Keep the commerce backend when it fits
A headless storefront can keep Shopify or WooCommerce running your catalog, checkout, payments and operations. Replacing the backend is a separate decision, with its own risks and its own cost.
Online stores, built or rebuilt
Online stores that stay fast as the catalogue grows.
Built new, or rebuilt from the theme you have.
We build online stores from scratch and rebuild existing ones as custom storefronts, with Shopify or WooCommerce staying the system of record for products, orders and checkout. Stores start at $1,500. A large catalogue, subscriptions or custom checkout logic is scoped separately. If you already have a store, we measure it first and tell you whether a theme change or a rebuild is the honest answer.
90+PageSpeed
30-min call. Drop your store URL when you book. We test your speed live, show you what the measurement does and does not establish, and quote you on the spot. Best fit for stores doing $50K to $5M/year.
PandaCodeGen builds online stores as custom storefronts on Next.js, from scratch or as a rebuild of one you already have, keeping Shopify or WooCommerce as the backend for products, orders, and payments. Builds are fixed-price from $1,500 for a smaller catalogue, $3,500 for a growing one, and $5,000 where a large catalogue, subscriptions or custom checkout logic is involved, target sub-second load times, and ship with a written 90+ Lighthouse handover target on mobile and desktop for the agreed representative pages, verified across three recorded runs. The result replaces storefront app fees with code you own, while Shopify keeps running products, orders and payments on its own subscription, and there is no minimum project size. How much speed improves, and what that is worth commercially, depends on your current theme, apps and catalogue.
Commerce diagnostic
Headless commerce is an option, not a default answer.
The right architecture depends on measured storefront constraints, catalog and checkout needs, team workflow, integrations, traffic, change frequency, compliance, budget, and the cost of operating both the current and proposed stack.
Measure the actual bottleneck
Measure real-user and lab performance for each template. Then find out what the theme code, apps, tags, images, checkout limits and day-to-day dependencies are doing, before anyone recommends a rebuild.
Price the whole operating model
Compare the whole bill: the plan, the apps, payment fees, hosting, database, email, analytics, monitoring, maintenance, support and engineering time. Use current provider terms and usage you can actually justify.
Evidence to bring to discovery
- Real example URLs, with real-user numbers
- Current plan and app invoices
- What the catalog, checkout and accounts have to do
- A map of your analytics, consent and integrations
- Content and merchandising workflow
- Your traffic, your timeline, your budget, and how you sign it off
M
Client receipt, on the record
“Hassan rebuilt MyCustomPatches, a WordPress + WooCommerce store, onto a custom Next.js storefront. The performance figures for that project are withdrawn pending reconciliation of their test profiles, dates and conditions. Fixed price. Live at mycustompatches.net. ”
Matt Conner, Executive, MC Patches LLC, an independent client. Published with permission. Clutch review · GoodFirms review
What that project involved, and what it did not establish, is set out in the case study. How many rounds of changes you get, what counts as done, and the refund terms are all in your written quote. Changes run until the agreed work is signed off. No hourly billing. No subcontractors. Hassan Jamal, Stafford, TX.
Real Clients. Real Migrations.
We ship what we promise.
Four stores we built or migrated. Live URLs, verifiable PageSpeed scores, honest before/after numbers.
Custom Patches (US Market)
MyCustomPatches
mycustompatches.net
WordPress → Custom
Independent client. WordPress to custom Next.js migration. Performance figures for this project (load time, mobile pagespeed) were withdrawn on 2026-08-04 pending reconciliation of the original test records. They are not stated anywhere on this site until they are re-measured with a documented method. The hosting cost figure is retired permanently rather than pending: no records were kept and the client does not recall the amount, so there is nothing to reconcile against and it will not return.
—
PageSpeed
—
Load Time
—
Outcome
Custom Patches E-Commerce
Panda Patches
pandapatches.com
WordPress → Custom
Founder-affiliated, not an independent client: owned and operated by co-founder Imran Raza Ladhani, with PandaCodeGen building and maintaining the platform but holding no ownership stake. Migrated from WordPress + WooCommerce. The owner reports the entire plugin and hosting stack now runs on about $55/mo total tooling (Supabase ~$25, Vercel ~$20, and ~$10 for the FAL Flux Schnell AI patch generator), and over 1 million patches delivered to date.
