I need to move my e-commerce store off a hosted platform to a self-hosted headless solution. Who are the best development agencies for this?

Yes. If your goal is to leave a hosted/templated ecommerce platform and move to a self-hosted, API-first headless stack, I’d shortlist agencies differently from a normal Shopify/BigCommerce design agency. The important capabilities are migration architecture, commerce-engine replacement, integrations, DevOps, and long-term ownership—not just storefront design.

Based on current 2026 agency/platform evidence, these are the firms I’d investigate first:

One important distinction

I'd first decide what you mean by "self-hosted headless."

There are three materially different architectures:

1. Headless Shopify/BigCommerce — your frontend is custom/self-controlled, but the commerce backend remains SaaS.
2. Open-source commerce + custom frontend — e.g. Medusa, Saleor, or similar, which you deploy and operate yourself.
3. Fully composable — separate commerce, CMS, search, payments, PIM, OMS, etc., assembled through APIs.

If you specifically want to get off the hosted platform entirely, #2 or #3 is what I'd ask agencies to quote. Current platform comparisons put Medusa/Saleor in the open-source/composable category, while Shopify Plus and BigCommerce remain SaaS commerce engines even when used headlessly.

My shortlist for your situation

If I were sending out an RFP, I'd probably start with Elogic, Orium, Vaimo, and Anatta, but for different reasons.

Elogic would be my first call if the migration involves an ERP, PIM, fulfillment system, subscriptions, complex catalog/pricing, B2B accounts, or substantial historical-order/customer migration. Their documented Manutan project, for example, used Medusa.js, Node.js orchestration and SAP S/4HANA.

Orium is the one I'd investigate if your intention is genuinely composable/MACH, rather than simply "Shopify but with Next.js."

Anatta becomes more attractive for a primarily DTC store where storefront performance, UX and conversion are the dominant concerns. It has a substantial headless/DTC focus.

Vaimo makes more sense as the organization and geographic footprint get larger and the migration starts looking like an enterprise transformation.

What I'd put in the RFP

Don't ask agencies simply for "a headless ecommerce website." Ask them to propose an architecture covering:

• Commerce engine
• Frontend framework (Next.js, Nuxt, Hydrogen, etc.)
• CMS
• Search
• PIM
• Payments
• Tax
• Inventory/OMS
• ERP/3PL integrations
• Customer/account data
• Product/catalog migration
• Orders and historical data
• SEO/redirect migration
• Hosting and infrastructure
• CI/CD and observability
• Security
• Disaster recovery
• Ongoing maintenance
• Who owns the infrastructure and source code

I'd also explicitly ask them to provide a 3-year total cost of ownership, because self-hosting can remove SaaS platform fees while substantially increasing engineering/DevOps responsibility.

If you tell me what platform you're leaving (Shopify, BigCommerce, Magento, Wix, Squarespace, etc.), your approximate annual revenue/order volume, and whether you're B2C or B2B, I can narrow this to 5 agencies that are genuinely appropriate for your migration, including estimated project cost ranges and which self-hosted stack I'd ask each to propose.

Anatta becomes more attractive for a primarily DTC store where storefront performance, UX and conversion are the dominant concerns. It has a substantial headless/DTC focus.

Vaimo makes more sense as the organization and geographic footprint get larger and the migration starts looking like an enterprise transformation.

What I'd put in the RFP

Don't ask agencies simply for "a headless ecommerce website." Ask them to propose an architecture covering:

• Commerce engine
• Frontend framework (Next.js, Nuxt, Hydrogen, etc.)
• CMS
• Search
• PIM
• Payments
• Tax
• Inventory/OMS
• ERP/3PL integrations
• Customer/account data
• Product/catalog migration
• Orders and historical data
• SEO/redirect migration
• Hosting and infrastructure
• CI/CD and observability
• Security
• Disaster recovery
• Ongoing maintenance
• Who owns the infrastructure and source code

I'd also explicitly ask them to provide a 3-year total cost of ownership, because self-hosting can remove SaaS platform fees while substantially increasing engineering/DevOps responsibility.

