The term “headless” is increasingly capturing the attention of e-commerce business owners and decision-makers—but the buzz can be dangerous when the underlying context isn’t well understood.

Too often, sales teams promote headless solutions without a clear grasp of what native platforms already provide, leading companies to commit to costly, over-engineered builds they never needed. I’ve seen even CTO-level leaders make decisions they later regret, realizing only after launch that headless added unnecessary complexity and expense. Slick sales pitches can make headless seem essential when it isn’t.

Unpack the myths before choosing a headless architecture

BigCommerce offers an Open Source Checkout app and an Open Source B2B Buyer Portal app. By default, merchants benefit from a maintained and supported version of these apps, providing a robust out-of-the-box SaaS experience. However, both apps can be forked and customized to meet specific business requirements. This flexibility is powerful—but it comes at a cost.

Discover the trade-offs of customizing BigCommerce checkout and buyer portal

Client-side JavaScript runs in the user’s browser, which makes it inherently unreliable for enforcing critical functionality. Network issues, browser quirks, or code errors can prevent scripts from executing correctly, leading to unexpected or inconsistent behavior. Additionally, client-side code is fully exposed to users, which creates potential security risks.

Understand the risks and limitations of client-side JavaScript

I’m often reminded that even experienced executives, salespeople, project managers, and business analysts have different processes and ways of working. Not everyone has had the same opportunities or experiences when it comes to executing software projects. We all come from different backgrounds, and not everyone has had the benefit of hands-on experience across the full project lifecycle. Over time, some may become removed from day-to-day operations and lose sight of the detailed steps required to implement a project successfully.

The process I describe here is one I’ve developed in collaboration with various teams, across multiple agencies, and on dozens of projects—while working in roles spanning development, project management, sales, and strategy. It has evolved through trial and error and been refined through real-world application. While it’s framed around frontend user interfaces (or “theme” implementation) for ecommerce websites, I’ve found it flexible enough to apply to almost any software project—including fully custom implementations.

Following this structured feature implementation process allows projects to run more smoothly, improves estimate accuracy, sets clearer client expectations, and ultimately leads to higher-quality outcomes—efficiently and effectively.

Master feature implementation for smoother projects

Every successful replatform begins with a fundamental question: “What’s holding us back?”

This question delineates the difference between a tactical feature update and a strategic platform investment. The decision to replatform is never arbitrary—it stems from recognizing that existing infrastructure limits growth, agility, or innovation. Teams must hold this front and center throughout the project to avoid costly distractions that dilute focus.

Learn how removing technical blockers accelerates business growth.