17 Free Shopify Starters and Templates for Building Headless E-Commerce Stores

If you are a developer and you are tasked with using Shopify's headless system to build a static, flexible, and high-performance e-commerce storefront, you’re in for a treat.

Shopify, one of the leading e-commerce platforms, powers over 4 million online stores worldwide and continues to be a top choice for businesses due to its reliability and scalability.

But why go headless with Shopify? Traditional Shopify stores operate within Shopify’s templating system, which works great for many businesses. However, as e-commerce evolves, the need for customization, speed, and flexibility increases.

Mastering Shopify Theme Development with TailwindCSS and Liquid: A Practical Guide

Investing in Shopify theme development can be a lucrative business opportunity. The Shopify Theme Store and marketplaces like ThemeForest feature numerous commercial themes that have been sold thousands of times, indicating a strong demand for quality themes. For instance, ThemeForest hosts a variety of Shopify themes that have achieved significant

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With a headless Shopify setup, the front end (what customers see) is decoupled from the back end (Shopify’s product management).

This means developers can build storefronts using modern frameworks like Next.js, React, or Vue.js, while still benefiting from Shopify’s powerful back-end services.

Headless Shopify allows for:

• Faster Loading Speeds: Deliver static content and improve performance.
• Full Customization: Complete control over the design and user experience.
• Omnichannel Integration: Easily connect your store to mobile apps, kiosks, or any other sales channels.
• SEO Optimization: Improve search engine rankings with better performance and modern web standards.

For developers and businesses wanting a unique, optimized, and scalable e-commerce solution, building a headless Shopify store is the way forward.

To help you get started, we’ve curated 17 open-source Shopify starters and templates that streamline the development process, reduce setup time, and empower you to create a store that stands out.

Let’s dive in and explore these ready-to-use tools!

1- Hull Next.js Headless Shopify Starter

Hull is the open-source headless shopify starter for Next.js. It comes with powerful features that include Shopify integrations.

Features

• Utility-first CSS with Tailwind CSS
• Animations powered by Framer Motion
• Cart powered by Shopify Buy SDK
• Real-time inventory check for products using SWR
• Customizable Filtering & Sorting for product collections
• Klaviyo waitlist form for out-of-stock products
• Klaviyo newsletter form with opt-in field
• Dynamic Page Routes for custom page creation
• Automatic Sitemap.xml generation
• Automatic robots.txt generation
• Automatic 301 Redirects from Sanity
• Live Preview content directly from Sanity
• Modern Image component using Sanity's Hotspot, Crop, and automatic WEBP format
• Modular page content for all pages, including dynamic grid layouts
• Customizable Promotion Banner
• Customizable Cookie Notice
• Accessibility features:
  • ARIA Landmark Roles
  • Default focus states preserved for keyboard navigation
  • Correctly trap focus for drawers with focus-trap-react
  • Roving tabindex for radio buttons
  • Input-based quantity counters
  • Required alt text for all images
  • "Skip to Content" link
• SEO features:
  • Page-level SEO/Share settings with previews
  • Fallback Global SEO/Share settings
  • Automatic JSON-LD Schema markup for products

Shopify Integration Features

• Automatically syncs products from Shopify into Sanity
• Custom action to sync product cart thumbnails back to Shopify from Sanity
• Tracks product status (draft/published) from Shopify to help control visibility while editing
• Deleted products and variants are preserved and flagged in Sanity
• Updates the URL on variant changes while keeping a clean history stack
• Vanity shop URL masking
• Global Cart with access to all variant data for line items
• Supports Single Variant products out of the box
• Product photo galleries with variant granularity
• Dynamic /shop collection page
• Custom collection pages
• Ability to surface a variant option on product cards

2- Shopify Starter

A Minimalist Boilerplate for Shopify Development

Shopify Starter is a free, open-source boilerplate designed to kickstart Shopify theme development with modern tools. Created to simplify workflows, it provides developers with a clean foundation to build custom Shopify themes efficiently.

This boilerplate helps developers save time, reduce complexity, and follow best practices in Shopify theme development. Ideal for those who want a modern, hassle-free starting point.

Features

• Modern Workflow: Uses Webpack and Babel for streamlined development.
• SCSS Support: Write stylesheets with Sass for better organization and efficiency.
• Live Reloading: Instant preview of changes with Browsersync.
• ES6+ JavaScript: Modern JavaScript syntax and modules supported.
• Optimized Assets: Automatic image and CSS/JS optimization.
• ThemeKit Integration: Easily sync themes to Shopify stores.

3- Next.js Commerce

Next.js Commerce is a powerful, open-source e-commerce template by Vercel, designed for rapid storefront development.

