You can take a number of approaches to implement your BigCommerce headless solution.
A front-end framework – you can use collections or bundles of JavaScript to provide a structure that will help you build your websites and applications. This is similar to a framework for a house which provides instructions for installing windows and doors and tools to create different types of rooms. Using the APIs, you have almost unlimited flexibility to improve performance and support new and innovative approaches to customer experience. However, you will need more development support because it is a less user-friendly option.
Gasby, for example, provides a unified cloud framework for building, previewing, and deploying your projects and a concierge service to help if you encounter problems. Next.js provides automatic and manual set up options as React components, allowing you to pre-render pages and generate the HTML. BigCommerce is now integrated with VueStorefront, allowing you to implement a wide range of ecommerce features.
Content management systems – some content management systems (CMSs) provide API connectivity to support data connection to BigCommerce. This approach is more user friendly so it will be easier to use for developers and others who need to keep your product information and pages up to date. However, using a CMS will add to your costs and will reduce your flexibility.
WordPress for BigCommerce is a plugin that allows you to scale your ecommerce business and free up server resources. You can build complex catalogs, manage large volumes of concurrent traffic, orders and analytics. It includes payment processing and fulfillment. The embedded checkout will also handle payment card industry (PCI) compliance and customer security. If you want to sell across multiple channels and marketplaces from a single location this could be a good option for you.
Or, you could consider Contentful as a straightforward way to manage your content and publish across channels. Its app framework provides out-of-the-box integrations and the option to build custom apps for innovative customer experiences that you can use across your business and in different markets. Content is unified in a single hub and can be created and tested ‘on the fly’ so you can be fast and creative.
Digital experience platforms – you might also want to consider a larger and more integrated digital experience platform (DXP) solution. DXPs are designed to allow you to compose, manage, deliver and optimize customer journeys to provide seamless experiences. You can use a DXP for customers, business partners and employees to maintain continuity. As you would expect, this level of rich functionality and sophisticated composition tools for both business and technical users come at a price and will add complexity.
Amplience is well-established and offers tools for both developers and marketers across websites and mobile devices for apps and social media platforms. For developers it has an open framework that supports any combination of code or process. Using the content hub, marketers can manage customer experience with end-to-end previews and integrated rich media. Content can be created, personalized, tested, iterated and optimized quickly and effectively.
The Customer Experience Cloud from Bloomreach offers a customer data platform, omnichannel marketing automation, product search and merchandising using artificial intelligence (AI), and a headless content management system. It provides a marketing view and drag-and-drop tools that allow you to connect customer data across multiple channels from emails to in-app messaging. You can run highly personalized campaigns and update segments in real time.