7 Best Frontend Frameworks for Headless Commerce in 2025

Are you feeling lost in the sea of frontend options for your headless commerce project?

When our team at 2HatsLogic started building headless storefronts, we spent countless hours testing different frameworks, hitting unexpected roadblocks, and wishing for a straightforward guide that cut through the marketing hype. That’s what we will share with you today.

Having helped dozens of brands transition from traditional monolithic platforms to modern headless architectures, we have seen which headless frontend frameworks truly deliver and which ones create more problems than they solve.

Let’s dive into the frameworks that actually work in real-world headless commerce implementations.

Understanding Headless Commerce Backends Before Choosing a Frontend

Before we explore frontend frameworks, let’s quickly understand the major commerce backends they’ll connect to:

Shopify: Works with Hydrogen & Storefront API

Shopify Plus: Enterprise-grade with additional API capabilities and higher rate limits

WooCommerce: Uses REST API or GraphQL with custom frontends

BigCommerce: Designed for headless from the start

Your choice of backend will influence which frontend framework makes the most sense for your project.

What Makes a Great Headless Commerce Frontend Framework?

When evaluating frontend frameworks for headless commerce, look for these key attributes:

• Performance: Fast loading and rendering capabilities
• Commerce-specific features: Built-in cart, checkout, and product display components
• Backend compatibility: Strong integration with your chosen commerce platform
• Developer experience: Robust documentation and active community
• Scalability: Ability to handle growth in traffic and catalog size

Best Frontend Frameworks for Headless Commerce

Now, let’s explore the seven frameworks that excel in these areas.

1. Next.js

Next.js has emerged as the go-to framework for headless commerce implementations—and for good reason. Built on React, one of the most popular modern frontend libraries, it combines developer flexibility with production-grade performance.

Why It Stands Out:

• Flexible rendering options including server-side rendering, static generation, and incremental static regeneration
• Seamless integration with virtually any headless commerce backend
• Built-in image optimization crucial for product catalogs
• Robust routing for complex catalog structures

Real-World Example:

We recently migrated a client from a traditional Shopify theme to a headless architecture using Next.js connected to Shopify Plus. Their mobile conversion rate increased by 24% within the first month, primarily due to the improved performance and custom checkout flow we implemented.

Best For:

Next.js works exceptionally well with Shopify Plus, BigCommerce, and virtually any other commerce backend with a solid API.

2. Hydrogen

As Shopify’s purpose-built headless frontend framework, Hydrogen deserves special consideration if you’re in the Shopify ecosystem.

Why It Stands Out:

• Deep integration with Shopify’s Storefront API
• Commerce-specific React hooks that simplify development
• Server components for improved performance
• Oxygen hosting optimized specifically for Hydrogen stores

Who Should Use It:

Hydrogen is the natural choice for Shopify and Shopify Plus merchants looking to go headless while maintaining the benefits of the Shopify ecosystem.

3. Vue Storefront

Vue Storefront stands out as a framework built specifically for headless commerce rather than being a general-purpose framework adapted for commerce.

Why It Stands Out:

• Pre-built commerce components for carts, product displays, and more
• Multi-backend support including BigCommerce, Shopify, and WooCommerce
• PWA capabilities out of the box
• Headless CMS integrations for content-rich storefronts

Best For:

Vue Storefront excels for teams familiar with Vue.js who want to fast-track development with commerce-specific components.

4. Gatsby

While it’s lost some momentum to Next.js in recent years, Gatsby remains an excellent choice for content-rich headless commerce sites where SEO is paramount.

Why It Stands Out:

• Static site generation creates lightning-fast experiences
• Superior image optimization is built into the core
• Rich plugin ecosystem for commerce and SEO
• GraphQL data layer makes it easy to pull and transform product data

Best For:

Gatsby works well with any commerce backend that offers a solid API, including WooCommerce, BigCommerce, and Shopify.

5. React Storefront

React Storefront focuses specifically on solving the performance challenges that plague many e-commerce sites.

Why It Stands Out:

• Sub-second page loads even on mobile networks
• AMP support for product and category pages
• Sophisticated caching that dramatically improves performance
• Built-in A/B testing capabilities

Best For:

React Storefront pairs well with any backend with a robust API, including BigCommerce and Shopify Plus.

6. Nuxt.js

If your development team prefers the Vue ecosystem, Nuxt.js offers powerful capabilities similar to Next.js for building headless commerce experiences. It’s especially well-suited for Shopware, and we’ve done extensive work using Nuxt as the Shopware storefront, delivering fast, engaging, and highly customizable user experiences.

Why It Stands Out:

• Vue-based components with a gentler learning curve for many
• Automatic code-splitting for improved performance
• Server-side rendering or static generation options
• Growing commerce module ecosystem

Best For:

Nuxt.js works well with any commerce backend, but we’ve had particular success pairing it with WooCommerce for mid-sized stores.

7. SvelteKit

Although newer to the headless commerce scene, SvelteKit is gaining traction for its exceptional performance characteristics.

Why It Stands Out:

• Minimal runtime code resulting in tiny bundle sizes
• True reactivity without virtual DOM overhead
• Flexible rendering options similar to Next.js
• Simple but powerful state management ideal for cart functionality

Best For:

SvelteKit works with any commerce backend with a solid API, though we’ve primarily used it with Shopify and BigCommerce.

Choosing the Right Framework for Your Commerce Backend

Different backends pair better with certain frontends:

Shopify and Shopify Plus

Best frontend options:

1. Hydrogen – The official solution with the deepest integration
2. Next.js – The most popular alternative with excellent Shopify integrations
3. React Storefront – For performance-critical Shopify stores

WooCommerce

Best frontend options:

1. Next.js – Most mature ecosystem for WooCommerce headless
2. Nuxt.js – Great for teams with Vue experience
3. Gatsby – Excellent for content-rich WooCommerce stores

BigCommerce

Best frontend options:

1. Next.js – BigCommerce has excellent Next.js starter kits
2. Vue Storefront – Official integration available
3. SvelteKit – For maximum performance

Real-World Considerations Beyond the Framework

Having implemented dozens of headless commerce projects, we can tell you that the frontend framework is just one piece of the puzzle. Other critical considerations include:

• Content management – How will you handle non-product content?
• Search functionality – Most headless projects require a dedicated search solution
• Performance optimization – Framework choice impacts this, but there’s more to it
• Authentication – How will customer accounts work in your headless setup?
• Analytics – Tracking user behavior across a decoupled architecture

Conclusion

Ready to start your headless commerce journey but not sure which framework is right for your specific needs? At 2HatsLogic, we specialize in helping brands navigate these technical decisions and then implementing them flawlessly. Reach out today, and let’s build something amazing together.