It offers performance optimization, seamless integration, and a customizable modern design, making it ideal for scalable online stores.

4- Shopify Starter Theme

Shopify Starter Theme is a minimal, open-source boilerplate for Shopify theme development.

It features a clean structure, customizable Liquid templates, and modern development practices, helping developers quickly build and deploy custom Shopify themes.

5- Builder.io Shopify Commerce

Builder.io Shopify Commerce Headless is a free, open-source template that combines Next.js with Builder.io for a seamless headless Shopify experience.

It allows you to build modern, high-performance e-commerce sites with ease. The template offers a drag-and-drop interface via Builder.io, making customization straightforward for both developers and marketers.

With a focus on speed and flexibility, it's incredibly easy to set up, giving you a robust foundation for headless e-commerce in just a few steps. Ideal for those who want the power of Shopify with the flexibility of headless architecture.

Builder.io Shopify Commerce

Builder.io starter for Headless Shopify stores.

Vercel▲ Vercel

6- Next.js + Tailwind CSS + Shopify Starter

Next Shopify Starter is an open-source, headless e-commerce boilerplate built with Next.js and Shopify Storefront API. It offers a modern approach to building Shopify storefronts with fast performance and developer-friendly features.

It is designed for scalability and flexibility, this starter template includes essential features such as product pages, collections, dynamic routes, and a seamless checkout experience.

With server-side rendering (SSR), static generation (SSG), and responsive design, it ensures a smooth and efficient user experience. This boilerplate is perfect for developers looking to create a customizable, headless Shopify store using modern web technologies.

GitHub - btahir/next-shopify-starter: Nextjs + Tailwind CSS + Shopify Starter

Nextjs + Tailwind CSS + Shopify Starter. Contribute to btahir/next-shopify-starter development by creating an account on GitHub.

GitHubbtahir

7- Starter Skeleton Theme for Shopify

Shopify Starter by Stewart Knapman is an open-source boilerplate for developing custom Shopify themes.

It features a modular structure, supports modern development tools like Webpack, and offers a streamlined workflow for efficient theme customization and deployment.

GitHub - stewartknapman/shopify-starter

Contribute to stewartknapman/shopify-starter development by creating an account on GitHub.

GitHubstewartknapman

8- Shopify Starter Theme

Shopify Starter Theme. Based on Laravel-mix and ThemeKit.

GitHub - Hujjat/shopify-starter-theme: Shopify Starter Theme. Based on Laravel-mix and ThemeKit. WatchFull Course Here : https://youtu.be/0274iR1XENE

Shopify Starter Theme. Based on Laravel-mix and ThemeKit. WatchFull Course Here : https://youtu.be/0274iR1XENE - Hujjat/shopify-starter-theme

GitHubHujjat

9- Next.js + Shopify + Builder.io

The ultimate starter for headless Shopify stores.

10- Shopify App Template - Node

This Shopify App Starter is built by yoMerce is an open-source template for building Shopify apps with Node.js and React.

It offers essential features like OAuth authentication, API integration, and a clean, customizable structure for rapid app development and deployment.

11- Slayed Shopify Starter Theme

This is a free and open-source Shopify starter theme using Vite with AlpineJS, TailwindCSS, Liquid AJAX Cart, and the Shopify Vite plugin.

12- App Starter By Storetools 

Shopify App Starter by Astral is an open-source boilerplate for creating Shopify apps using Node.js and React.

It includes OAuth authentication, embedded app support, and Shopify API integration, helping developers quickly build and deploy custom Shopify applications.

13- Shopify Node App

Shopify Node Starter is an open-source boilerplate designed to simplify building Shopify apps using Node.js and React. It offers a solid foundation with built-in OAuth authentication, REST and GraphQL API support, and an intuitive project structure.

This starter also integrates with Polaris, Shopify's design system, to help developers create seamless, embedded admin experiences.

With clear documentation and a well-organized codebase, it allows developers to quickly build, test, and deploy Shopify apps, streamlining the development process and reducing setup time.

14- Astro starter theme to build a headless ecommerce website with Shopify

This open-source app is a lightweight and powerful ecommerce starter theme to build headless Shopify storefronts with Astro.

15- Shopify App Starter

Shopify App Starter is an open-source boilerplate for building Shopify apps with Node.js and React.

It provides essential features like authentication, embedded app support, and Shopify API integration, helping developers kickstart app development quickly and efficiently.

16- Shopify Theme Kit Starter

Shopify starter theme and local development workflow.

17- Gatsby Starter Shopify

A Gatsby starter using the latest Shopify plugin showcasing a store with product overview, individual product pages, and a cart.