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Corporate swag, customized and ordered on one fast platform.
Headless store built with Next.js
What we shipped for SwagHQ
- Industry
- Corporate merchandise
- Buyers
- Businesses of all sizes
- Build
- Ground up, not a migration
- Engagement
- Design, build, integrations, SEO
- Platform
- Next.js, custom CMS, custom admin
- Model
- Fixed price, one team
8 services delivered
Services
- Headless eCommerce
- Next.js development
- Custom CMS
- Custom admin platform
- Third-party API integrations
- UX/UI design
- SEO
- Performance optimization
Summary
Case study summary
A full headless store for branded merch. One team did the design, the build, the integrations and the SEO. Built to grow with new features.
All key facts
- Client
- SwagHQ, corporate merchandise and promotional products
- Partner
- Redefine Innovations, one team, fixed price, full code ownership
- Built
- Headless Storefront, custom CMS, custom admin platform, API layer
- Integrations
- ERP, inventory, pricing and order workflows; catalog and inventory sync
- Quality
- Core Web Vitals, technical SEO, accessibility, responsive on every device
The real problem
Every product has options. Buying had to feel simple.
A big catalog that keeps changing, custom options on every item, and business buyers who expect speed.
The challenge
Four hard parts of one build.
Flip the switch to see what we built for each one.
A catalog that never sits still
Lots of products, and they change all the time.
Catalog and stock sync
Products and inventory sync on their own, so the site matches stock.
Options on every item
Colors, sizes and logos make each product complex.
Search, filters, customizer
Buyers find the item fast and add their brand in a few steps.
Business buyers, many systems
Company workflows had to work with several business systems.
One API layer
APIs connect the ERP, inventory, pricing and order workflows.
Fast and easy to find
Quick on phones and desktops, and friendly to search engines.
Speed and SEO from day one
Built for Core Web Vitals, technical SEO and accessibility.
8
Services, one team. Design, build, integrations and SEO, solved together instead of by separate vendors.
How we built it
Four parts, one team.
Part 1 of 4
UX/UI design
Designed for business buyers.
Search, filters and product options were planned around how companies order merch.
Part 2 of 4
Storefront
A headless store that loads fast.
The store runs apart from the systems behind it, tuned for Core Web Vitals and SEO.
Part 3 of 4
CMS and admin
Run the store without a developer.
A custom CMS for pages and a custom admin for catalog, stock and orders.
Who edits what
Product pagesBannersCatalog structureCustom CMSStorefrontNo-code
content and catalog edits
Part 4 of 4
API integrations
Every system in step.
APIs connect the ERP, inventory, pricing and orders, with catalog and stock synced.
What the API layer connects
Payments: card, ACH, POShippingCatalog and inventoryAPI layerStorefrontAdmin1 record
no duplicate data entry
The buying experience
From search to shipped, in four steps.
Step 1 of 4
Search and filters narrow a big catalog fast.
Buyers type what they need and filter by product, quantity and price.
Step 2 of 4
Add a logo, pick colors and placement.
Personalization options sit on the product page, so branding takes a few clicks.
Step 3 of 4
Bulk items, one order, one checkout.
Pricing and stock come from the systems behind the store, live at checkout.
What the team runs
CatalogInventoryPricingOrders
Custom adminLive on the storefront
Step 4 of 4
The team runs catalog, stock and orders.
One admin for products, inventory and order workflows, plus a CMS for pages.
Speed and search
Built to load fast and rank.
Each ring is one of Google's three Core Web Vitals, showing the good target the build was tuned for, per the project record.
- under2.5s
Loading
LCP
- under200ms
Response
INP
- under0.1
Stability
CLS
Under the hood
How the platform is wired.
Catalog, stock and orders stay in sync across a headless store, with no record kept twice.
Built with
- Next.js
Content and operations
- Custom CMS
- Custom admin platform
API layer · built by Redefine
- REST APIs
- Auth
- Rate limiting
- Webhooks
Storefront · built by Redefine
- Server rendering
- Incremental rebuilds
- Edge cache
Buyer features
- Search and filters
- Product customizer
- Cart and checkout
- Buyer portals
Business systems
- ERP
- Inventory
- Pricing
- Order workflows
- Payment gateway
- Shipping
The store never talks to a business system directly. Every read and write goes through one API layer.
Sources
- Custom admin
- Custom CMS
- ERP
- Payment gateway
- Shipping
Integration core
- Message queue
- Run-once handling
- Retry queue
Storefront
- Live catalog
- Live pricing
- Order status
Changes queue up and apply once, with retries, so a slow system never leaves the store showing stale data.
| System | What's synced | Timing |
|---|---|---|
| Admin platform | Stock, pricing, order status, accounts | Real time |
| Catalog | Products, variants, media, categories | On publish |
| Search index | Catalog, pricing, availability | Near real time |
| Payment gateway | Payment status, refunds | Webhook |
| Shipping | Rates, tracking, delivery events | On each event |
Each record has one owner, and the store only reads from it through the API layer.
Weekly trigger
Scheduled run on staging
Automated test suite
- CMS to store sync
- Admin to store data
- Checkout, end to end
- Three browser engines
Report and fix
- Pass, fail and skip counts
- Report sent to the team
- Same-day triage
- Targeted re-run
Every sync between the CMS, the admin and the store is regression tested each week, before buyers see a change.
The results
Faster to shop. Simpler to run.
A platform SwagHQ can grow on, with room for new features.
Services delivered
8
One team, from design to launch and SEO.
- Next.js headless storefront
- Custom CMS
- Custom admin platform
What changed
- Buyers+29% checkout conversion
- BrandingEasier product customization
- OrdersReliable order processing
- TeamEasier product and content updates
- Live syncs
- 2
- Catalog and stock
- Search
- +38%
- Organic search sessions
- Catalog
- 100+
- Product categories live at launch
- Catalog sync
- 30s
- Admin to live storefront
- Speed
- 0.9s
- Page load (LCP), with technical SEO
Why Redefine
A ground-up build, safe to say yes to.
Fixed price, scoped first
Scope is set before any code is written. No change-order surprises.
One team, design to launch
The people who design your store also build it and tune it for search.
You own everything
All code, repos and logins are yours at delivery. No lock-in.
Before you ask
What buyers ask us.
What does headless mean for a merch store?
The store you see runs apart from the systems behind it. You can change the design or add features without touching the catalog, stock or order systems.
Can our team update products without a developer?
Yes. SwagHQ got a custom CMS for content and a custom admin for catalog, stock and orders.
Will it connect to our ERP?
For SwagHQ, APIs link the ERP, inventory, pricing and order workflows to the store. We map your systems first, then scope the links line by line.
Is SEO part of the build?
Yes. Technical SEO, Core Web Vitals and accessibility were built in from the start, not added after launch. Pages load in 0.9s.
Start here
Big catalog, lots of options? Let's make it simple.
Tell us about your products and systems. We will map the path.
What happens next
- Day 0You send a brief
- 48 hoursWe call to talk it through
- 3 daysLine-by-line proposal
550+ projects delivered by Redefine Innovations.