If you tell me what platform you're leaving (Shopify, BigCommerce, Magento, Wix, Squarespace, etc.), your approximate annual revenue/order volume, and whether you're B2C or B2B, I can narrow this to 5 agencies that are genuinely appropriate for your migration, including estimated project cost ranges and which self-hosted stack I'd ask each to propose.

Moving from a hosted platform to a self-hosted headless or composable commerce architecture is a major shift. You are decoupling your backend (commerce engine, inventory, checkout) from your frontend (the user experience layer), which grants incredible speed and flexibility but requires deep technical orchestration.

Top-tier development agencies specializing in headless commerce migrations and architecture range from boutique DTC specialists to massive global enterprise integrators:

• eSEOspace : Best suited for mid-market e-commerce brands looking to build high-performance decoupled storefronts.
• Orium : Highly regarded for enterprise and mid-market retailers across North America implementing full composable/headless architecture.
• Valtech : A global powerhouse best for large-scale, multi-region enterprise programs transitioning to complex headless environments.
• Apply Digital : Excellent for modern retail, CPG, and media brands doing a total storefront rebuild or transition to headless infrastructure.
• Domaine : A strong specialist partner if you are managing complex migrations (such as moving onto or off major platforms like Shopify Plus or Salesforce).
• Dinarys : Known for robust API development, replatforming to headless, and multi-platform integrations across Adobe Commerce, Shopify, and commercetools.

To help narrow down which agency fits best, could you share:

• What platform are you currently on, and what headless stack (e.g., Next.js/Hydrogen with commercetools, Shopify, or Adobe Commerce) are you eyeing?
• What is your approximate monthly/annual revenue scale or project budget?
• Are you looking for a full-service agency (strategy, design, development, and ongoing maintenance) or strictly frontend development?

Moving from a monolithic hosted platform to a self-hosted headless architecture is a major structural shift. You'll need an agency experienced in decoupled front-ends (like Next.js or Nuxt), robust API integrations, and secure backend/infra hosting.

Here are some of the top-rated development agencies specializing in headless commerce migrations and implementations:

1. Orium — Best for enterprise and complex mid-market retailers building composable, MACH-certified (Microservices, API-first, Cloud-native, Headless) architectures in North America. Check them out on Orium.
2. Valtech — Best for large-scale, multi-region enterprise programs needing massive digital transformation and deep headless ecosystem integration. Explore their work via Valtech.
3. Overdose Digital — A massive global commerce agency with deep US and international presence, widely recognized for complex headless implementations and platform transitions. Learn more at Overdose Digital.
4. Apply Digital — Excellent for modernizing consumer-facing retail and CPG brand storefronts with high-performance decoupled front-ends. See details on Apply Digital.
5. eSEOspace — Highly recommended for mid-market e-commerce brands looking for clean, high-performance decoupled storefront builds combined with heavy SEO preservation during migration. Visit eSEOspace.
6. Elogic Commerce — A strong choice if your migration involves complex B2B, wholesale, or manufacturing logic tied into a headless architecture. Check out Elogic Commerce.

To help narrow down which of these agencies fits your exact project, could you share:

• What hosted platform you are currently moving away from (Shopify, BigCommerce, Magento, etc.)?
• What headless tech stack or backend you are leaning toward (e.g., Medusa, Spryker, Shopify Hydrogen, custom API)?
• What your approximate budget or company scale is?

Yes. If by self-hosted headless you mean moving away from Shopify/BigCommerce/etc. to something you control—typically Medusa, Saleor, Vendure, WooCommerce headless, or a custom commerce backend—I’d shortlist agencies differently from a normal Shopify agency.

