinctive features or make relevant changes to your website? For example, you want to add a wish list feature or change the placement of blocks on the product page. You need to hire Magento developer who will alter the backend source code to make any changes to the page layout. This can make the code very heavy. 

• Ineffective Strategic Development 

For online merchants and retailers, the introduction of new devices in the market like smart TVs, smartwatches, voice assistants, etc. brings a lot of potential touchpoints to cover. In the future, you may find it relevant to create frontends for all such devices. While it is possible to do so, it can be extremely challenging to maintain several heads with the monolithic architecture. 

Different frontends for phones and other new channels added to the backend codebase make your website more complex. And lately, you may find it difficult to split it all. 

Modifications or errors made in one area of this solitary codebase can hamper other areas of your eCommerce store. 

Since the described development approach is outdated now, you may use modern technologies like ReactJS to build storefronts faster and deliver a comfortable UI/UX experience to customers. 

Headless Architecture 

On the other hand, headless commerce depends on three pillars - a frontend or various frontends, a backend, and an API that facilitates communication between them. To implement this approach, developers cut off the ‘head’ and then sew it on using a particular API. 

The main difference between headless and monolithic websites is that in headless you do not support the frontend on the backend. These parts exist and work in parallel which expands the flexibility and potential of your online store. That’s why many store owners are investing more in headless Magento 2 development services and solutions. 

Magento headless solutions help address all the above-mentioned and several other problems 

• Increases the Speed of the Online Store 

When the frontend and the backend are separated, the backend’s role is reduced significantly. It provides specific data via API requests.  

Firstly, you don’t need to wait for the store’s backend to produce the HTML and then transfer it to the user on the frontend. 

Secondly, only dynamic data is requested and received. Your website’s header, media, files, and footer remain unchanged on every page and do not get rendered all the time. 

• The UX/UI Can Easily Meet Customer Needs 

Headless technology allows you to build a corresponding user interface to a particular device. An online store designed using this approach has at least desktop and mobile heads. This improves the user experience and conversion rates significantly. 

For example, your Magento store on mobile phones will have the following traits: 

• Minimalistic and rational utilization of the device’s screen space 
• Buttons are located in convenient places that can be reached by one hand 
• Appropriate text fonts and design element sizing 
• And more 

• Faster Development Process 

• Since the frontend does not depend on the backend, you can make changes with fewer steps. 
• Your in-house team can accomplish tasks on the frontend and backend simultaneously. 

• Designers and developers have the freedom to experiment on the storefront. 

• Omnichannel Store Presence  

Headless architecture helps online retailers to get ready for the future when customers will shop from any connected device. You can create and plug-in new heads easily and quickly. 

• A Useful Tip 

If you want to want to build an online store with multiple ‘heads’, it’s wise to hire Magento developers who have a deep understanding of the Magento platform.  

How to Adopt the Magento Headless Approach 

Has Magento become headless? Yes, the Magento 2.3 version is now supporting GraphQl as an API. Earlier, those who wished to separate the frontend and the backend had to depend only on custom API solutions. This can be assumed as the commencement of the Magento headless eCommerce era. 

Since we all are gradually moving towards headless eCommerce, let’s first analyze the current and future perspectives of this approach. 

Progressive Web Apps for Headless Commerce 

What short-term benefits will you get with headless commerce and from where should you start? At least, you should start by decoupling your store’s frontend and backend to make it headless. 

If your store is running on a Magento version older than 2.3, you need to first update it. And, if you’re still using Magento 1, then opting for Magento 2 migration will be your first step. 

If you’re already using Magento 2, it’s a great idea to start your store’s transformation by creating a Progressive Web App (PWA). Every Magento user wants their store’s desktop and mobile versions to be consistent in speed, and performance, and expects the UI/UX to meet the customer needs. A PWA is an effective form of Magento headless that can address all these requirements. 

A Magento PWA solution offers three significant benefits to merchants: 

• Decoupled frontend and backend can enhance your Magento store’s speed and performance. 
• The online store has two heads for both desktop and mobile devices. This ensures greater usability and higher conversion rates.
• Your store’s mobile version has a native app-like appearance and functionalities. A PWA includes several features and design elements from mobile apps, e.g. push notifications to boost mobile conversions. 

Magento Headless Commerce - A Future-proof Solution 

Nobody exactly knows what eCommerce will look like in the coming years. It is going to be way more technologically advanced and complicated. Below are some opportunities you’ll get in the future if you embrace Magento headless commerce architecture. 

• Leverage New Channels with Their Rising Popularity 

For instance, you decide to create a native mobile app or a web design for a virtual assistant in the upcoming years. A decoupled store can help you build one by using the already developed API.  

• Deploy a Full-fledged Omnichannel Strategy 

This approach can ensure a seamless customer experience as users jump between different touchpoints while shopping. The main objective of a business here is to ensure a flawless UI/UX irrespective of the device your potential customer uses. 

• Prepare for the Microservice Architecture 

To enhance the agility in development, it’s essential to separate a backend, e.g. a catalog, checkout, etc., into independent components known as microservices. 

Presently, there are only a few eCommerce solutions that provide such capability. While Magento provides support for microservices, its backend system is still monolithic. 

Magento is expected to get divided into microservices as this trend is gradually gaining popularity. When implemented, you can easily change the backend while the storefront will be already up-to-date. 

If you want to replace the monolithic architecture with headless, reach out to a Magento PWA developer who can make your online store more adaptive and respond faster to market changes. 

How to Get Ready for Magento Headless Commerce 

Finally, here are some crucial business tasks you need to resolve while switching to Magento headless commerce. 

• Hire Magento Developers 

If you’re planning to implement the headless approach, it’s wise to have separate development teams: 

• Full-stack developers for backend management 
• Frontend developers who are well-versed with Magento functions and know how to work on progressive technologies like ReactJS. 

• Software Integrations 

A major drawback of the headless commerce approach is that not all third-party modules are capable of supporting this modern technology. If the integrations that you’re currently using do not function via an API, you will need to customize them for headless commerce or substitute them with appropriate analogues. 

However, many modules are developed properly for API-driven online stores.  

• Development Time and Cost 

At this juncture, you may have probably understood that a headless Magento PWA is a valuable investment for your online store. Now, you need to estimate the development time and cost of rebuilding your store. So, what is the cost of building and launching a headless Magento 2 store? 

Decoupling the online store and building a PWA can’t be accomplished overnight. It is a tedious task that requires developers to spend hundreds of hours. Get in touch with Magento PWA specialists who will give you a realistic quotation for your project development. 

Final Thought 

As the eCommerce industry is evolving continuously, Adobe bets on headless eCommerce as the disruptive approach for online retail businesses and actively supports Magento headless. 

You might be wondering whether this trending architecture and its supporting technologies are reliable and stable. Or, should you wait for a while? Well, if you want to defeat your competitors, then it’s the right time to switch to headless store development. With its cost-efficiency and flexibility, a headless Magento solution can be a worthwhile business investment.  

Get in touch with a professional Magento 2 development service provider who has strong expertise in headless Magento store development. The developers can create a full-customized headless eCommerce solution that will deliver an impeccable customer experience and boost conversions. 

Author’s Bio 

Ashley Brown is a Senior Magento 2 Developer at Agento Support, a leading Magento development company in the USA. She has 7+ years of experience in Magento eCommerce development and loves sharing his knowledge and expertise through informative blogs. During leisure hours, she loves travelling and exploring new places.