Introducing a Headless World
Headless commerce adopts a headless architecture. In a traditional e-commerce website, the frontend, responsible for store designs and user experience, is tightly integrated with the backend, handling website data and operations.
However, headless commerce decouples the frontend from the backend, connecting them through APIs (Application Programming Interface). This shift allows for more flexibility and adaptability in managing the user interface and backend operations independently, providing a modular and scalable approach to e-commerce development.
(PWA & Headless Commerce 2023: Everything You Should Know – SimiCart)
Image: Simicart.com
How Are PWAs and Headless Commerce Related?
When used together, PWAs and Headless commerce create a modern and flexible e-commerce experience, for developers and users. Here is how:
- Enhanced User Experience. PWAs are known for fast loading times, offline capabilities, and an app-like feel. When integrated with a headless commerce architecture, this improved user experience can extend to a more engaging online shopping process.
- Frontend Flexibility. Headless commerce separates the frontend presentation from backend functionalities, enhancing flexibility in user interface design. PWAs, prioritising frontend experiences, ensures a responsive and feature-rich interface.
- Consistent Multi-Channel Presence. PWAs are designed to work across various devices and platforms, ensuring a consistent experience for users. In a headless commerce scenario, where content can be distributed to different channels, PWAs can be utilised on desktops, mobile devices, and other emerging channels.
- API Connectivity. Headless commerce relies on APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) to connect the frontend and backend components. PWAs can efficiently communicate with the headless commerce backend through APIs, enabling accurate data exchange real-time updates for users.
- Scalability and Adaptability. PWAs can handle a variety of devices and screen sizes, while headless commerce allows for backend scalability to accommodate growing business needs.
- Agile Development. The combination of PWAs and headless commerce is crucial for keeping up with changing market trends and user expectations. Developers can work independently on the frontend and backend components, allowing for faster iterations, updates, and improvements.
Success Story: The Integration of Adyen’s PWA kit for Salesforce Commerce Cloud
The Commerce Team Global Team were approached by the Adyen Products Team to explore the customisation of their Progressive Web App (PWA) kit and share their expertise in headless commerce integrations.
Our Solution
Thanks to a collaborative and solutions-focussed approach, the Technical Team at The Commerce Team Global were able to deploy the PWA kit on the Managed Run Time (MRT) and verify payment and webhook processing - for example, using Google Pay, PayPal and Apple Pay.
In this test case for the e-commerce ecosystem, the team leveraged their expertise of Salesforce Commerce Cloud to provide feedback and insights on building a composable cartridge before the release of this integration to the wider tech community.
"We chose The Commerce Team Global for their agile, collaborative approach, headless Salesforce architecture expertise and vast experience with Adyen payments. This pilot project supports new industry standards, reflecting our joint commitment to fast go live and innovation for our customers in the commerce sector." - Olga Kostina, Adyen Product Manager, B2C Commerce
“The technology ecosystem thrives amongst collaboration and the sharing of best practices. As a future facing business, we were delighted to be the test case for the Adyen PWA kit especially with our experience in headless.” Kalpesh Patel, CIO at The Commerce Team Global
Are you looking to explore the latest technical e-commerce solutions? Get in touch now: info@thecommerceteam.com
