Hydrogen or Next.js
YOUR STACK
Hydrogen or Next.js
YOUR STACK
Shopify-first Hydrogen, or Next.js when your team already lives there.
Headless Shopify that staysfast at peak
Custom storefronts on Hydrogen or Next.js with checkout still on Shopify. For brands that outgrew Online Store on UX, content, or traffic.
Checkout stays on Shopify
COMMERCE CORE
Checkout stays on Shopify
COMMERCE CORE
Browse on your frontend. Payments, taxes, and Shop Pay stay native.
Built for peak traffic
WHEN MEDIA HITS
Built for peak traffic
WHEN MEDIA HITS
Edge-ready storefronts that hold up when paid traffic spikes.
Shopify clients
Storefronts and brands we ship with.
cleanskinclub.com
What we build
Headless storefronts that keep Shopify as the commerce core
We separate the experience layer from the commerce engine so you can ship a custom frontend without rewriting checkout, payments, or order ops.
Hydrogen and Next.js storefronts
Purpose-built frontends on Shopify Hydrogen or Next.js, wired to the Storefront API for catalogs, carts, and customer accounts.
Storefront API and checkout handoff
Cart and browse run on your stack. Checkout stays on Shopify so payments, taxes, and Plus features keep working without a private checkout rebuild.
CMS and content flexibility
Pair Shopify with a headless CMS when editorial teams need landing pages, campaigns, and storytelling beyond Online Store sections.
Performance at peak traffic
Edge caching, image strategy, and lean data fetching so PDPs and collection pages hold up when paid traffic and launches spike.
Our approach
How does a headless storefront come together with us?
We prove the stack early, then ship against real catalog and checkout flows. Commerce stays on Shopify the whole way.
- 01
Prove the requirement
We stress-test Online Store limits before locking headless. If a theme still covers the job, we say so.
- 02
Lock the architecture
Hydrogen or Next.js, CMS, caching, SEO routes, and checkout handoff are defined before build starts.
- 03
Build against real data
Catalog, carts, accounts, and key templates ship on a development store with realistic products and traffic patterns.
- 04
QA and performance
Core Web Vitals, crawlable HTML, redirects, and failure cases are tested before anything goes live.
- 05
Controlled launch
Go-live is staged, not a big bang. DNS, redirects, and monitoring are part of the cutover plan.
- 06
Handover and ops
You get a documented system and a clear owner for deploys, API versions, and ongoing releases.
Fit
Is headless your next step?
We will argue against it when Online Store still covers the job. Headless is expensive to operate if the problem was a messy theme.
Stay on a theme when
You are still fighting section layout, not the stack
Bad PDP structure, weak collection UX, or unused apps are theme and CRO work. Headless will not fix that by itself.
Shopify developmentMerchants can run the site from the admin today
If campaigns and pages already ship from Shopify without a separate CMS, you are not outgrowing Online Store yet.
The real leak is checkout, not browse
Upsells, discounts, and validation belong in checkout extensions and Functions, not a new frontend.
Checkout & extensions
Build headless when
Every custom UX fight ends in Liquid limits
Your team keeps hacking themes for interactions a React storefront would own cleanly.
Content and commerce need two systems
Editorial, markets, or multi-surface pages outgrow metafields and Online Store templates.
Paid traffic exposes theme ceilings
You need a stack you can cache and tune without wrestling theme app scripts on every release.
Engagement
How can we work on your headless storefront together?
Whether you are building new, migrating off a theme, or hardening an existing headless stack, that gives three shapes of collaboration.
Headless storefront build
From $5,000 USD
Fixed scope and price, agreed before we start.
Who it is for
For brands whose Online Store no longer carries UX, content, or traffic needs, and who want a Hydrogen or Next.js frontend with checkout still on Shopify.
What is included
- Discovery, IA, and conversion-critical templates
- Storefront API frontend with CMS wiring where needed
- QA, performance baselines, and SEO-safe launch plan
How it ends
Ends with a controlled go-live and a handover your team can keep shipping with without us.
Theme to headless migration
From $5,000 USD
Scoped to the surfaces you move first. Timeline follows catalog and SEO carry-over.
Who it is for
For stores that need headless on the revenue surfaces first, without ripping the whole theme in one cutover.
What is included
- Priority page migration with shared cart continuity
- URL, redirect, and SEO carry-over plan
- Parallel run of theme and headless surfaces where useful
How it ends
Produces live headless surfaces beside Shopify Admin, with a clear path for the rest of the storefront.
Headless growth retainer
From $2,500 per month USD
Ongoing releases and experiments. We suggest three months so tests reach significance.
Who it is for
For teams that already run headless and need ongoing releases, API upgrades, experiments, and support.
What is included
- Sprint planning against campaign and revenue goals
- Storefront API and platform version upkeep
- CRO experiments and same-week fixes when needed
How it ends
Runs as an ongoing partnership with documented releases and a shared roadmap.
Not sure which shape fits? Book a meeting with the team.
Not ready to book?
Complementary services
What usually sits next to headless
Headless solves the storefront layer. These are the jobs that often sit beside it, or replace it when headless is the wrong lever.
Let's meet
Looking to scale revenue on Shopify? You'll book directly with Dusan J., Founder at EXTFOX, to discuss your store, opportunities, and next steps.
Tell us about your store
Pick a time that works for you. You'll get instant confirmation and a calendar invite.
Prefer to call? (862) 259-6969
Not ready to book?
FAQ
Headless Shopify separates the customer-facing storefront from Shopify's commerce backend. Your frontend (often Hydrogen or Next.js) talks to Shopify through the Storefront API for products, carts, and customers, while checkout, payments, and order operations stay on Shopify.
A theme is enough when presentation and merchandising live comfortably in Online Store 2.0, content can be managed in the admin, and performance targets are reachable without a custom frontend. Headless pays off when brand UX, content systems, multi-surface delivery, or peak traffic clearly outgrow theme limits. if you want a make-or-buy read before you commit.
Both. Hydrogen is a strong default when you want a Shopify-first React storefront with Oxygen hosting options. Next.js fits when you already run a React/Next stack, need deeper CMS or app integration, or want one frontend codebase across more than Shopify. We recommend the stack that matches your team and ops, not a default for every brand.
Yes in almost every project we ship. Browse and cart can live on your frontend. Checkout is handed to Shopify so you keep native payments, taxes, Shop Pay, and Plus checkout capabilities without rebuilding a payment flow from scratch.
We plan URL structure, server or edge rendering, meta tags, structured data, sitemaps, and redirects as part of the architecture. Headless can be SEO-safe when crawlable HTML, canonical rules, and migration redirects are designed up front. It fails when those are treated as a post-launch fix.
Timeline depends on catalog complexity, CMS needs, account flows, and how many surfaces you ship. Focused storefronts with a clear scope often land in a matter of weeks to a few months. Larger multi-market or multi-CMS builds take longer. After discovery we share a concrete plan rather than a generic estimate.