92
PageSpeed
< 1s
Load Time
~$55/mo
Outcome
Luxury Leather DTC
Saforne
saforne.com
Custom Next.js Build
Handcrafted UK leather brand. Custom ecommerce with Stripe, Sanity, multi-currency support. Recently launched, still being refined.
96
PageSpeed
< 1s
Load Time
Premium UX
Outcome
Editorial Magazine
Obare Magazine
obare.vercel.app
Wix → Custom
Editorial design magazine with 225K Instagram following. Migrated from Wix to custom Next.js for $1,350. Build delivered in 7 days; launching on the client's domain.
95
PageSpeed
< 1s
Load Time
225K IG
Outcome
Evidence, not theater
Client words with a source you can open.
No stock portraits, rotating star theatre, or anonymous outcome claims. These are short excerpts from public review pages, linked so you can read the full context yourself. Four of them carry Trustpilot’s own “unprompted” label, meaning we never asked for them.
Featured in
Woman’s World (opens in a new tab) quoted co-founder Hassan Jamal on how remote AI-training work operates.
Hassan was super helpful and communicative throughout the process.
Hassan was super helpful and communicative throughout the process. Reviewed by Marshall James on Trustpilot, March 2026.
Founder-affiliated, clearly labelled
Panda Patches is owned by a PandaCodeGen co-founder.
We built its platform but hold no ownership stake. It is presented as operating experience, not as an independent client endorsement.
How We Go Headless
Your existing Shopify store stays live. We build in parallel with AI-paired development. Three weeks to launch, switched over in stages, and we can switch back in minutes if anything is wrong.
01
Scope & API Architecture
Days 1-3Building a first store, we agree the catalogue, the checkout and what has to connect. Replacing one, we audit your apps, theme speed and conversion data first. Either way we map how every feature connects through Shopify's Storefront API: products, cart, checkout, customer accounts. AI tooling compresses discovery from days to hours.
02
Custom Storefront Build
Days 4-14We build your new storefront in Next.js: fast product pages, a cart that holds up under load, and search worth using. The audit in step 01 sorts your apps into kept, replaced and needing a closer look, and step 02 builds the replacements that were agreed. Apps doing backend work keep running and keep billing. AI-paired development, with a named developer responsible for the result, is how we keep that scope affordable to quote.
03
Live Data Testing
Days 15-18We connect to your real Shopify or WooCommerce data. Test every product, every variant, every checkout flow. Your team reviews and approves before anything goes live.
04
Launch & Optimize
Days 19-21We point your domain to the new storefront. Your Shopify or WooCommerce admin stays exactly the same. Then we A/B test, monitor Core Web Vitals, and optimize conversion rates.
Profit Warning
The Shopify App Trap
These are the exact problems Shopify store owners tell us about before they switch:
App Fees Are Eating Your Profit Margin
Review, page-builder, upsell and subscription apps each carry their own recurring charge, and several bill outside your Shopify invoice. Read your own app bill rather than a list price. That total is worth reconciling against what each app actually does. SaaS fees instead of growth.
Speed Can Obstruct a Purchase. It Cannot Be Multiplied Into a Number.
Apps that add storefront scripts can affect loading, and some of it runs before a customer sees a single product. We inspect what your store actually loads. No public per-second figure can be multiplied out into your monthly loss, because those studies were measured on other people's stores. Build the case from your own funnel instead: eligible sessions, your measured completion rate, and a tested change.
Shopify's URL Structure Is Fixed, So Plan Canonicals Around It
Shopify forces /collections/ and /products/ into every URL. You can't clean them up. Competitors with custom storefronts rank for cleaner URLs. Decide how canonicals and internal links handle a product reachable at more than one address.
Liquid Blocks the Path to Checkout
Product discovery, cart, bundling and upsell prompts all sit in front of checkout, and Liquid's template system has boundaries that configuration does not move. Going headless gives you those screens in code. Checkout itself stays with Shopify, which hosts it, and editing its steps is a Shopify Plus entitlement.
Your Store Looks Like Everyone Else's
Standard themes are widely used, so a competitor can be running the one you are. A custom storefront gives you a layout and a checkout flow built for your products rather than adapted from a template.
