Creating Channels

This section demonstrates how to create a channel and a channel site for a headless storefront.

Creating channels

Before you can display products on a headless storefront, you need to create a channel and a channel site for that storefront. A channel is essentially a sales platform such as a headless storefront, a marketplace, or a POS system. A site is a domain that links a headless storefront to a sales channel.

You can create both using the Channels API.

1. Send a POST request to the /channels endpoint to create a channel for your headless platform. Retrieve the channel ID returned in the response. You will use it to create a channel site and authenticate cross-origin requests.
2. Pass that channel ID in a POST request to /channels/{channel_id}/site to create a site for the provided channel.
3. Create a headless storefront by setting the status of the default BigCommerce storefront to inactive and then create an active headless storefront within that one free storefront limit.
4. Give this channel the primary domain and set the checkout domain for the headless storefront by sending a PUT request to the /channels/{channel_id}/site/checkout-url endpoint.
5. Optionally, you can add a 3P SSL certificate for the checkout domain by sending a GET request to the /sites/{site_id}/certificate endpoint. See Upsert a Site’s SSL/TLS Certificate Information for details.
6. After setting up the channel, you can authenticate cross-origin requests by creating a JWT token through the GraphQL Storefront API. Create your GraphQL Storefront API token with the same channel ID as your headless platform; otherwise, your request will be rejected.

Next steps

• Learn how to work with products

Resources

• Building Storefront Channels