The Complete Guide to SFRA vs Headless in Salesforce Commerce Architecture

You’re at a crossroads. One path gives you speed, control, and the flexibility to shape your storefront exactly how you want. The other offers a faster launch, prebuilt tools, and a smoother ride for your team. Both paths lead you through Salesforce Commerce Cloud, but the journey (and the outcome) look very different.

If you’re aiming to improve your shopper experience, reduce development costs, or future-proof your digital storefront, the choice you make here matters more than you think. In this guide, you’ll learn which route suits your brand best.

To start, here’s a quick side-by-side table to help you size them up.

So, let’s start with the basics and break down what SFRA actually is.

What Is SFRA?

SFRA, or Storefront Reference Architecture, is Salesforce B2C Commerce Cloud’s prebuilt framework for building online storefronts quickly and efficiently. You get a foundation built from the analysis of over 2,000 mobile storefronts, which means every part of it reflects real user behavior and proven patterns.

It’s built to give you faster time to market with pre-built templates, standard flows, and responsive design out of the box. If you’re looking to speed up development, simplify front-end work, and lean on Salesforce-native tools, SFRA gives you a structured way to do it without starting from scratch.

Key Features of SFRA

SFRA gives you a ready-made foundation to build a storefront without starting from zero. It focuses on speed, simplicity, and alignment with built-in Salesforce tools. These are the key features you’ll rely on:

• Prebuilt reference architecture provided by Salesforce: You can use Salesforce’s blueprint as a solid foundation. It’s built with proven patterns that reduce the time spent building core storefront features from scratch.
• Full-page rendering with back-end logic: Each page is rendered on the server with business logic baked in. This keeps your storefront aligned with standard flows and simplifies the development process.
• Supports fast time-to-market for standard use cases: SFRA has preconfigured flows and templates. So, you don’t have to spend weeks building out basic shopping features. You can launch quicker and focus on what really needs customization.
• Designed to work out-of-the-box with Salesforce B2C Commerce tools: SFRA connects smoothly with native features, which helps you cut down the time spent building third-party integrations.

SFRA Advantages

You don’t always need to build everything from the ground up. SFRA gives you a more structured approach that can save time, lower risk, and help you move faster without overloading your team. These are the main benefits you get with it:

• Lower development cost and faster launch: Since so much of the foundation is already built, you avoid long dev cycles. You spend less on front-end development and move quicker from planning to launch.
• Built-in support for Salesforce integrations (e.g., Service Cloud, Einstein): You can connect native features without custom workarounds. This saves time during integration and gives you access to key capabilities like product recommendations and customer service tools.
• Easier onboarding for internal teams due to standardization: Your teams won’t get lost trying to understand a custom setup. The structure follows a consistent pattern, which makes handoffs and collaboration smoother.
• Strong documentation and community support: If you hit a roadblock, you’re not stuck. You’ll find clear docs, code samples, and an active community to lean on during development.

SFRA Disadvantages

SFRA has many use cases, but it doesn’t give you total freedom over the front-end or future upgrades. These are the drawbacks you should think through:

• Limited flexibility for custom front-end UX: You’re tied to predefined templates, which makes it harder to shape a truly personalized shopping experience.
• Harder to decouple and modernize: Since the front-end and back–end are tightly linked, moving toward a better architecture later takes more effort.
• Slower front-end performance compared to Headless in certain use cases: Full-page rendering can affect load times, especially on mobile devices or in global markets.
• Not ideal for omnichannel or mobile-first experiences: If your focus is seamless integration across multiple devices, SFRA might not keep up with that demand.

Examples of SFRA Salesforce Stores

More than 100 brands use SFRA to power their digital storefronts, especially those focused on dependable B2C setups with moderate customization. You’ve probably come across stores from Puma, Kind, Spalding, or Michelin; well, all of them are running on SFRA.

Puma was actually the first to launch on it. It rolled it out globally and saw a 50% jump in mobile conversion rates, which shows how well it supports mobile experiences at scale.

