Start from a theme, or bring your own storefront

Most Bangladesh platforms sell one storefront. You get their template. If it is wrong, you live with it, or you leave.

StoreOS sells the commerce stack twice.

Merchant path. Pick a theme, change colors and copy in the console, publish a shop. The live themes are on /themes: everyday retail, fashion, coffee, jewellery, books, restaurants, automotive, and more. Anything marked Coming soon does not ship yet.

Developer path. Skip the theme. Install @storeos/storefront-client, pass the tenant, build Next.js, React, Vue, Svelte, or a mobile app. The console is the same either way: products, orders, COD, Pathao, Steadfast.

Shopify splits this into Online Store and Hydrogen. We run both on one backend.

When a theme is enoughCopy Anchor Link

Apparel, a clean catalog, COD, Pathao. You do not want a repo. Start with Starter, or the live theme closest to your category. Page builder is in the customizer. Custom domain is on a paid plan.

Free still lets you load products (50), look at the builder, and take COD orders. A custom domain starts on a paid plan. Pricing is the live catalog.

When you should bring your own frontendCopy Anchor Link

The theme cannot do the brand. You already have a Next.js site. You are an agency. You need a storefront that is not a template.

Build on the API. Do not rebuild checkout, phone OTP, stock, or courier booking.

GearHaat (gearhaat.com) and Sporty BD (sportybd.com) already work this way. We name the URLs. We do not publish quotes or GMV.

What not to confuseCopy Anchor Link

Headless is not the merchant headline. If you sell from Facebook, start with a theme. If a developer is in the room, they can throw the theme away later without throwing the orders away.

Docs stay at /docs. The shortest custom path is building a headless storefront. This page is the fork: theme or custom, same console. Product notes that do not fit a doc live on the StoreOS blog.

Create a free store, or talk on WhatsApp.