No, the bundled front-end provided by the Algolia Shopify app is not mandatory.
The app includes two main components:
- Data indexing: Syncs your Shopify data (products, collections, etc.) to Algolia
- Front-end implementation: Provides a ready-to-use search interface
You can choose to use only the data indexing feature and implement your own front-end.
When you might skip the bundled front-end
Using indexing independently can be useful if:
- You want to use your Algolia indices outside of Shopify
- You prefer to build a custom search UI
- Your requirements differ from the default Algolia front-end experience
Learn more
For additional details on available front-end options, refer to:
https://www.algolia.com/doc/guides/building-search-ui/what-is-instantsearch/js/#front-end-choices