AI Search Won't Recommend a Slow Storefront
ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google's AI Overviews now answer 'where should I buy X?' directly. They surface fast, structured storefronts. Check what arrives as HTML on your own product page before assuming an answer engine can read it that influences a growing share of buying decisions.
Real Reddit Threads. Verifiable.
What Shopify Merchants Are Actually Saying
Not curated testimonials. Real Reddit threads from Shopify store owners and solopreneurs. Click the links to verify every quote.
“
Most Shopify stores have 6 to 10 apps running. Every single one adds javascript to your storefront. Every script adds load time. Load time kills sales.
No-Comparison-5247 · r/Solopreneur OPVerify →
“
The apps you installed to fix conversions are sometimes what is breaking them. Worst ones: popup tools, review widgets, live chat. Loading on every page even when nobody needs them.
No-Comparison-5247 · r/Solopreneur OPVerify →
“
Slow load time is invisible until you measure it and by then you have already wasted budget testing creatives that never had a chance.
Ok_Parfait_4006 · r/SolopreneurVerify →
“
Most people do not realize that even after you uninstall an app, it often leaves ghost code in your theme.liquid that still tries to fetch assets. That is why your PageSpeed never improved.
modulus3029 · r/SolopreneurVerify →
“
Most Shopify stores are not losing on ads, they are losing on load time from bloated apps. Speed is a conversion lever people ignore.
Fast_Fly_8354 · r/SolopreneurVerify →
“
I had a store where I kept stacking apps thinking I was optimizing, turns out I was just slowing everything down. Removed a couple popup and chat tools and conversion actually went up without touching ads.
ProfessionalCut6138 · r/SolopreneurVerify →
Headless removes app bloat at the source. No ghost code. No render-blocking JavaScript. No silent conversion killer.
We rebuild Shopify stores headless on Next.js from $1,500 (most headless store rebuilds land $5,000). App functionality moves to native code. Same Shopify backend, with the storefront rebuilt as code you own and measure.
See Headless Pricing → The Headless Advantage
Same Shopify Backend. A Frontend You Own.
Going headless means you keep Shopify's powerful inventory, payments, and order management. But your customers see a lightning-fast, beautifully custom storefront whose performance you can measure against your own baseline. For how to build that evidence, read how to build the evidence model for a slow store.
Theme to Custom
Migrate from Liquid to custom code behind a staged cutover. Products, orders and customers are reconciled against a pre-migration export and any exceptions are reported before cutover.
Global CDN Delivery
Serve your store from the edge, so pages start loading near the customer rather than from one region. Measured against your own funnel, not a published multiplier.
Custom Cart and Pre-Checkout
Bundling, upsells and subscription selection built in code, then handed to Shopify's hosted checkout. Shopify runs payments; we build every screen in front of it.
Scope and Commercial Review
Fixed price for a written scope.
No hourly billing.
Fixed-scope pricing. No hourly traps. Start small, scale when ready.
Other quotes
Not assessed
Compare the same scope, the same timeline and who owns the code before you compare prices.
PandaCodeGen
From $1,500
3 week timeline. Fixed price. You own 100% of the code.
Starter
Starting from $1,500
Ships in 1 to 2 weeks
Small catalog, simple migration. Our Starter tier.
- Custom Next.js storefront up to 20 products
- Shopify Storefront API integration
- Mobile-first responsive design
- 90+ Lighthouse handover target
- Sanity CMS for content
- 15 days of free post-launch support
Most Common
Growth
Starting from $3,500
Ships in 2 to 4 weeks
30-100 products. Custom features. Serious scaling.
- Everything in Starter
- Custom product filtering & search
- Advanced cart and pre-checkout flow
- Upsell and personalization logic
- Custom review system (no Yotpo)
- 30 days of free post-launch support
Scale
From $5,000
Ships in 3 to 6 weeks
Subscriptions, custom logic, large catalogs, headless APIs.
- Everything in Growth
- Stripe Subscriptions (replaces Recharge)
- Custom admin dashboard
- Multi-currency + localization
- Custom loyalty/rewards logic
- 30 days of free post-launch support
Every build includes: a staged switchover, every old link forwarded, your Google rankings protected, your domain stays yours, and you own 100% of the code.
Ready to Scale Your Store?
Option A
Shopify Optimization
Not ready for headless? We'll optimize your current Shopify theme for better speed, SEO, and conversions within the platform.