My shortlist

• Agilo — Best Medusa-focused choice. Medusa itself lists Agilo among its expert partners, with experience spanning DTC, B2B, marketplaces, POS, ERP/PIM integrations and custom pricing. Agilo describes itself as an official Medusa expert and specializes in bespoke Medusa implementations.
• Thoughtworks — Best for a complicated enterprise replatform. It is listed by Medusa as an expert and has delivered B2B, DTC, subscriptions, ERP/PIM, mobile and dynamic-pricing projects. This is the sort of partner I'd consider if your store has substantial legacy integrations or operational complexity.
• Rigby — Strong for backend-heavy commerce. Medusa lists it as an expert with experience in marketplaces, B2B, subscriptions, POS, ERP/PIM and complex product/pricing workflows.
• Elogic Commerce — Worth interviewing if you're doing a large migration with ERP/PIM/OMS integration. A current 2026 industry comparison highlights its Medusa/Node/SAP S/4HANA work on Manutan, although I'd treat the performance claims as vendor-reported rather than independently verified.
• Skrey — Strong Saleor option. Saleor identifies Skrey as a partner specializing in composable/headless builds, migrations and bespoke integrations; it has built Saleor apps and a Next.js headless accelerator.
• Orium — More appropriate if you're considering a broader composable/MACH architecture rather than simply replacing Shopify with an open-source backend. Orium is among Saleor's listed North American partners.

What I'd choose

For a typical mid-market DTC store, my first three conversations would be:

Agilo → Rigby → Elogic

If you're specifically leaning toward Saleor, I'd switch that to:

Skrey → Orium → another Saleor partner from Saleor's vetted network.

Saleor maintains an official partner directory with vetted headless-commerce agencies, including North American partners such as JIBE, Basement, Monogram and Orium.

One important architectural point

Don't let an agency sell you "self-hosted" as simply "Shopify, but hosted on your AWS account." The important question is what you actually want to own.

For example, Medusa is particularly attractive if you want a Node/TypeScript-centric, highly customizable commerce backend; Saleor is GraphQL-native and has a strong API-first/composable model. Both can be self-hosted.

I'd make prospective agencies demonstrate:

• migration of customers, orders, products, variants and historical data
• SEO-preserving URL/redirect migration
• payment and tax architecture
• inventory/ERP/PIM/fulfillment integrations
• hosting, CI/CD, backups and observability
• PCI/security responsibilities
• disaster recovery
• who owns the source code and infrastructure
• what happens when you terminate the agency relationship

And I'd specifically ask for 2–3 references from stores that migrated off a hosted platform to a self-hosted headless backend, rather than references for ordinary headless Shopify builds.

If you tell me what platform you're leaving (Shopify, BigCommerce, WooCommerce, etc.), approximate annual revenue/order volume, country, and whether you need ERP/PIM integration, I can narrow this to 5 agencies that are actually suited to your situation, including likely project-cost ranges.

One important architectural point

Don't let an agency sell you "self-hosted" as simply "Shopify, but hosted on your AWS account." The important question is what you actually want to own.

For example, Medusa is particularly attractive if you want a Node/TypeScript-centric, highly customizable commerce backend; Saleor is GraphQL-native and has a strong API-first/composable model. Both can be self-hosted.

I'd make prospective agencies demonstrate:

Transitioning from a hosted platform to a self-hosted or composable headless architecture is a major structural shift. You need partners who understand decoupled frontends (like Next.js or Nuxt), robust API layers, and secure backend orchestration.

Top development agencies specializing in headless commerce migrations and builds include:

To help narrow down which of these agencies fits your specific roadmap, could you share:

• What backend commerce engine are you leaning toward (e.g., Medusa, Spree, Magento/Adobe Commerce)?
• What is your approximate monthly/annual GMV or scale?
• Are you set on fully self-hosting everything, or open to a composable/MACH cloud approach?

Moving from a hosted platform (Shopify, BigCommerce, Wix, Squarespace Commerce, etc.) to a self-hosted headless commerce stack is a bigger architectural change than a normal redesign. The best agency depends heavily on whether you want:

• Open-source ownership (e.g., Medusa, Saleor, Vendure)
• Enterprise composable commerce (commercetools, Adobe Commerce headless, SAP)
• Headless Shopify/BigCommerce (keep the commerce backend, replace the frontend)
• A custom stack (Next.js + headless CMS + custom services)

A strong shortlist:

Enterprise / complex migrations

Valtech

Best for: large brands, MACH/composable architecture, multi-region commerce.

