What you're currently paying for this
| Tool | What it costs | What you lose with it |
|---|---|---|
| Shopify Basic | £30–300/mo + 2% transaction | Checkout customisation, data sovereignty |
| Shopify apps | £200–500/mo average | Page weight, conflicting codebases, unpredictable bills |
| Klaviyo | £60+/mo | Customer data lives in Klaviyo, not your database |
| Intercom | £74+/mo | Per-agent pricing, no inbox ownership |
| Contentful | £300+/mo | Content API costs and rate limits |
Every one of these is replaced by a system you own and a server that costs less per month than a tank of petrol.
How The Headless Storefront works
- 01Customer arrives from Google or Meta ads — sub-second Next.js product page loads (PSI 90+)
- 02Product catalogue managed in Payload CMS — descriptions, images, variants, stock flags
- 03Frappe tracks inventory — stock levels update on every order, low-stock alerts via n8n
- 04Stripe Elements provides a fully custom checkout — no Stripe-branded redirect
- 05Frappe creates the order record — fulfilment status, tracking, returns all in one place
- 06n8n sends order confirmation, dispatch notification, and post-delivery follow-up automatically
- 07Chatwoot handles post-purchase support — WhatsApp, email, web chat in one inbox
Tools in this system
Why it makes sense
The true Shopify TCO is 2–3× the advertised plan price once apps and transaction fees are counted. A store doing £30k/mo pays an extra £600/mo just for using a non-Shopify payment gateway.
Shopify themes average a PSI score of 40–60. A Next.js headless storefront consistently scores 90+. Google ranks faster sites — the speed delta directly affects organic revenue every day.
The average Shopify merchant spends £150–500/mo on third-party apps for features that are built into ERPNext out of the box: inventory routing, reviews, email automation, returns management.
Your numbers will vary. Start with a brief and we'll map them against your actual figures.
Each module is available as a standalone build. Combined in a stack, they share infrastructure and a single data layer. Browse all modules →
Not sure which tier is right?
A paid discovery sprint delivers a complete architecture blueprint — stack decisions, scope, timeline, and a fixed build quote — in 2–3 weeks. Creditable in full against any build.
- ●Current stack and workflow audit
- ●Full system architecture blueprint
- ●Fixed scope, timeline, and build estimate
- ●£4,000 credited in full against any build within 90 days
Most clients who complete a sprint proceed to build. The blueprint removes scope uncertainty before a penny is committed to development.
A headless storefront MVP — product pages, checkout, Stripe. No Shopify fees.
- ●Next.js storefront (up to 50 products)
- ●Stripe checkout integration
- ●Basic inventory via Frappe
- ●Setup and handover documentation
Full owned storefront with back office, unified inbox, and automation — zero platform fees.
- ●Headless Next.js storefront
- ●Frappe back office (inventory, fulfilment)
- ●Chatwoot unified inbox
- ●n8n order and fulfilment automation
- ●Monthly infrastructure (flat rate)
The full e-commerce OS — storefront, back office, inbox, AI, and social pipeline.
- ●Everything in Full System
- ●ERPNext full ERP integration
- ●LangGraph AI product recommendations
- ●Mixpost social pipeline
- ●Priority support SLA
Ready to brief us for e-commerce?
Tell us what you need. We'll map the system and scope the build.
Brief us on this system