IKKS Group, a French fashion label, also made the switch from SiteGenesis to SFRA. That move improved their site performance, sped up feature rollouts, and brought down maintenance costs. This company even managed to streamline several of its brand sites into one setup, while adding useful tools like store locators and omnichannel carts.

The moment you land on IKKS Group’s website, you’re greeted with a dynamic country and language selector. This is a hallmark of SFRA’s global-ready architecture, making localization seamless for both the user and the dev team.

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If you’re working on a structured B2C site and need a proven, scalable solution, these stories show what SFRA can help you pull off.

All of this takes us to the next question…

What Is Headless SFCC?

Headless SFCC separates your front-end from the back-end by giving you full control over the storefront design while still using Salesforce Commerce Cloud for everything behind the scenes. This setup lets you build with modern technologies, support an API-first approach, and shape digital experiences around your brand’s needs.

You won’t be alone either, since 73% of businesses already use a Headless approach, and 98% of others say they’re planning to evaluate it. If you’re aiming for more flexible user experiences and personalized shopping, Headless might be the better fit for how you work.

Here’s a quick overview of how a headless agent works:

Key Features of Headless Architecture

Headless architecture gives you more control and flexibility than traditional setups. You get to shape your digital storefront using tools that match how your team works. These are the main features that make it stand out:

• Decouples front-end from back-end: You build your user interface separately from your back-end logic. This setup gives you more room to shape the experience for customers and adopt modern technologies.
• Uses SCAPI/OCAPI for data access: Now, you connect to back-end data using Salesforce Commerce API or Open Commerce API. These give you the flexibility to fetch and send data without locking into one structure.
• Offers flexibility to use any front-end framework (React, Vue, etc.): With it, you can choose your stack, so the front-end feels faster, smoother, and more on-brand, whether it’s Vue, React, or another modern web framework.
• Enables omnichannel and personalized commerce: You can create a personalized experience across channels. It’s a strong fit for composable commerce setups and mobile-first shopping.

Degrees of Headlessness

You don’t need to go all-in on Headless from day one. There are different ways to build around it, depending on how fast you want to move and what your team’s ready to handle. These are the main approaches you can take:

1. Fully Headless: Custom Front-end With Only Back-end SFCC

The entire front-end gets built from scratch using modern web technologies built for this exact purpose. Through SCAPI and OCAPI, your storefront stays connected to the Salesforce back-end. This setup gives you full control over the customer experience but requires more effort and development skills.

2. Hybrid: SFRA for Desktop, Headless for Mobile or Microsites

You keep SFRA where it works (like on desktop) and layer in Headless storefronts for mobile apps or special campaign sites. It’s a solid option when you’re not ready to fully switch but still want better performance in key areas.

3. Progressive Decoupling: Gradual Shift Toward Headless Infrastructure

You slowly move parts of your storefront to a Headless setup, starting with things like product detail pages. It’s easier to manage and gives your team time to get comfortable with new tools and workflows.

Headless Architecture Advantages

Going Headless gives you more flexibility to build what you need without working around traditional templates. You’re free to create experiences that better fit your brand and scale as your goals grow. These are the main benefits you’ll get from a Headless commerce solution:

• Modern, fast, and flexible user interfaces: You can roll out updates faster. In fact, 77% of companies using Headless architecture say it helps them speed up changes across their storefronts.
• Optimized performance across devices: Headless commerce helped brands improve site performance by 65%, which can directly impact how long visitors stay and how much they spend.
• Easier A/B testing, personalization, and experimentation: Shoppers expect more. About 69% prefer websites that offer a personalized experience. Headless architecture makes this easier across devices, especially mobile. In fact, 73% of new customers on Headless platforms now come from mobile, where personalized UX and fast experimentation are critical to capturing attention and driving conversions.
• Better suited for composable architecture: You can swap in tools and services as needed. This gives you more control and flexibility without rebuilding everything.

