Building a Headless Storefront with Next.js: A Developer's Guide

Why Next.js for Headless Commerce?

Next.js has emerged as the go-to framework for headless commerce frontends, offering the perfect blend of performance, developer experience, and flexibility.

Key Features for E-commerce

Hybrid Rendering

Choose the optimal rendering strategy for each page:

• Static Generation (SSG) for product listings and category pages
• Server-Side Rendering (SSR) for personalized content
• Incremental Static Regeneration (ISR) for updating static pages without full rebuilds
• Client-Side Rendering for dynamic cart and checkout

App Router Architecture

The new App Router provides improved layouts, nested routing, and React Server Components - perfect for complex e-commerce site structures.

Project Setup

npx create-next-app@latest my-headless-store --typescript
cd my-headless-store
npm install @tanstack/react-query zustand

Connecting to Commerce APIs

Create a commerce layer that abstracts your backend:

// lib/commerce/index.ts
export async function getProducts(params: ProductQuery) {
  const response = await fetch(`${API_URL}/products`, {
    headers: { 'X-API-Key': process.env.COMMERCE_API_KEY },
    next: { revalidate: 3600 } // ISR: revalidate every hour
  });
  return response.json();
}

Performance Optimization

• Use Next.js Image component for automatic optimization
• Implement skeleton loaders for better perceived performance
• Lazy load below-the-fold components
• Cache API responses with proper TTLs
• Use Edge Runtime for API routes close to users

Deployment

Deploy to Vercel for the best Next.js experience, or use any Node.js-compatible platform. Enable Edge Functions for global performance.