Shopify Themes vs Headless eCommerce: Why iNet Digital Chose Headless for a Fully Custom Coffee Subscription Store

As iNet Digital kicks off the build of a new Shopify website for an exciting coffee brand, we’re faced with one of the most pivotal decisions in any Shopify project: Do we use Shopify’s traditional themes, or go headless for complete design and frontend flexibility?

For this project, which includes one-off purchases and recurring subscriptions for weekly, bi-weekly, and monthly deliveries, we’re embracing a headless commerce approach.

Here’s why.

Shopify Themes: The Traditional Approach

Shopify Themes are the out-of-the-box solution Shopify offers for building eCommerce stores. Using the Liquid templating language, themes are pre-built frameworks that handle both the frontend design and backend commerce logic in one system.

Pros of Using Shopify Themes

1. Speed to Launch
   Themes allow rapid deployment. You can choose a template, customise it within the theme editor, and get online fast.
2. Lower Development Costs (Upfront)
   Pre-built components (product pages, carts, collections) mean less coding from scratch.
3. Built-in Shopify Features
   Everything from checkout to inventory management, discount codes, and analytics is integrated and ready to go.
4. App Ecosystem Integration
   Apps from the Shopify ecosystem plug directly into theme-based stores without heavy configuration.
5. No Hosting Worries
   Shopify hosts everything, and their themes are optimised for performance, security, and uptime.

Cons of Using Shopify Themes

1. Design Limitations Themes can be restrictive. While you can customise layouts and styles, you’re often boxed into a predefined structure unless you heavily customise Liquid templates.
2. Performance Trade-offs Themes can get bloated if you add too many third-party apps, impacting site speed.
3. Limited Developer Freedom Custom interactions, animations, and UX enhancements are harder to implement within the theme framework.
4. Checkout Customisation is Limited Shopify Plus offers some extra control, but beyond that, checkout customisation is minimal with traditional themes.

Headless Commerce: The Modern Alternative

In a headless architecture, Shopify acts purely as the backend (product data, inventory, checkout), while a custom frontend (built with frameworks like Next.js, Nuxt, React, or Vue) delivers the customer-facing experience.

At iNet Digital, we’re building this coffee brand’s new Shopify store as a headless storefront powered by Next.js, and here’s why.

Pros of Using Headless Shopify

1. Total Design Freedom
   Designers aren’t bound by the limitations of Shopify themes. We can create truly bespoke experiences with unique layouts, animations, and interactive elements that match the brand’s vision.
2. Better Performance (Faster Load Times)
   Headless frontends can be highly optimised, delivering blazing-fast page loads through static site generation (SSG) or server-side rendering (SSR).
3. Scalable & Future-Proof
   Headless setups make it easier to integrate multiple services, such as advanced subscriptions, loyalty programs, or even multi-channel experiences (apps, POS, etc.).
4. Omnichannel Flexibility
   One backend can feed multiple frontends—think websites, mobile apps, or point-of-sale displays—without duplicating data.
5. Developer Control & Customisation
   Developers can work with modern frameworks (Next.js, Nuxt, etc.) to build component-based systems, improving maintainability and scalability.
6. Personalised Customer Experiences
   Build highly tailored experiences (custom dashboards, personalised subscriptions) that go beyond what Shopify themes can deliver.
7. Advanced Subscription Logic
   For the coffee company, we’re implementing weekly, bi-weekly, and monthly subscriptions, requiring custom subscription flows and customer portals. Headless makes this cleaner, more flexible, and easier to integrate with Recharge or Skio.

Cons of Using Headless Shopify

1. Higher Development Costs (Upfront)
   You’re essentially building the frontend from scratch. This means more design, development, and QA effort upfront.
2. Complexity & Maintenance
   A headless site requires ongoing maintenance—security patches, server management (if SSR), and performance optimisation.
3. Requires Technical Expertise
   It’s not as plug-and-play as Shopify themes. You need experienced developers (that’s where we come in 😉).
4. Checkout Remains Shopify’s Domain
   While you have control over the shopping experience, Shopify checkout customisation is still limited (unless you’re on Shopify Plus).

Why iNet Digital Chose Headless for This Coffee Brand

For this coffee subscription project, we’re prioritising:

• A completely custom user experience, allowing the brand to tell their story visually and guide users effortlessly through purchasing or subscribing.
• A flexible subscription model, letting users build their own coffee orders with weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly deliveries.
• Seamless integration with third-party services (Recharge for subscriptions) without being constrained by theme templates.

Design-Led Development

Our design team needs full creative control to craft an immersive, modern, and high-converting eCommerce experience. Going headless allows us to push the boundaries of traditional Shopify design, integrating:

• Smooth page transitions
• Micro-animations that enhance the storytelling
• A frictionless checkout flow that makes buying or subscribing easy

Performance & SEO

By leveraging Next.js and static generation, we can deliver fast load times and SEO-friendly pages, critical for attracting coffee lovers and boosting organic search visibility.

A Future-Proof Setup

This headless approach also sets the brand up for future expansion—whether they want to roll out a mobile app, an interactive subscription portal, or connect to other channels, the flexibility is built-in from day one.

Is Headless Right for Every Shopify Project?

No. Headless isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution.

If you’re a smaller brand looking to get online quickly with a tight budget, Shopify themes are an excellent choice. They offer speed, simplicity, and a low barrier to entry.

But when you’re ready to differentiate your brand, provide a premium customer experience, and scale beyond the norm, headless is often the better choice.

Final Thoughts

At iNet Digital, our mission is to craft digital experiences that elevate brands and delight customers. By choosing headless Shopify for this coffee subscription project, we’re giving our client:

• Full control over design
• Total flexibility in customer experience
• Scalability to grow and adapt as their business evolves

And ultimately, we’re building a site that goes beyond eCommerce—it’s an experience that reflects their passion for coffee and commitment to their customers.

If you're considering headless commerce or wondering if it's the right fit for your Shopify project, let's chat. At iNet Digital, we're all about finding the solution that empowers your brand and grows your business.