Headless Architecture Disadvantages

Headless architecture gives you more freedom, but it also comes with more responsibility. You’ll need to manage more moving parts and make sure your team has the skills to handle them. These are the challenges you’ll want to think through:

• Higher development and maintenance costs: You’ll need to budget for extra work on both the front-end and back-end, plus ongoing updates and support.
• More complex infrastructure (hosting, CI/CD, observability): Running a Headless setup means handling deployment pipelines, uptime monitoring, and performance tracking on your own.
• Requires stronger internal tech capabilities: You’ll need developers who know how to work with APIs, manage third-party services, and handle full-stack builds.
• Longer time-to-launch unless prebuilt accelerators are used: Without tools to speed things up, you’ll likely spend more time getting everything live compared to traditional setups.

Examples of Headless Salesforce Stores

Headless commerce has become a strong fit for fast-growing DTC brands and businesses focused on mobile-first experiences. Adidas is one brand that uses Salesforce Commerce Cloud on the back-end while offering seamless shopping across mobile, web, and social platforms. This helped the company push eCommerce sales up by 59% back in 2016.

On Adidas’ site, adding a product to your bag triggers a sleek slide-in modal, complete with real-time pricing, size and color confirmation, and personalized product suggestions. This kind of fast, dynamic interaction is exactly what Headless Salesforce Commerce Cloud makes possible: decoupled front ends, app-like responsiveness, and tailored mobile experiences.

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Kaporal, a French clothing brand, moved away from Magento 1 and rebuilt its setup using a Headless approach with Front-Commerce. This helped improve site performance and gave them more room to scale with modern technology.

If you’re aiming for flexibility, speed, and better performance across channels, these examples show how a Headless solution can help you get there.

Nova Cloud supports headless architectures built with modern front-end frameworks like those based on Vue or React connected to backend platforms through GraphQL APIs. These setups give brands more control over the customer experience, especially on mobile, where speed and personalization matter most. With Nova monitoring in place, you can catch issues across this entire stack, whether it’s a broken GraphQL request, a slow component load, or a frontend experiment gone wrong.

Now that you’ve seen both approaches, it makes sense to compare them side by side.

SFRA vs. Headless: Similarities and Differences

Choosing between SFRA and a Headless setup depends on how much control you want, how fast you need to launch, and what kind of experience you’re trying to build. Both options help you run a digital storefront, but they do it in very different ways. These are the key areas where they compare:

Development Complexity and Timeline

SFRA is quicker to set up. You work with prebuilt templates and standard flows, which shortens the timeline. Headless takes longer and needs more development work, especially on the front-end. You’ll need stronger tech resources to build and maintain it.

Performance (Page Speed, Front-end Interactivity)

Headless wins on raw speed. You can fine-tune page load times and create a smoother, app-like experience. SFRA can feel slower, especially with full-page reloads, which might affect your mobile performance.

While a Headless setup can be faster if well-built, it’s also easier to mess up. Improper hydration, client-heavy rendering, or API latency can tank performance. SFRA may load slower due to full-page reloads, but it’s also more stable out of the box.

UX Flexibility and Design Freedom

Headless gives you full freedom to build your own UI using tools like React or Vue. SFRA is more locked down. You follow set templates that don’t always support modern design goals or unique user experiences.

Integration Requirements and Hosting

SFRA handles most hosting and services within Salesforce. You don’t have to manage much on your own. With Headless, you take on more hosting, CI/CD pipelines, and back-end services. It offers more flexibility, but it also adds complexity.

Ability to Scale or Go Composable

If you plan to scale or want a composable commerce setup, Headless is better. You can plug in different services as needed. SFRA doesn’t offer the same level of modularity, which can slow you down later.

SEO and Core Web Vitals Performance

Headless can be great for SEO when built right. You can use server-side rendering and optimize everything down to the page structure. SFRA does OK, but it can struggle with Core Web Vitals and load speed on heavier pages.

