February 22, 2023
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With more headless stores cropping up in the world of e-commerce, here’s our round-up of the best-in-class, powered by Shopify and their separate front-ends.
Typically, the front and back end of an e-commerce site is powered by a single platform. Instead, a headless framework uses multiple systems, interconnected via APIs. To learn more about it, check out our blog post explaining headless on Shopify.
Famed for their eco-friendly sneakers and sustainable clothing, Allbirds are global favorites for a multitude of reasons, and their stylish website definitely helps. A headless build has helped them achieve a clean design that is fast, easy to use, and full of personality.
We especially love the ‘Our Best Selling Gifts’ section on the homepage, which showcases the top products for every day, for running or for lounging, at a glance.
Kotn’s fashion is certainly not fast, but the opposite is true of their website. This sustainable clothing and homeware brand boasts a lightning-speed website, courtesy of its headless build.
Being able to roll over products to see different images, colorways and ‘quick add’ size options is a particularly nice feature that combines form with function for an intuitive user experience.
Organic bedding company, Boll & Branch, has taken full advantage of the design flexibility that a headless architecture offers.
We’re big fans of the ‘Shop the Look’ section of the website, where customers can browse the products shown in the lifestyle photographs dotted throughout the product category page.
If you haven’t heard of Peloton by now, you must’ve been living under a rock for the past few years. This company has revolutionized fitness by combining technology, design and community to make workouts accessible for all.
With digital touchpoints such as the Peloton app and the workout tech itself being at the heart of their offering, it makes total sense that Peloton chose to go headless, making it simple to keep everything in sync. Plus, with frequent updates to their classes and software features, a headless architecture means that Peloton’s ongoing updates are quicker and easier.
There’s a lot to manage and update on the website of the lifestyle brand, Yoga Girl. Not only is it an e-commerce platform where customers can buy courses, jewelry and merchandise, it’s also a place to read blog posts, listen to podcasts, sign up or log in to an account and more.
By going headless, Yoga Girl has ensured that their website performs each function to the best possible standard, without having to compromise on design.
Just like their products, Recess’ website makes customers feel 'calm, cool and collected'. Their headless build enables a bespoke functionality where relaxing animations move along with visitors scrolling down the page. The result? A beautiful and immersive brand experience.
As creators of the world’s first distilled non-alcoholic spirits, innovation is in Seedlip’s DNA. So, it makes sense that they were an early adopter of the headless e-commerce structure.
Just like their products, Seedlip’s website design is suave, sophisticated and full of personality. We especially love the little animated bumblebee on the homepage and the subtle moving foliage in the background, which conjure visions of sipping Seedlip cocktails on a sun-drenched terrace.
With such a huge product catalog that needs to be updated frequently, quickly and easily, it’s no wonder that UK office supplies giant, Staples, went headless.
Plus, with functionality to register for or log in to an account, order by item number or reorder previously bought items, a headless architecture allows Staples to optimize each system on their website for its specific purpose.
In their own words, Rothy’s “believe in doing things differently”, and at the time they adopted a headless structure, it certainly was a different approach to the standard monolithic one.
Their headless architecture has made it easier for Rothy’s to add expansion stores for international regions. It gives them the freedom to re-use data from the back end (such as product catalog, content, and the rest of their tech stack) while configuring different front-ends for each region, to charge different prices and show different languages. If, like Rothy’s, you want to take your store International, with our without going Headless, you can find out more in our e-book on ‘How to Sell Internationally on Shopify’.
The first step towards the lawn of your dreams, Rachio sells sustainable watering solutions.
Their headless build allows them to marry up their digital touchpoints with ease, so that their website remains in line with their innovative app (and vice versa), resulting in a consistent brand experience.
Verishop sells just about everything you could want, be it fashion or beauty items, to health products or homewares. And, being a multi-brand retailer, Verishop’s headless website enables a customizable URL structure that allows them to offer tailored experiences at brand-specific URLs, benefiting SEO.
Their site speed is impressive too, especially considering the number of products which have to load in each category.
