Integrated CMS with Headless eCommerce Platforms

Headless CMS eCommerce solutions for growing businesses
Customizable, Robust, Scalable headless eCommerce Platform

Headless eCommerce for an Existing CMS

Headless eCommerce is specifically designed as a powerful tool to work with an existing content management system (CMS) website. It has the ability to extend an already existing and trusted experience on a website. Many websites, especially those for businesses or larger enterprises, are quite detailed and customized. In many cases, a detailed review has gone into developing the website's experience over the course of years. Headless eCommerce helps continue to leverage the experience and functionality of the website that's already built into an existing content management system while at the same time enabling eCommerce.

Headless eCommerce platforms came from the need for a system that could perform with a higher functionality of eCommerce websites. The whole idea behind headless eCommerce is to enable eCommerce functionality without requiring the need to change the existing eCommerce user interface. What this means is that you can still take advantage of the already existing user interface that your team and customers already know.

With this technology, one can include styling, branding, and formatting when building the website and still take advantage of the already existing eCommerce functionality. This can dramatically reduce your website development timeline. Another advantage is that it can lower your overall cost of developing a robust eCommerce-capable website. Overall, it's going to enhance and improve the end-user and customers experience.

As for the end-user, since they are already used to working with a content management system with their internal team, they are already accustomed to managing the content on the site as it stands. Since the eCommerce functionality technology is a lightweight integration into the headless eCommerce platform, end-users will not notice much change to the overall functionality of the content management system they've been using all along.

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Versatile & Tailored Integration with headless architecture

Headless eCommerce Advantages

The general concept behind headless architecture is that the user interface is not available. With decoupled eCommerce, there is a default user interface that's available (yet not required). The guaranteed functionality with headless eCommerce and decoupled eCommerce is a consistent set of available capabilities. There's no dictation or requirement for using a specific user interface, thus providing unmatched versatility. This freedom allows different brands or groups (business, infrastructure and others) to use headless eCommerce APIs to meet their specific user interface needs. Such applications easily tie to back-office systems (ERP, CRM, warehouse management, accounting systems, etc.) that are part of the headless eCommerce solution you've chosen.

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What are the Downsides to Headless CMS eCommerce?

Generally speaking, there really are no major technical downsides when it comes to using a headless eCommerce platform. The fundamental component of any eCommerce platform is that you want to make sure that the user's experience is one that is seamless and matches or exceeds the standard industry best practices that they are already accustomed to.

Quite often a content management system website isn't going to have very robust filtering, searching, and other catalog functionality because they are not native to that eCommerce CMS. If you don't have a catalog system, cart, and checkout process that's robust, it could be because these are not built into your existing content management system; that could be a downside to the headless eCommerce technology.

If this is the problem, then this is where a decoupled eCommerce integration with a CMS becomes very powerful. You can use any kind of user interface that you want, but decoupled eCommerce is a headless eCommerce that comes with its own optional user interface. Rest assured that it's not required. In manycases, you may come across some screens or functionalities that you may want to override or even extend. Either way, it works just fine with a decoupled eCommerce. You may often find that you want to keep features such as cart, checkout, and the user dashboard. CMS integration makes that possible.

Utility and Configurations of Decoupled Ecommerce

Decoupled eCommerce is the Next Step

When it comes to decoupled eCommerce, you can probably consider this the next step with the headless architecture. It essentially helps you to take further advantage of your off-the-shelf functionality while at the same time being able to leverage the user interface where it's applicable and then utilize, customize, and use your existing user interface where it already exists.

Is Headless or Decoupled For You?

The differences between headless eCommerce and decoupled eCommerce can be significant. We're here to answer your questions about both.

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Benefits of the Concepts of Headless eCommerce and Decoupled eCommerce

One of the biggest benefits of the concepts of Headless eCommerce and decoupled eCommerce is that you can continuously improve and extend both your branding, styling, and specific conversion optimization wherever it makes the most sense for you to do so. What this means is that you are not stuck with using an existing interface that's part of the decoupled eCommerce.

Just because you may have started off with a cart, checkout, and user dashboard doesn't mean you have to stick with it. Let's say your first phase was to start off with the cart, checkout, and user dashboard, but as you progress you may decide that you want to customize the cart system; you will have the ability to do something like this quite nicely. This works well if you want to make specific changes to the cart to reflect the industry that you're in. You can override specific parts of your user interface or, if you choose, you can change the whole user interface including different parts of the entire system. We encourage you to look at a headless CMS eCommerce or decoupled CMS eCommerce options to make the most of your front-end development.

Making the Most out of Your Tailored Integration

Headless eCommerce Solutions Offer Back-end Functionalities

As you can see, the best headless eCommerce platforms offer many of back-end functionalities and turn-key capabilities, but some custom programming will likely be necessary to get work together while still keeping security tight. If the system that you're looking at has a user interface and a very light requirement for integration, you'll more than likely be able to complete your project at a much lower cost and in a shorter time. In addition, as you're evaluating the headless eCommerce or decoupled eCommerce system for your existing content management system or website, we highly encourage you to evaluate all of the underlying capabilities of the system. This includes your long-term strategies and goals and the different implementation channels that you want to eventually roll out. An experienced integration provider can help you get what you need today and make sure the headless eCommerce platform you choose is ready for the future.

Clarity provides the best headless ecommerce platforms available

Ask Yourself These Questions

As usual, it pays to plan well and meticulously review the functionality of the headless system. You can build a lot of functionality on a very capable and robust system with headless eComemrce APIs, grow your business, and plan for the future at the same time.

  • Are you looking at your website as a whole or just your content management system?
  • Do you eventually want to implement a mobile device?
  • Are there other website properties that take advantage of the capabilities of the headless eCommerce system?

We certainly welcome and encourage you to reach out to our Clarity team if you would like to discuss any upcoming project that you might have. There's no doubt that you will find that our team is very friendly and knowledgeable, and we're happy to answer any and all questions you might have. They are more than happy to provide you with a complimentary demo to assist as you review your project. You are also more than welcome to review any and all of the resources listed below, and we wish you all the best with your headless eCommerce review.