Of course, SFRA has made improvements (e.g. LCP and TBT) and can be Core Web Vitals-friendly with the right tuning. Headless SEO also depends entirely on how SSR or hydration is implemented. If it’s all client-rendered, SEO tanks.

Long-Term Total Cost of Ownership

SFRA is cheaper up front. You launch faster with less custom work. Over time, though, Headless can be more efficient, especially if you want to personalize the experience or scale across multiple channels. But expect more upfront investment in people and tech.

Once you know how they stack up, it becomes easier to figure out which one actually fits your needs.

SFRA vs. Headless: When to Choose Each

Deciding between SFRA and Headless architecture comes down to your goals, your team, and how much flexibility you really need. These are the situations where each setup makes the most sense.

When to Choose SFRA

Go with SFRA when you need to launch quickly and don’t want to invest too much into custom front-end work. If your team relies heavily on Salesforce tools out of the box, this path will keep things simple.

It’s also a good pick if you’re working with limited development support or a smaller budget. Maintenance stays low, and you won’t need to manage hosting or integrations yourself.

When to Choose Headless Architecture

Choose Headless when your priority is building a mobile-first experience or selling across different channels. This setup gives you full control over the front-end, which means you can shape it exactly how you want.

It’s also better for performance and works well with a composable or API-first stack. If you have the engineering resources or a partner who can handle the build, Headless gives you the space to grow without being tied to preset templates.

If you’re leaning headless, let’s guide you through a clear plan to help you get it done right.

How to Execute Your Headless Commerce Implementation: Step-by-Step Plan

Launching a Headless commerce setup is a full strategy shift. You’ll need structure, smart planning, and the right people behind the build. Here’s how to tackle it, step by step.

Step 1: Discovery (Define Goals and User Needs)

Start by mapping out exactly what you’re trying to achieve. What kind of experience are you building? Who are you building it for? Look at what’s working today and what’s holding you back.

Clear goals will guide every choice you make later. 98% of business leaders already use a formal goal-setting framework. That’s not a coincidence; it shows you what works.

Even more interestingly, companies that review their performance goals every quarter generate 31% more returns than those that only do it once a year. So, make sure your goals tie directly into user needs, conversion targets, and business impact.

Step 2: Audit the Current SFCC Instance and Architecture

Now dig into what you’ve got. Review your current Salesforce Commerce Cloud instance from end to end. Take a look at any custom logic, current integrations, and how your data flows between systems.

This will show you what can stay, what needs to change, and where potential risks may pop up. The cleaner your audit, the smoother the transition.

Step 3: Select Front-end Stack (e.g., React, Vue, Next.js)

Once you understand your foundation, it’s time to pick the tools to build with. Choose a front-end framework based on what your developers know and what your users need.

React and Next.js are popular for fast, scalable builds. Vue is known for being flexible and beginner-friendly. Your front-end will shape the experience, so think about performance, maintenance, and team familiarity before you decide.

Step 4: Build API Layer Using SCAPI/OCAPI

You’ll now need to connect your new front-end to the back-end. That means building out the API layer using SCAPI (Salesforce Commerce API) and OCAPI (Open Commerce API). These APIs will handle everything from product data to shopping cart functionality.

This step is all about creating the bridge that lets your front-end and back-end talk to each other smoothly. Keep it clean, reliable, and well-documented so updates won’t be a nightmare down the line.

Step 5: Develop Custom Front-end + Back-end Integrations

Here’s where the build starts to take shape. You’ll begin developing the actual front-end and plug it into your back-end services through the API layer. That includes payment systems, customer accounts, product inventory, and more.

Many businesses keep this work in-house, about 80% of companies build integrations internally, and for good reason. It keeps control in your hands and gives you more flexibility to tweak and adapt as needed.

Step 6: Test Performance, UX, and Transaction Flows

Before going live, make sure everything works as expected. Test the load time, check the user flows, and run through every transaction from start to finish. According to Toptal, 90% of users will stop using an app if the performance is poor.

