Headless 360Beginnerheadlessapibasics
What does headless Salesforce mean?
Real World Scenario
A frontend team builds a React storefront and asks why they need Salesforce if they are not using the standard UI.
Expected Answer
• Headless means using Salesforce backend capabilities through APIs without the standard Lightning UI
• Business logic, customer data, and commerce catalog live in Salesforce or related clouds
• Custom websites, mobile apps, or kiosks consume REST, GraphQL, or B2B Commerce APIs
• Salesforce remains system of record while your team owns the experience layer
• Headless fits brands that need custom UX but want CRM and order data centralized
Follow-Up Questions & Answers
Click to expand — each follow-up includes a direct, interview-ready answer
Commerce is a common use case, but headless patterns also apply to Experience Cloud sites, custom portals, and Agentforce API channels. Any API-first integration is headless in spirit.
Architect Perspective
Headless = Salesforce brain, your face. That metaphor sticks in junior interviews.