When a brand’s products ooze luxury and beauty, their website should too. By going headless, Victoria Beckham Beauty has achieved an aesthetic that would prove challenging with a monolithic architecture.
The headless architecture has also enabled Victoria Beckham Beauty to sell internationally through a headless Shopify framework. Take a look at other brands selling internationally on Shopify, here.
Plenaire has got both their skincare products and their e-commerce website down to an exact science. Dynamic Pages such as this one react to the user scrolling down the page, resulting in a light and airy feel that’s in line with their branding.
By making an early move to a headless architecture, Chilly’s ensured that their website is as revolutionary as their products. With a bespoke homepage design that’s a far cry from your standard template and a product personalization page that combines form and function, it’s safe to say that going headless was a smart move for Chilly’s.
Like Victoria Beckham Beauty, Chilly’s is another brand that uses the headless build to sell internationally. An incredible example of how localization is seamless and easy with Headless, Chilly’s site switches between the countries it sells in due to their URL structure with a speed that can only be executed with Headless.
Ethically minded clothing, body-care and homeware brand, Bamford, are another retailer that’s taken the headless route.
Several aspects of their website need to be updated regularly, such as Online Classes, Workshops & Retreats and Christmas Events, and a headless build means that ongoing development is quicker and more flexible.
Creating products that are good for the mind, body, spirit and environment is one half of the battle, and selling them is the other. Similar to Clare (above), Blume’s headless website features a quiz to help customers build their perfect routine.
The design of Blume’s reward program, Blumetopia, earns lots of points from us too, with the full-screen background video giving us serious feel-good holiday vibes that’ll resonate with their target audience.
With a product as innovative as the world’s first 3D home body scanner, Naked Labs needed a website on the same level. The flexible design and functionality offered by headless builds gives Naked’s website an engaging customer experience, with homepage videos and images that come to life when users scroll over them.
What’s more, the headless build makes it easy for Naked to keep all their digital touchpoints in sync, from their website to the app, and even the 3D scanner itself.
Frank Body’s horizontal display front-end combines static images, GIFs and dynamic buttons for a website design that’s much more interesting than that of a standard template.
In this way, the headless build of the website has allowed them to create a fun and energetic aesthetic which matches that of their copywriting and overall branding.
Kinsley Armelle’s website has much to juggle. Aside from selling bohemian jewelry, KA has a blog and offers a subscription service for customers as well as Referral, Wholesale and Independent Distributor Programs. By decoupling the front end from the back end, Kinsley Armelle has ensured that the functionality they need doesn’t compromise the beautiful design that’s integral to selling jewelry.
Their headless build has also allowed them to harness PWA (progressive web application) technologies, meaning their website has many of the benefits of an app. For example, Kinsley Armelle can send push notifications to keep customers engaged.
Shogun’s software is known far and wide for helping retailers to create stunning, fast-loading custom storefronts. So, when they decided they needed a storefront of their own, we jumped at the chance to team up with them.
Shogun General is not only a place where Shogun can sell their own branded merch but rather, a place to showcase their next-generation headless offering. Flexible, fast and a treat for the eyes, Shogun General uses a headless architecture to take customer experience to the next level. Take a closer look at how we built Shogun’s e-commerce store here.
Inkbox’s website ticks all the boxes. As well as being continuously refreshed with trending designs and the latest collaborations, Inkbox makes it easy for customers to upload their own tattoo designs. Plus, their ‘Picked For You’ section uses AI to curate tattoos specifically for each visitor, making for a tailored customer experience.
Oh, and their website design features auto-playing videos, click-to-play videos, a ‘Shop the Look’ Insta section and more. We think it’s safe to say that Inkbox is making the most of their headless build.
While a headless build isn’t right for every company (find out why here), the above brands are great examples of how this increasingly popular website architecture can work wonders for business.
By allowing total control of each system for its specific purpose, a headless build offers flexibility in design, functionality and ongoing development along with rapid site speed. What’s more, going headless makes it easier to add expansion stores and digital touchpoints, and enables PWA technologies and a customizable URL structure.
If you’re considering a headless build and want to know more, get in touch.