And yet only 55% of companies are running user experience testing. That gap is your opportunity. Test early, test frequently, and test with real users if possible. Your experience depends on it.

Step 7: Deploy with CI/CD and Observability Setup

With your build ready, set up CI/CD pipelines to automate releases. This keeps your launch clean and lets you push future updates without interrupting service.

Don’t skip observability either. Add performance monitoring and error tracking tools so you can spot problems before users do. It’s about staying one step ahead instead of reacting late.

Step 8: Optimize Post-Launch (SEO, Speed, Personalization)

After launch, your job isn’t done. You’ll need to fine-tune performance and user experience over time. According to Akamai, even a 100-millisecond delay in load time can cut conversion rates by 7 percent. Speed really matters.

On top of that, personalization drives major results. According to McKinsey, companies that excel at personalization bring in 40% more revenue than those that don’t. Focus on fast loading, smart content targeting, and SEO tweaks to keep your growth compounding.

To make the whole process smoother, let’s see how Nova can help support your build from start to finish.

Streamline Your Salesforce Commerce Architecture with Nova

If you’re building or scaling on Salesforce Commerce Cloud, Nova helps you move faster and with more confidence. You get hands-on support from discovery all the way to go-live, no matter if you’re going with SFRA or taking the Headless route. Our team builds Salesforce Commerce Application Development projects that fit your needs, not just technically but also from a business point of view.

With us, you’ll get custom storefronts using SCAPI, OCAPI, and whatever modern stack fits best, from React to Vue. If you’re working with ERP, OMS, CRM, or any other tool, we’ve got the integration side covered. Want A/B testing, mobile optimization, or cartridge customizations? You’re covered there as well.

What makes it smooth is our nearshore teams. They’re in your time zone, which means faster feedback and quicker delivery. After launch, we stay in to handle tuning, QA, and versioning.

Global brands count on Nova to build fast, scalable storefronts that don’t break under pressure. You get reliable performance built for growth.

Ready to build smarter? Schedule a call.

FAQ

1. What is the difference between SFRA and Headless architecture in Salesforce Commerce Cloud?

SFRA gives you a ready-to-use front-end tied directly to the back-end. A Headless setup separates the two by giving you more flexibility to build what you want. If you need speed and simplicity, go with SFRA, but if you want control and future-proofing, consider Headless.

2. Is it possible to migrate from SFRA to a Headless setup later on?

Yes, you can move from SFRA to Headless later, though it takes planning. Many brands start with SFRA, then decouple parts of their stack over time. This approach helps you ease into Headless without doing a full rebuild upfront.

3. How does SCAPI differ from OCAPI in Headless Salesforce implementations?

SCAPI is the newer API built for Headless commerce and better front-end performance. OCAPI supports deeper back-end functions and legacy systems. In most cases, you’ll use both depending on what you’re trying to build.

4. Does going Headless impact site performance or SEO?

Yes, it can. A well-built Headless site can boost speed and SEO if optimized properly. But poor builds with heavy scripts or slow frameworks can hurt performance instead.

5. What is the typical timeline for launching a Headless Salesforce store?

Timelines vary, but most Headless builds take several months. If you use prebuilt accelerators and have strong dev support, you’ll move faster. Without those, expect a longer setup and testing phase.

6. Can I integrate third-party services with both SFRA and Headless storefronts?

Absolutely. Both setups support third-party integrations for tools like payment, ERP, and PIM. The difference is that Headless gives you more options on how and where those services connect.

7. Which architecture is better for mobile-first commerce strategies?

Headless gives you an edge here. It lets you build fast, app-like mobile storefronts that load quickly and feel smooth. SFRA works fine for mobile, but it’s less flexible when optimizing for newer devices.

8. How do I choose between SFRA and Headless for my business goals?

Start by looking at your team’s tech skills, launch timeline, and growth plans. If you need something quick and simple, SFRA may fit better. But if you want more control and long-term scalability, Headless might be worth the investment.