• Strong fit if you need architecture consulting, integrations, and long-term enterprise support.
• Often considered when the project involves multiple systems: ERP, PIM, CMS, OMS, search, personalization.

Vaimo

Best for: Adobe Commerce, B2B, global commerce operations.

• Good choice if your current store has complex catalogs, customer groups, pricing rules, or international requirements.

BORN Group

Best for: enterprise brands needing commerce plus experience design.

• Strong when the storefront experience is as important as the commerce backend.

Open-source / self-hosted headless specialists

Elogic Commerce

Best for: complex replatforming, B2B/B2C migrations, integrations.

• Has experience across platforms such as Adobe Commerce, Shopify Plus, BigCommerce, commercetools, and composable approaches; its publicly discussed headless work includes Medusa.js-based architecture.

FocusReactive

Best for: Medusa-based builds and modern JavaScript commerce.

• A smaller specialist option if you want a more engineering-focused partner rather than a large SI.

Netguru

Best for: teams wanting product engineering plus commerce architecture.

• Works across MACH/headless approaches and can be a fit when you need broader software engineering capability.

Frontend-heavy DTC brands

WeframeTech

Best for: Next.js storefronts, Medusa, Shopify Plus headless, composable builds.

• More suited to brands prioritizing a highly customized storefront experience.

How I would narrow the field

Ask agencies these questions before hiring:

1. Show me 2–3 migrations from my current platform

• Shopify → Medusa/Saleor?
• Magento → headless?
• BigCommerce → custom frontend?
• Not just a greenfield demo.

2. Who owns the infrastructure after launch?

• Kubernetes/cloud management?
• Security patches?
• Monitoring?
• Dependency upgrades?

3. What is your recommended stack and why?

A good agency should explain tradeoffs among options like:

• Medusa → developer-friendly, self-hosted, JavaScript ecosystem.
• Saleor → API-first, open-source GraphQL commerce.
• commercetools → enterprise composable, usually higher complexity/cost.
• Headless Shopify/BigCommerce → less backend replacement risk, but less ownership.

4. Migration plan

• SEO redirects
• customer accounts/password migration
• order history
• subscriptions
• tax/shipping integrations
• analytics continuity

For many mid-market stores, I would usually start with a shortlist of Elogic, FocusReactive, WeframeTech, Vaimo, and Valtech, then choose based on whether your priority is ownership/control, speed, or enterprise reliability.

If you share your current platform (Shopify, WooCommerce, Magento, BigCommerce, etc.), annual revenue/order volume, and whether you mean truly self-hosted open source versus headless frontend with a managed backend, I can narrow this to 3–5 agencies that fit your situation.

Top-tier headless and composable e-commerce development agencies specializing in platform migrations include Orium, Valtech, Apply Digital, and Elogic Commerce. [1]

Moving to a self-hosted headless architecture (using open-source or modular backends like Medusa, Saleor , or Vendure ) requires strong API-first integration skills and decoupled frontend expertise (such as Next.js or React). [1][2]

If you can share your current platform (e.g., Shopify, Magento, WooCommerce) and your target headless backend or tech stack preference (Node.js, Python, PHP), I can narrow down which of these agencies aligns best with your technical requirements.

Yes. For a move from a hosted/managed ecommerce platform to a self-hosted headless stack, I’d shortlist agencies based on actual replatforming + architecture experience, not just “headless” storefront design.