- Theme speed optimization
- App audit & cleanup
- SEO improvements
- Conversion rate fixes
- 30-day support
Recommended
Option B
Go Headless (Custom Coded)
A custom storefront on your own code, with Shopify kept underneath for products, orders and payments. You get the front of the store; the platform keeps doing what it is good at.
- Sub-second load times as the target
- Storefront app fees replaced by code you own
- Cart and pre-checkout flows you control, with Shopify's own checkout kept
- 90+ PageSpeed handover target
- Unique brand experience
- Refund terms stated in the written scope
Project Scope Review
Start with evidence. Put the agreement in writing.
The call is where we work out what you have, what you want, and what is in the way. Nothing is a commitment until it is in your written quote. For most projects that quote is a short document you accept by email. Regulated or complex work gets a fuller agreement.
Diagnostic first
We begin with the URL, stack, content, integrations, analytics, and operational constraints. Automated audit output is treated as an estimate to investigate, not proof of revenue loss or a guaranteed business result.
Evidence before outcomes
Any speed number, ours or anyone else's, is a snapshot of one day. Your quote names which pages we test, on what device, with which tool, and what counts as passing.
Scope before certainty
The proposal says what is included, what is not, what we need from the client, what it depends on, and how changes get approved.
Targets need a method
If there is a performance or visibility target, we write down how it gets measured and what happens if it is missed.
Terms belong in the proposal
Payment milestones, support coverage, ownership, licenses, handover, and out-of-scope work are confirmed in writing.
What should be documented before work starts
Use the call to get the facts. Use the written quote for the promises.
← Swipe to see more →
| Review area | During discovery | In the written proposal |
|---|---|---|
| What you get, and what you do not | List what they have today, what it depends on, and what we are assuming | Say what is included, what is not, who does what, and how changes get handled |
| Speed, and how we prove it | Record a dated baseline, and name what only the client can change | Agree the target, which pages, which tools, the test conditions, and how it gets signed off |
| Payment, support and who owns it | Talk through payment, support, ownership, access, and what happens at handover | State the milestones, what support covers, the licences, the handover, and what happens if something is wrong |
If a commercial term, target, or remedy is not in the written project terms accepted by both parties, this page should not be read as creating that commitment.
Common Questions
Everything you need to know about going headless.
How we reduce your risk
A 90+ handover target, measured before you sign off.
Every build scores 90 or better on Google PageSpeed on phone and desktop, on the pages named in your quote, tested three times before handover. If we fail to deliver what that written scope promises, the accepted terms set out the refund trigger and cure process. This is a lab acceptance target, not a promise about rankings, revenue, or field Core Web Vitals after third-party changes.
From the Blog
Research, case studies, and guides on headless e-commerce.
Why Go Headless with Shopify?
What headless transfers to you, and what it does not make faster on its own.
Read moreShopify App Costs: The Real Bill
How to reconcile the real app bill from invoices rather than list prices.
Read moreWhy Shopify Plus Is Still Slow
The plan changes your entitlements, not how your storefront is built.
Read moreYour Slow Shopify Is Losing Sales
How to build an evidence model instead of multiplying out a per-second figure.
Read moreSpeed Fix That Lifts Conversions
How to measure speed inside the funnel without assuming it caused the change.
Read moreWhat Is Headless Commerce?
A plain-English explainer for store owners and founders.
Read moreExplore More Services
Every platform migrates differently. Here is the right path for each.
WordPress Migration
Escape plugin bloat. Measured against your own pages, with a handover target in writing.
WooCommerce Migration
Replace paid plugins with built-in features where your store allows it. Own your store.
Wix Migration
Break free from Wix limitations. Own your code.
Squarespace Migration
Outgrow templates. Build something bespoke.
Webflow Help & Migration
Review performance, CMS needs and the options for your next stage.
GoHighLevel
GHL site slow? Custom frontend, same CRM.
Custom software
SaaS, dashboards, APIs built from scratch.
For Agencies
White-label dev partnership. You sell, we build.
Built by
H
Hassan Jamal
Lead Engineer. Headless Shopify builds that score 90+ on PageSpeed. Full store moves from Shopify themes to custom storefronts, switched over in stages so we can go back in minutes.