Headless WooCommerce splits your store into two parts that talk to each other through an API.
WooCommerce still runs the backend – products, cart, orders, payments, admin – exactly as it does now. But the storefront customers actually see is a separate, purpose-built application, often made with a modern framework like Next.js, that pulls data from WooCommerce via its REST or GraphQL API.
The point is speed and flexibility: a dedicated frontend can be extremely fast and app-like, without being constrained by traditional theme rendering. You keep everything WooCommerce does well and bolt on a best-in-class storefront.
The trade-off is complexity – you’re building and maintaining two systems – so it suits stores that need that edge. More: is it worth it? · headless vs traditional · headless WooCommerce with Next.js · our headless commerce guide