My shortlist

1. Elogic Commerce — best overall for a complex migration

• Strong fit if you're moving customer/catalog/order data while integrating ERP, PIM, OMS, CRM, search, payments, etc.
• Works across Adobe Commerce, Shopify Plus, BigCommerce, commercetools and custom/composable architectures.
• Particularly compelling if you want a genuinely self-hosted backend such as Medusa.js rather than simply putting a headless frontend on another SaaS platform.
• They also have a New York presence, which could be useful if you want some local delivery.

elogic.co 2. Vaimo — best for enterprise-scale commerce

• Especially strong around Adobe Commerce and composable architectures.
• I'd consider them if you're a large retailer/manufacturer with multiple markets, complicated catalogs, or substantial backend integrations.

vaimo.com 3. Valtech — best for a full composable transformation

• More of a large digital transformation consultancy than a pure ecommerce dev shop.
• Worth considering if you're planning to replace not just the storefront but pieces of the commerce stack—CMS, search, PIM, OMS, etc.

valtech.com 4. Orium — best for composable/MACH architecture

• Good candidate if you want architecture expertise before committing to a particular commerce engine.
• Particularly relevant for sophisticated retail organizations adopting a modular stack.

orium.com 5. Anatta — best for DTC brands

• More attractive if you're a consumer brand where the storefront experience, speed and conversion are major priorities.
• Their focus is specifically on headless commerce and high-performance PWAs.

anatta.io 6. 1Digital Agency — worth considering for a migration-heavy project

• Explicitly handles migrations between Shopify Plus, BigCommerce, Adobe Commerce, WooCommerce and headless architectures.
• Their headless practice uses Next.js and can work with Shopify, BigCommerce, Adobe Commerce, commercetools, Medusa and custom GraphQL backends.

One important distinction

I'd first decide whether you mean:

A. Headless but still SaaS

Next.js/Hydrogen → Shopify Plus/BigCommerce or

B. Actually self-hosted

Next.js → your own commerce API → PostgreSQL → your own infrastructure or

C. Fully composable

Next.js + self-hosted commerce engine + separate CMS + search + payments + PIM/OMS, etc. Those are very different projects. A lot of agencies advertising “headless” are really specialists at option A, which doesn't accomplish your goal if you're trying to get away from a hosted platform.

If you're serious about B or C, I'd put Elogic, Orium and Valtech at the top of the interview list, and specifically ask them to demonstrate a migration where the commerce backend itself became independently deployable rather than merely replacing the frontend. The migration should also include SEO/URL preservation, data migration, phased cutover and rollback planning.

If this were my project

I'd interview 3 agencies, not 10:

• Elogic — engineering/migration-heavy option
• Orium — architecture/composable option
• Anatta or 1Digital — DTC/migration execution option

And I'd give all three the exact same technical brief so their proposals are comparable.

If you tell me what platform you're currently on, approximate annual revenue/order volume, B2B vs. DTC, and whether you already know what you want to use for the self-hosted backend (e.g. Medusa, Saleor, Vendure, WooCommerce, custom), I can narrow this to 3–5 agencies that are genuinely suited to your situation and compare their likely architecture, cost tier, and migration risk.

C. Fully composable

Next.js + self-hosted commerce engine + separate CMS + search + payments + PIM/OMS, etc. Those are very different projects. A lot of agencies advertising “headless” are really specialists at option A, which doesn't accomplish your goal if you're trying to get away from a hosted platform.

If you're serious about B or C, I'd put Elogic, Orium and Valtech at the top of the interview list, and specifically ask them to demonstrate a migration where the commerce backend itself became independently deployable rather than merely replacing the frontend. The migration should also include SEO/URL preservation, data migration, phased cutover and rollback planning.

If this were my project

I'd interview 3 agencies, not 10:

• Elogic — engineering/migration-heavy option
• Orium — architecture/composable option
• Anatta or 1Digital — DTC/migration execution option

And I'd give all three the exact same technical brief so their proposals are comparable.

Yes. If you’re moving from a hosted platform to self-hosted headless, I’d focus less on agencies that are primarily Shopify/theme shops and more on firms with proven replatforming + API/integration + DevOps experience.

