Headless Shopify Development on Hydrogen

Discuss Your Headless Project
See Our Shopify Work

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Shopify custom development services
custom Shopify development agency
Shopify Plus custom development experts

SPLIT Development builds headless Shopify storefronts on Hydrogen and the Storefront API for brands whose frontend, content or performance needs go beyond a theme. Shopify keeps running checkout, products and orders, and your storefront is built the way your brand needs. Before any build, we check whether a theme on Online Store 2.0 can do the job for less.

150+

Projects delivered

7+

Years experience

custom Shopify development company

Headless Shopify Development Services

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Hydrogen storefronts

  • Custom storefronts on Shopify Hydrogen and Oxygen hosting
  • Storefront API builds on Next.js or another frontend framework your team already uses
  • Product, collection and cart pages built from your design system

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Content and CMS

  • Headless CMS connected to Shopify for editorial pages, lookbooks and landing pages
  • One content model shared by the store, the blog and other channels
  • Shopify Metaobjects used where they can replace a separate CMS

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Performance and channels

  • Fast page loads with server-side rendering and caching
  • One Shopify backend for the website, mobile app and in-store screens
  • A progressive web app on the headless storefront. See PWA development

How We Approach Headless Projects

Headless adds cost and moving parts, so we start by checking whether you need it.

custom Shopify discovery

Fit check first

If Online Store 2.0, sections and Metaobjects can do the job, we tell you and quote a theme build instead.

custom business logic in Shopify

Shopify stays the core

Checkout, products, inventory and orders stay in Shopify, so your team keeps the admin it knows.

transparent custom development process

Editor-friendly content

Content teams get a CMS or Metaobjects they can edit without a developer.

scalable custom Shopify architecture

Exit path

The architecture is documented, so you can bring parts back to a native theme later if your needs change.

Standards for Every Headless Build

How we keep a headless store fast and stable

structured custom Shopify planning

Code review

A tech lead reviews every change before it reaches production.

clean custom Shopify code

Preview environments

Every change gets a preview link before it reaches the live storefront.

stable Shopify integrations and functionality

Core Web Vitals checked

Page speed is measured on mobile before each release.

performance optimization in custom Shopify development

SEO built in

Server-side rendering, sitemaps, canonical tags and structured data are set up from day one.

QA and validation for custom Shopify builds

Zero downtime

Releases are planned so the store or site keeps working while new work goes live.

post launch support for custom Shopify development

Clean handover

You get documented code and full access to everything we built.

Our Headless Development Process

From the first fit check to a live headless storefront

01

custom Shopify audit and discovery

Free review

We look at your store, content needs and traffic, and say whether headless makes sense.

02

custom Shopify roadmap

Architecture

You get the stack, the content model, the hosting plan and an estimate.

03

build custom Shopify solution

Build

The storefront, CMS connection and integrations are built on a preview environment.

04

QA and launch for custom Shopify development

QA and SEO checks

Speed, checkout, redirects and indexing are tested before launch.

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support and iteration for custom Shopify builds

Launch and support

The new storefront goes live, and we stay on for fixes and new features.

Who Needs Headless Shopify

Brands whose content, design or channel needs go past what a Shopify theme can do. Agencies can order headless builds under their own brand through white label Shopify development.

brands needing custom Shopify store development

Content-heavy brands

Stores that publish editorial content, lookbooks or guides alongside products.

Shopify Plus custom development for complex operations

Brands with several channels

Companies selling through a website, a mobile app and in-store screens from one backend.

companies needing Shopify custom app development

Stores with a custom design system

Brands whose frontend can’t be built from theme sections.

custom Shopify theme development for growing brands

Shopify Plus merchants

Larger stores that need a custom frontend on top of Plus features. See Shopify Plus development.

custom Shopify development services for ecommerce brands

Headless Shopify FAQ

What is headless Shopify?

Headless Shopify means the storefront is built separately from Shopify’s theme system and gets products, carts and checkout through the Storefront API. Shopify still runs the backend, checkout and admin.

What is Shopify Hydrogen?

Hydrogen is Shopify’s framework for building headless storefronts, based on React Router. Hydrogen storefronts can be hosted on Shopify’s Oxygen platform.

Do I need headless Shopify?

Most stores don’t. Headless fits when your content, design or channels go past what a theme can do. Online Store 2.0, sections and Metaobjects now cover many needs that used to require headless.

How much does headless Shopify development cost?

At SPLIT Development, headless work is billed from $35 per hour. Each project gets an estimate after a free review, and headless builds cost more than theme builds to create and maintain.

Is headless Shopify good for SEO?

It can be, when pages are rendered on the server and sitemaps, canonical tags and structured data are set up. A headless store without server-side rendering can be harder for search engines to index.

Can I go back from headless to a Shopify theme?

Yes. Brew Crew ran on a custom headless setup built by SPLIT Development and moved back to native Shopify once Metaobjects covered what the headless build had been for.