CoursesComposable CoreModule 2: Configuring for Headless

Managing Channels

Plan: Composable Developer

 Lesson 6 of 27 · 30 min

Channels

In BigCommerce, a channel is anywhere a merchant sells their products. This includes not only storefronts on the web, but potentially third-party marketplaces, POS systems, and marketing platforms.

In addition to the BigCommerce control panel, channels can be added, inspected and managed with the REST Management API.

Every store automatically has one default channel (channel ID 1) that corresponds with a BigCommerce default storefront. The following is a typical example of the details of the default channel, as returned by the Get a Channel API endpoint:

{
    "data": {
        "id": 1,
        "name": "My BigCommerce Store",
        "platform": "bigcommerce",
        "type": "storefront",
        "date_created": "2023-08-24T18:54:09Z",
        "date_modified": "2023-11-03T14:34:08Z",
        "external_id": "",
        "icon_url": "...",
        "is_listable_from_ui": true,
        "is_enabled": true,
        "is_visible": true,
        "status": "active"
    },
    "meta": {}
}

Note the following two key values:

  • type - “storefront” identifies the channel as a storefront.
  • platform - “bigcommerce” specifies that the type of storefront associated with the channel is a BigCommerce Stencil storefront.

Any channel with a “storefront” type but a different value for platform would be, by definition, a non-BigCommerce storefront - or in other words, a headless storefront.

The number of storefront channels you are allowed depends on the number of storefront seats you have purchased, and the maximum number of seats depends on your subscription plan. For each storefront seat, you are allowed one active and one inactive storefront channel.

Headless Storefront Channels

Any channel, including a BigCommerce Storefront channel, can be interacted with using the BigCommerce APIs. It’s possible, therefore, to connect a headless front-end even to your store’s default channel, and this is often the easiest and fastest way to start development.

However, it’s recommended to create a unique channel for your front-end, since this is how BigCommerce understands where the storefront really resides, as we’ll see with Channel Sites.

Use the Create a Channel API endpoint to create a channel with the key type and platform values.

  • type - “storefront”
  • platform - A value indicating the platform your storefront uses. “next”, “vue” and “gatsby” are example valid values, but “custom” can be used if your storefront doesn’t fit any of the other available options.

It’s most common for the default channel to be left in place and a separate channel created for the headless storefront. The default channel can have its status set to “inactive,” in which case it will not count toward your account’s storefront limit.

You will find fewer manageable settings for a headless channel in the Channel Manager area of the BigCommerce control panel. Stencil theme configuration and the Page Builder, for example, are not relevant for such a channel.

Channels and the Catalog

Once you have a channel designated for your storefront, you must make sure to assign appropriate catalog entities:

  • Products are assigned to one or more channels. In order for products to be available when querying on your newly created channel, they must be assigned to it.
  • Each channel has a unique Category Tree. Make sure to create categories for your channel and assign products to them.

Assigning products and creating categories can, of course, be taken care of in the BigCommerce control panel. If you prefer to use the API:

  • The Category Trees API endpoints are available for creating and managing categories.
  • Product Channel Assignments can be used to assign or un-assign products from channel.

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