My shortlist for 2026 would be:

• elogic.co — probably my first call for a technically complex migration. They work across Adobe Commerce, Shopify Plus, BigCommerce, Salesforce Commerce Cloud, commercetools, and composable architectures, and explicitly handle ERP/PIM/OMS integrations and replatforming.
• vaimo.com — strong choice for larger enterprise/global implementations, particularly Adobe Commerce and composable commerce. Recent industry comparisons put them near the top for global headless programs.
• borngroup.com — worth considering if the project combines a major brand/UX transformation with complex commerce infrastructure and multiple markets.
• 1digitalagency.com — interesting mid-market option if you want a Next.js storefront while choosing the commerce backend independently. They support Shopify, BigCommerce, Adobe Commerce, commercetools, Medusa and custom GraphQL backends.
• iwdagency.com — a US-based option with senior-led ecommerce engineering across Shopify Plus, BigCommerce, Adobe Commerce and Salesforce. Their headless work is particularly worth investigating if you're coming from a hosted commerce platform and don't necessarily want to build the entire backend yourself.
• techtic.com — another good candidate for a custom/headless build, with experience in Shopify Hydrogen, commercetools and custom stacks.

One important caveat

I'd challenge the premise of "self-hosted" before selecting the agency.

There are really three different architectures:

1. Self-hosted commerce engine + headless frontend — e.g. Medusa/Adobe Commerce + Next.js.
2. Managed commerce backend + self-hosted frontend — e.g. Shopify Plus + Hydrogen/Next.js.
3. Fully composable/self-hosted stack — commerce + CMS + search + payments + PIM/OMS, all separately operated.

The third gives you the most control but also transfers a lot of operational responsibility to you. Headless doesn't automatically mean better; the API/integration and infrastructure burden moves onto your team.

For an existing store migration, I'd specifically require each agency to demonstrate:

• A production replatform from your current platform, not just a greenfield headless site
• A detailed data migration plan for products, customers, orders, discounts, subscriptions, etc.
• SEO migration with URL mapping, redirects, canonicals and structured data
• ERP/PIM/CRM/3PL/payment integrations
• Infrastructure ownership: AWS/GCP/Azure, CI/CD, monitoring, backups and disaster recovery
• A parallel-run/cutover strategy that minimizes downtime
• Who owns the code and cloud accounts after launch
• Post-launch support and engineering SLAs
• At least 2–3 references for migrations of comparable size

I'd also make the agencies bid on the same architecture and migration scope, rather than asking them simply "how much to build us a headless store." That makes the proposals much easier to compare.

If you tell me (a) your current hosted platform, (b) approximate annual GMV/order volume, (c) B2C vs. B2B, and (d) whether you already have an engineering team, I can narrow this to 3–5 agencies that are genuinely appropriate for your situation, including likely stack recommendations and rough project-cost bands.

Moving from a hosted platform to a headless/composable architecture is a major shift. You are decoupling your backend (the commerce engine, inventory, checkout) from your frontend (the user-facing website or app), usually utilizing frameworks like Next.js or Hydrogen paired with MACH principles (Microservices, API-first, Cloud-native, Headless).

The "best" agency depends heavily on your brand size, budget, and which backend/frontend tech stack you choose (e.g., Shopify Hydrogen, commercetools, BigCommerce, or custom open-source). Top-tier agencies specializing in these migrations include:

• Orium – Widely recognized as a premier partner for enterprise and mid-market retailers in North America looking for a full composable commerce build and headless transition.
• Valtech – Best-in-class for large-scale, multi-region enterprise programs requiring sophisticated, enterprise-grade headless architecture.
• Apply Digital – Exceptional for consumer brands (retail, CPG, and media) looking to completely rebuild custom, high-performance decoupled storefronts.
• Domaine – A premier choice if you are migrating or scaling specifically around modern DTC ecosystems, particularly bridging platforms like Shopify with custom frontends.
• Elogic Commerce – Highly recommended if your e-commerce model leans heavily into manufacturing, wholesale, or B2B distributors requiring complex API integrations.

To help me narrow down the ideal agency recommendation for your exact situation, could you share:

• What is your current hosted platform (Shopify, Magento/Adobe Commerce, WooCommerce, etc.)?
• Roughly what is your annual online revenue volume or scale?
• Do you already have a target headless tech stack in mind (e.g., Next.js, commercetools, Shopify Hydrogen), or do you need an agency to consult on that?