Headless Commerce — ten terms to know

The development of a headless commerce website can be confusing. Use this glossary to learn the basic terms you should be familiar with.

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Headless commerce

Headless commerce is an ecommerce architecture where the front-end (head) is decoupled from the back-end commerce functionality and can be updated or edited without interfering with the back-end, similar to a headless content management system (CMS). The term was coined by Dirk Hoerig, co-founder of Commercetools, in 2013. - Wikipedia

Composable commerce

Composable Commerce is an approach that enables business and tech teams to bring their brand's unique digital vision to life by launching and continuously optimizing digital commerce experiences that leverage multiple best-of-breed vendors composed together in a complete, business-ready solution. - Elasticpath

Modular commerce

Modular commerce involves building the functions of a commerce platform from a set of interconnected components rather than using a pre-packaged system so that retailers can scale commerce more efficiently. - fabric.inc

Decoupled architecture

Decoupled architecture is a type of computing architecture that enables computing components or layers to execute independently while still interfacing with each other. A decoupled architecture separates a system’s memory access and instruction cycle processes from execution-stage processes by implementing a data buffer. - Techopedia

API

An application programming interface (API) is a way for two or more computer programs to communicate with each other. It is a software interface offering a service to other pieces of software. An API specification is a document or standard describing how to build or use such a connection or interface. A computer system that meets this standard is said to implement or expose an API. The term API may refer either to the specification or to the implementation. - Wikipedia

Microservices

Microservices are an architectural and organizational approach to software development where software is composed of small independent services that communicate over well-defined APIs. These services are owned by small, self-contained teams.
Microservices architectures make applications easier to scale and faster to develop, enabling innovation and accelerating time-to-market for new features. - AWS

Monolithic architecture

Monolithic architecture is the traditional structure for software applications. Analysts often compare it to microservices, a newer model for application development. Although monolithic architecture has a long history, it is sometimes still superior to the microservices model.
Monolithic is an all-in-one architecture wherein all aspects of the software operate as a single unit. In the microservices model, components are modular, functioning independently, and coupled together as needed for optimal functionality. - Integrate.io

Content Management System

A content management system (CMS) is an application used to manage content, allowing multiple contributors to create, edit and publish. Content in a CMS is typically stored in a database and displayed in a presentation layer based on a set of templates like a website. - Optimizely

Open Source

Open-source software (OSS) is computer software released under a license in which the copyright holder grants users the rights to use, study, change, and distribute the software and its source code to anyone and for any purpose. Open-source software may be developed in a collaborative public manner. Open-source software is a prominent example of open collaboration, meaning any capable user can participate online in development, making the number of possible contributors indefinite. - Wikipedia

Progressive web apps

A progressive web app is a web application that uses the latest web capabilities to provide users with an experience comparable to a native mobile app. While web technologies are used to build a progressive web app, its functionality mimics that of a native app. - CodeinWP

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Want more information on headless commerce?

Want to know more about headless commerce? Check out our Headless Commerce solutions page. 

Or contact one of our team members to talk about your project, even if it isn’t quite a project yet.