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Your In-Depth Guide to Headless CMS

In the realm of CMS, content is king. Having that content readily available and entirely at your fingertips, be it on browsers, mobile apps, or smartwatches, is exceptionally important. Especially in the changing digital age, there's a constant need to update or change your website.

In a traditional CMS, or content management system, those updates could break the front-end of the site, since the head and body are mutually linked.

In CMS, the body is the system, and the head is the interface. It can be challenging to separate the two because a failure on one side could lead to a rippling effect throughout the system. How do you get around that?

A headless CMS could be the key.

But what exactly is a headless CMS? And can it really make editing and updating a website faster and easier? Let's dive into what it is, why it's important, and how you can implement one into your software strategy.

What Is Headless CMS?

Any form of back-end content management system in which the content repository is detached or divorced from the presentation layer is known as a headless CMS. Some classic CMS platforms do include a headless API, but they don't function as succinctly as a system designed with a headless approach in mind.

Regardless, the API acts as the halfway point between total separation and an enclosed system.

As mentioned, the display portion of the website acts as the head. It's what your site visitors will see. Removing that head creates a headless system. This allows you to publish content to a different presentation layer than what may be offered as the default.

This happens through the use of an API, which manages unformatted and unprocessed content and directs it where to go.

In your typical CMS platform, the body and head remain attached and you cannot separate this without losing information.

How Does Headless CMS Work?

The core of the process lies in the admin interface and the API, which acts as your central database. You can include custom integrations into this, but it doesn't strictly need to come from the admin area.

The API channels that information to where it needs to go and reformats it on the other end. Different endpoints will have different requirements, as you know, but the API does the work for you.

Remember that different API architectures have different protocol constraints. Some of the ones you can use are REST, which is a popular web API, JSON-RPC (remote procedural call), and XML-RPC, GraphQL, or SOAP, which is an established web API protocol.

Headless CMS vs. Traditional CMS

Developers have been working with traditional content management systems for years, and it can be tempting to stick to the status quo. But society exists in an age where flexibility is almost a necessity.

So where do you go from here? And what is the difference between headless CMS and traditional CMS?

Well, the simple answer is a headless CMS is flexible and adaptable, while a traditional CMS is static and cumbersome. Headless CMS can be the superior choice since it creates a single backend source that can be shared between outlets like apps, browsers, and smartphone functions.

A traditional CMS lacks that flexibility. They've also been around for decades and thus have their limitations.

In the old CMS approach, content, photos, HTML, and CSS were all lumped together. And, because all of this information got jumbled around with code, it became impossible to repurpose.

As digital platforms have grown and demands continue to increase, headless CMS is becoming more popular. Meanwhile, traditional CMS platforms have fallen behind.

Because a CMS organizes content into built and stable frameworks, you cannot adapt the same content to other digital platforms. This means you're limited in where you take your work.

You'd need to convert your page to every application, whether that's a website, mobile sites, digital displays, or conversational interfaces. These are also systems that are in high demand, and there's little room for error in the mind of the consumer.

Is Headless CMS Better?

As with all things in IT and content management, the solution has to make sense for the business. A headless content management system is great for large-scale platforms, especially if your focus lies on user experience.

There's close to minimal downtime in a headless CMS, which means your clients aren't running into 404 pages when you're working in the backend. That being said, a headless CMS may not be feasible for tiny websites.

They are hefty pieces of software and require skill and know-how. As a software developer, you likely have those in spades, but the work is sometimes not worth the output for micro-sites.

This is where a classic CMS would make more sense. However, in larger systems, you can't dispute the idea that something more robust and flexible is almost a necessity.

The pros of headless CMS certainly outweigh the cons, but let's look at exactly what they look like.

Cons of a Headless CMS

Headless CMS platforms require a diverse set of skills, with frontend rendering and multiple codebases a vital part of the equation.

There could also be some formatting challenges and a larger need for content management, as the systems can get complex. Finally, headless CMS can be expensive, as you need to pay separately for the CMS, the infrastructure, and the developer.

Benefits of a Headless CMS

Businesses in today's digital age are sometimes hampered by just how many instances, or actions, a CMS takes. It can number in the dozens to the hundreds. While this is necessary, it certainly makes it difficult to track and harder to manage.

Organizations can use content infrastructure to merge all of their material into a single location, decreasing the need for manual copying and pasting. Companies that need to quickly create new landing pages, software, and microsites can benefit from a headless CMS.

Finally, the content infrastructure in a CMS must encourage reusability, which is vital for maximizing content creation resources. Let's take a quick look at some pros of headless CMS.

  • Platform independence
  • Replaceable tech
  • Omnichannel support
  • API first approach
  • Code maintainability

Anything else? Absolutely. A headless CMS also has a high level of functionality, flexibility, integration, and scalability.

High-Level Flexibility

A headless CMS doesn't limit your usage of layouts or themes, unlike traditional commerce sites. It allows businesses to customize their websites considerably more quickly because the front end and back end are independent of one another.

This means it's easier to make modifications to the display layer without affecting the back end.

Seamless Integration

Headless commerce systems allow for seamless integration of various third-party technologies and platforms. You can link any existing systems with your eCommerce site, using your preferred technologies and a robust API.

What is an example of headless CMS? You could seamlessly integrate new functionalities into your eCommerce website without changing the full eCommerce stack. This is a lot less work and is better for overall customer satisfaction.

Scalability

Headless commerce allows you to adapt your brand to new trends and technologies without having to re-platform your backend. APIs and frameworks can add functionality to your existing system as needed. You don't have to create a new website from scratch when using a headless solution.

Instead, you can add additional features as your company expands. As a result, you can easily scale up the website as needed.

Short Time to Market

Customer behavior is rapidly evolving, and if you can't keep up with their expectations, you'll struggle to stay afloat. Because you can make changes so quickly and efficiently, feature updates and adjustments can happen with the snap of a finger.

A headless commerce organization may easily introduce new functionalities to match the preferences of clients, resulting in a reduced time to market.

Omni Channel Experience

The customer journey has become more complicated, with 74% of customers starting transactions over multiple channels, depending on the situation. As a result, businesses can no longer rely on a single-channel strategy.

With headless commerce, you can provide a superior buying experience to your clients regardless of the shopping channel they use. You can also customize your front end and create an eCommerce website that operates across several channels without strange bugs or weird formatting.

Future Proof Your Content Management

Companies looking for more from their CMS systems should seriously investigate the potential of a headless CMS. They not only make your content more flexible but are easier to update and maintain.

Plus, that separation between content and code is key. Without it, you're running the risk of tying your content into a single infrastructure and rooting it into a single, stationary system.

This could easily lead to delays. When there is consistent demand, you can't afford to have anything stalling on the back-end. A headless CMS solves that.

Sound interesting? Why not try a headless CMS for free and see if you like what you find? It could be a game-changer.

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