Headless PrestaShop Challenges

[HaCos]

Hello PrestaShop Community,

I’m exploring the idea of using PrestaShop in a headless setup and wanted to hear from those who have tried it. If you’ve experimented with headless prestaShop (API-driven frontend), I’d love to know:

- What was your setup? (Which frontend framework did you use—Vue, React, Nuxt, Next.js, etc.?) 
- What were the biggest challenges you faced? (API limitations, authentication, performance, SEO issues, etc.?)
- Did you notice improvements in speed and flexibility?
- Would you recommend it, or do you think it’s not worth the effort?

Also, if anyone has alternative solutions to make PrestaShop more modern and flexible without going full headless, I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Looking forward to your insights. Thanks in advance! 🚀

[Prestashop Addict]

Hi, according to me re coding the front end with PS web services doesn't make sense, as you can build your own theme. And there are lot of triggers made in front controllers that do not work with web services 😞 One good case to use web services could be a mobile app maybe.

Edited March 11 by Prestashop Addict (see edit history)

[Knowband Plugins]

Only speed can be a valid reason for opting for a headless PrestaShop storefront; otherwise, the effort may not be justified.

None of the UI-related PrestaShop modules will function with a headless setup, meaning you’ll need to develop everything from scratch, including essential eCommerce features. SEO can also take a hit, especially with React-based frontends, as client-side rendering (CSR) isn't ideal for search engine indexing. Using frameworks like Next.js or Nuxt.js can mitigate this issue to some extent with server-side rendering (SSR) or static site generation (SSG), but it still requires extra effort to match PrestaShop’s native SEO capabilities.

[binshops]

Let's take a look at the Next.js template for PrestaShop:

https://github.com/binshops/react-ecommerce

 

The stack is full and complete.