Your Shopify team, shipping every week.
The headless Shopify agency that tells you if you need it
Rolling Pandas is a Shopify agency and Shopify Select Partner that builds headless Shopify stores with Hydrogen and the Storefront API, for brands whose storefront needs more than a theme can give. Most stores are faster and cheaper to run on a theme, and we say so. Headless work runs on The Rolling Team from $9,000 a month.
50+
Shopify stores built and migrated
$100M+
GMV across client stores
250‑300%
Bailey & Jools sales after launchSince 2023
Shopify Select Partner (opens in a new tab)
What we build for headless Shopify
Our headless Shopify development covers the storefront and everything around it: Hydrogen or your own framework, content, checkout and accounts, apps, speed, hosting and the releases after launch.
Hydrogen storefronts
Storefronts built with Hydrogen, Shopify's headless toolkit, on React Router hosted on Shopify's Oxygen, or on Next.js hosted on Vercel.
Your own stack
Already on Next.js or another framework? We connect it to Shopify through the Storefront API and the Customer Account API.
See our app workContent and CMS
Editorial pages, lookbooks and guides from a headless CMS such as Sanity, next to Shopify's products and collections.
Checkout and accounts
Checkout stays on Shopify Checkout. Customers sign in and see their orders and addresses through the Customer Account API.
Apps that still work
Subscriptions, reviews, loyalty and analytics planned before the build, because each app works differently on a headless storefront.
Speed by design
Server rendering, caching and lean pages, with Core Web Vitals checked on each release.
See our design workHosting and releases
Deploys on Oxygen or Vercel, a preview before each release, and releases every week after launch.
Theme or headless?
Before any build, we check whether a faster theme would get you the same result for less. Often it does.
See the $997 Diagnostic
Do you need a headless store?
Most Shopify stores do not. Shopify itself says to consider headless when your needs can't be met with its sales channels, themes and apps, and that a headless storefront costs more to build and run than a theme.
Keep a theme if
- Your team edits pages in Shopify's visual theme editor
- Your theme and apps already do what customers and merchandising need
- No one will look after a custom storefront after launch
- What is slow today could be fixed with a leaner theme and fewer apps
Go headless if
- You need an experience a theme can't give, like a product configurator or a content‑led store
- You sell through several front ends, such as a website, an app and screens in your shops
- Your developers already work in React or Next.js
- You have a team, ours or yours, to maintain the storefront after launch
What headless costs
Shopify says a headless storefront costs more to build and run than a theme. Oxygen hosting is included at no extra charge on supported paid Shopify plans, within runtime and usage limits. The build, the apps and the team that looks after the storefront are the real cost.
Source: Shopify developer docs, October 2026 (opens in a new tab)
Not sure which side you are on? We look at your store and say so, even when the answer is a better theme. Book a call (opens the booking calendar)
What our headless Shopify work costs
Our headless Shopify developers work as The Rolling Team, Shopify experts on retainer: Grow from $9,000 a month for up to three departments, or Full Team from $20,000 a month for every department. A headless build can also be a project at a fixed price, quoted after a call.
Grow
Up to three departments
from$9,000a month
Up to three departments working as one team, on one roadmap, with releases every week.
Stores doing $1M to $5M/year
- Up to three departments
- One shared roadmap
- Structured A/B testing
- Monthly strategy review
- Priority response
Full Team
Every department
from$20,000a month
Your whole Shopify team without hiring in-house: every department, a dedicated lead and a weekly call.
Stores doing $5M+/year
- Strategy, design and development
- CRO and A/B testing
- Klaviyo email and SMS
- SEO, AI search and accessibility
- A dedicated team lead
- Weekly strategy call, same-day response
We have built and migrated 50+ Shopify stores, with $100M+ in combined GMV.
Compare all three plansHeadless Shopify questions
What is headless Shopify?
Headless Shopify means your storefront is built as its own app, while Shopify runs the products, cart, checkout and orders behind it through its APIs. Shopify says to consider it when your needs can't be met with its sales channels, themes and apps.
What is Shopify Hydrogen?
Hydrogen is Shopify's headless toolkit. It works with frameworks that run server code, such as React Router and Next.js. Shopify offers starter templates for both: React Router deployed to Oxygen, and Next.js deployed to Vercel.
What is Shopify Oxygen?
Oxygen is Shopify's hosting platform for Hydrogen storefronts. Shopify includes it at no extra charge on supported paid plans, within runtime and usage limits.
Do I need Shopify Plus for a headless store?
Not for headless itself. Shopify's Oxygen docs give the Starter, Basic, Grow and Advanced plans one public hosting environment each, and Shopify Plus 25. Plus is worth it for headless when you also need what only Plus does, such as custom checkout steps.
Does checkout change on a headless Shopify store?
No. Checkout stays on Shopify: the storefront hands customers to Shopify Checkout to pay. Customers sign in and see their orders and addresses through the Customer Account API.
Can I use Next.js with Shopify instead of Hydrogen?
Yes. Shopify says its headless APIs work with nearly any technology stack, and its current Hydrogen docs include a Next.js template deployed to Vercel.
Do Shopify apps work on a headless store?
Some work as they are and some need extra work. Shopify's own advice is to check how subscriptions, reviews, loyalty and analytics will work before you go headless. We list every app you use and plan each one before the build.
Is a headless Shopify store faster?
It can be, but not by default. A headless store is as fast as the way it is built. Many slow stores get faster with a leaner theme and fewer apps, for far less, so we measure first.
How much does a headless Shopify agency cost?
With us, headless work runs on The Rolling Team: Grow from $9,000 a month for up to three departments, or Full Team from $20,000 a month for every department. A headless build can also be a project at a fixed price, quoted after a free call.
Thinking about going headless?
Book a call. We look at your store and tell you whether headless would pay off, or a better theme would.