Your Theme Can't Handle Your Catalog Anymore

If you're a DTC operator watching conversion rates drop as SKU count climbs, you've hit the theme ceiling.

Most ecommerce agencies hand you a Shopify theme and call it done. We build headless -- meaning your storefront is a custom Next.js app talking to whatever commerce backend fits your catalog (Shopify Hydrogen, Medusa, Saleor, BigCommerce). That separation is where real performance, real SEO, and real conversion lives. ## When you need a headless commerce agency You've outgrown a theme when any of these hit: - Your catalog has 10,000+ SKUs and search is slow - Mobile Lighthouse score is under 60 - You want to launch in 5+ languages with native URLs (not /en/en/) - You need custom product configurators, bundles, or pricing rules - Checkout feels like it belongs in 2018 - You want Core Web Vitals green so Google actually ranks category pages ## What we build A custom Next.js App Router storefront running on Vercel edge. Product data flows from your commerce backend via its API (Shopify Storefront API, Medusa REST, Saleor GraphQL). Content -- blog, hero sections, landing pages -- lives in a separate headless CMS (Sanity, Payload, or Storyblok). Everything is cached at the edge and revalidated on demand when you update products. Result: sub-1-second LCP. Category pages that rank. Checkout that converts. A tech stack you can extend without begging a Shopify app developer for the millionth time. ## Our commerce backend playbook **Shopify Hydrogen** -- for brands already on Shopify who need speed without a replatform. Keeps checkout on Shopify's PCI-compliant flow. **Medusa** -- for brands outgrowing Shopify's limits (B2B pricing, subscriptions, wholesale portals). Self-hosted, fully customizable, no transaction fees. **Saleor** -- for teams that want GraphQL-first commerce with strong multi-channel support (web, in-store, marketplaces). **BigCommerce headless** -- enterprise ecommerce with B2B features baked in. Good for catalogs over 50K SKUs. ## What sets this apart from template agencies 1. Fixed-fee quotes -- no hourly surprises 2. 4-week MVP to first live page with real data 3. Full Next.js App Router (not Pages Router) 4. Internationalization with proper hreflang and locale routing 5. 95+ Lighthouse target non-negotiable 6. SEO-ready: structured data, sitemap automation, IndexNow integration 7. 30-day post-launch support included ## FAQ **What is a headless commerce agency?** A headless commerce agency builds custom storefronts as standalone applications (typically Next.js) that talk to a commerce backend via API -- rather than building inside the backend's native templating system. This gives you full control over UX, performance, and content. **How much does a headless commerce build cost?** A custom headless storefront on Shopify Hydrogen starts around K for a launch-ready MVP. Medusa or Saleor self-hosted builds typically run K–K depending on catalog complexity, B2B features, and integrations. **How long does headless commerce take to build?** Our MVP timeline is 4 weeks to a live launchable storefront with 10–20 pages. Full catalog migration, custom bundles, and multi-region launches extend to 8–12 weeks. **Should I move from Shopify theme to Hydrogen?** If your theme is hitting Lighthouse scores under 70, you're blocked on customization, or you want SEO parity with content sites -- yes. Otherwise, stay on theme and iterate. **Do you work with existing Shopify stores?** Yes. We replatform active Shopify stores to Hydrogen or Next.js storefronts with zero downtime and full URL preservation (301 migration plan included).