Headless WooCommerce REST API with React and Next.js on Vercel

The digital commerce world requires from the website to provide seamless user experience, keeping simultaneously flexibility and scalability. Enter the Headless WordPress WooCommerce, a powerful approach that is a combination of content management capabilities of WordPress and e-commerce functionality of WooCommerce simply atop a headless architecture. In this guide we will look at what is headless on WordPress WooCommerce and how to set it.

What are Headless WooCommerce?

Headless WordPress WooCommerce is when WordPress acts as backend (CMS) for the creation and management of content, including product information, blog posts and pages. While, WooCommerce, is in charge of the e-commerce part, WordPress is providing the e-commerce functionality such as product listing, the shopping cart, and the checkout process.

In a headless setup, the frontend is built using a javascript framework like: 

It communicates with WordPress backend via WordPress Restful API or WooCommerce Restful API to fetch content and display it to users. 

Integrating the WooCommerce REST API into Your WordPress Site

Integration of the WooCommerce REST API into your WordPress site is a powerful feature and brings the ability to perform the actions on your WooCommerce store via code. Use WooCommerce REST API to perform tasks like product display, order assistance, and transactions handling smoothly from your shop portal.

Here’s a detailed explanation of how to set up and use the WooCommerce REST API in your site:

Step 1: Providing access to WooCommerce REST API enables.

• Enable API Access: Log on to your WordPress dashboard and go to WooCommerce → Settings → Advanced → REST API. Select “Add key” to script the API keys.
• Generate API Keys: Insert a description for your API key, choose the user or users that you wish to generate a key for which permissions of this key will be read/write access. Do the same as alternative “Generate API key” in order to generate the key.
• Copy API Credentials: Get your Consumer Key and Secret by writing down the obtained ones. These are used for checking if the API requests are genuine.

Step 2: Leveraging the WooCommerce REST API

• Endpoint URL: The base URL for the WooCommerce REST API is https://yourdomain. com/wp-json/wc/v3/, where yourdomain.com is your site’s domain name.
• Authentication: Be sure set the credentials as request’s headers, using your Consumer Key as username and Consumer Secret as a password instead.
• Endpoints: Headless WooCommerce offers the following endpoints for the different activities. Here are some commonly used endpoints:

• Example Request: You shall send GET request to the given URL https://yourdomain/. /wp-json/wc/v3/products under the right authentication headers depends on the environment you are in.

Step 3: Handling the API Responses

• Response Format: In the case of WooCommerce’s REST API, it uses JSON for its data return format. You will be able to do this through the API-generated data which you can then populate into your front end application with product listings, orders, and other elements.
• Error Handling: Check the respond status code so as to see if the request was successful (200) or there was some error. Another feature is that the API will also be returning a response body where it will give the error message if there was any.

Through the implementation of these procedures, you can successfully made a connection between the WooCommerce REST API and your site and get benefits from its features to improve your e-commerce store.

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How to set up a Headless WordPress WooCommerce Website Nextjs & React on Vercel?

In a headless setup, it’s common to use two domains: one for the frontend and one for the backend/API. For example, you might have www.webbytemplate.com for the frontend and api.webbytemplate.com for the backend/API. This separation allows for better scalability, security, and performance optimization.

• Frontend Domain (eg: www.webbytemplate.com): This is a storage where headless frontend is hosted. Its key function lies in facilitating the user interface, as well as it interacts with the WordPress’s API to fetch the relevant content.
• Backend/API Domain (eg: api.webbytemplate.com): This domain refers to WordPress admin area through which RESTful API makes data available to the front-end. This segregation of the API onto a different domain aids in the security issue and scalability problem.

Setting up two domains for a Headless WooCommerce site involves configuring your server and DNS settings to point each domain to the appropriate frontend or backend/API. Here’s a step-by-step guide:

Step 1: Set Your Frontend Domain (eg: www.webbytemplate.com)

• DNS Configuration: Log in to your domain registrar’s website and find your way to its DNS settings for your domain (www.webbytemplate. com).
• Generate A record that links to the IP address of your frontend server.
• If you prefer, create a CNAME record for the www subdomain which is pointing at your domain (eg domain: www.webbytemplate.com).
• Frontend Server Configuration: Configure your frontend server (e.g., Nginx, Apache) to serve your frontend application. Ensure that your application is set up to make API requests to the backend domain (eg domain: api.webbytemplate.com).

Step 2: Set Up Your Backend/API Domain (eg: api.webbytemplate.com)

1. DNS Configuration: Sign into to your domain registrar’s website and then move to the DNS settings section for your domain (eg domain: api.webbytemplate.com).
2. Create A record redirecting to IP address of your backend/API server.
3. Backend/API Server Configuration: Be sure to set up your backend/API server e.g.Nginx and Apache) to handle the WordPress backend and WooCommerce REST API. Be certain that the server can be launched over the Internet.

Step 3: Try Your Setup

• Verify DNS Configuration: Use a program like nlookup or dig to perform the DNS records verification that they are correctly linking to your servers.
• Test Frontend and Backend/API: Visit www.webbytemplate.com and www.api.webbytemplate.com. In the first step, go to your domain name’s registrar and then click on “transfer away” and enter the other domain name in your internet browser to confirm that both domains are active.
• Test API Endpoint: Employ Postman or curl as a means of your request for api data. webbytemplate. If the API requests are made at wp-json/wc/v3/products (or any other WooCommerce API endpoint) to check if the API is functioning as expected.

Step 4: Feature Your Site on Vercel

• Set Up Vercel Project: Sign up for a Vercel account and create a new project in your frontend application.
• Deploy Frontend: Deploy your frontend application on Vercel. Set up the configuration of the project to address the www.webbytemplate.com as the domain.
• Configure DNS for Vercel: Change your DNS settings to point at www.webbytemplate.com connect to your Vercel deployment.
• Verify Deployment: Visit https://www. webbytemplate. com in your web browser to see your frontend deployed correctly.

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Conclusion

By following these steps, you can set up a headless WordPress WooCommerce website with Next.js and React, hosted on Vercel. This setup leverages the separation of frontend and backend domains to enhance scalability, security, and performance, while the WooCommerce REST API facilitates seamless interaction between the frontend and backend.

Deploying a headless setup offers numerous advantages, including improved user experience and greater control over your website’s design and functionality. With the right configuration and deployment, you can build a modern, efficient, and scalable e-commerce site.