Headless CMS: The guide to your headless content management system

A headless content management system is a great way for many companies to better manage and distribute their content. Not only is the work of content creators simplified, but developers are also relieved of a lot of work. In this post, you'll learn everything you need to know about headless CMS, the benefits of making the switch, the different systems on the market, and much more!

Reading time 5 min

1. What is a headless CMS?
   1. Who is a headless CMS suitable for?
   2. The advantages of a headless CMS
2. Which Headless CMS are available?
3. Our conclusion
4. FAQ: Questions and answers about the Headless CMS
   1. What is Headless Wordpress?
   2. Why Headless?
   3. When should I use a headless CMS?

What is a Headless CMS?

To be able to define a Headless CMS, let's first look at just the "CMS". CMS stands for Content Management System, which can be translated as "content management system" in German. It is a software that is usually used by businesses, educational institutions or online media to create, edit, organize and publish content. The advantage about a CMS is that no programming skills are needed to maintain online content on blogs or websites. A CMS usually provides a user-friendly interface that allows users to easily create, edit and format content. It allows content and design to be separated, so users can change the content of a website without affecting the appearance or structure of the website itself. This makes it easier to update and maintain websites.

A headless CMS is effectively the newest and most advanced version of a content management system. Unlike a traditional CMS, which manages both the creation and presentation of content, a headless CMS focuses solely on delivering content through an API (application programming interface). In fact, in a headless CMS, content is stored completely independent of presentation or output. Thus, content is not held in a pre-built template or page structure, but is managed as structured data in a back-end system and delivered via an API. This gives developers the freedom to display and present the content on different platforms and devices (e.g. websites, mobile apps, IoT devices), without any restrictions imposed by the CMS.

Who is a headless CMS suitable for?

A headless CMS is worthwhile for all companies and employees who want to create content and play it out and present it on different platforms. Nowadays it is important for companies in every industry to have a digital presence. For this reason, it is impossible to narrow down who does not need a headless CMS, for example. However, we have briefly compiled which groups of people could definitely benefit from a headless content management system if they integrate it into their business processes.

A headless CMS is used by the following people, among others:

• Developers who want to have full control over how content is displayed and presented. They can retrieve the content through an API and display it in different front-end technologies or platforms. Developers have the freedom to create custom solutions and customize the content as per the specific requirements.
• Content and marketing staff who want to publish content efficiently across multiple channels and platforms. They can customize the content to meet the needs of the target audience and create personalized experiences without depending on the limitations of a specific CMS platform.
• App developers who want to create mobile apps and applications and integrate content on a regular basis. They can access content through an API and display it in the app, making it easier to update and manage content.
• Digital agencies and their staff who create digital apps and website for their clients can also make use of a headless CMS to manage diverse content regardless of display and create a customized user experience.
• Individuals with advanced technical skills who want to create their own custom website or application can also benefit from a headless CMS. They have the flexibility to customize the architecture and technologies according to their own preferences and requirements.

In addition, we have also noted for you the situations for which a headless CMS is ideal:

• Multi-channel content presentation is made easier with a headless CMS. This means that different channels and devices can be used to present it. Content can be reused on websites, mobile apps, social media, IoT devices, and other platforms, among others.
• Companies that already have an existing technology infrastructure, such as their own front-end architecture or existing APIs, can benefit from a headless CMS. They can use the CMS to manage and deliver content through their existing infrastructure rather than changing their entire architecture.
• Headless CMSs are also popular in the e-commerce space. This allows content to be integrated into online stores, but also played out on other sales platforms.
• Personalization and A/B testing: With a headless CMS, developers can more easily implement personalized content and A/B testing. Since the presentation layer is independent of the CMS, different versions of content can be tested and personalized experiences can be created for users.

Of course, there are many more use cases for which a headless CMS is suitable. Our featured situations are just a selection of the most popular cases where using the Headless CMS makes sense.

Headless CMS: The advantages

Using a headless CMS has many advantages. We would like to present them to you here. Of course, a headless content management system also has a few challenges. But we will discuss these later. First of all, let's talk about the many advantages of a headless CMS:

• With a headless CMS, you're technically independent because you don't have to tie yourself to a specific technology. Furthermore, you are not bound to any frontend framework.
• Furthermore, one advantage is that you can distribute all content on different platforms without having to pay attention to the presentation of the content. So you are completely flexible. Furthermore, you can easily reuse content, as it can be easily adapted to the different channels.
• Since you separate backend and frontend, you can also scale better and prepare for growing data volumes and traffic. Performance is also better with a headless CMS. Content can be delivered directly to the end user via APIs, which can lead to better performance and loading speed.
• Third-party system integration is easy. Since APIs are used you can easily integrate other systems like CRM, e-commerce platforms or marketing automation tools. Data can be seamlessly exchanged between different systems.
• Another plus is that collaboration between multiple teams is made much easier with a headless content management system. Developers can focus on creating the front end, while content creators can manage and update content independently.

What headless CMSs are available?

A number of headless CMSs exist on the market that are suitable for different requirements and industries. All of these content management systems come with advantages and disadvantages, which of course we don't want to deprive you of. For this reason, we have gathered all the important information that could be crucial for choosing your headless CMS.

Directus

Directus is an open source CMS, which is suitable for projects with a customized database. Version 9 was implemented in the programming language Javascript. For integration into your company, you only need a node server and a classic database.

Contentful

This headless CMS focuses mainly on content and backend and is an API-first platform that allows to manage and create digital content. The company has a headquarters in Berlin, among other locations.

prismic.io

Prismic is a SaaS-based headless content management system that has been around since 2013. With Prismic you have the possibility to create an app and/or website, which is very modern due to the use of GraphQL as a query language.

Magnolia CMS

Magnolia CMS is a java-based headless CMS solution that is available as a free open-source variant, but also as a self-hosted and cloud version. Magnolia CMS is worthwhile for the technical department as well as the marketing department of a company.

Strapi

Strapi has been under development since 2015 and is based on the Node,js framework (javascript). It is an open source headless CMS that is available on GitHub.

Butter CMS

Founded in Chicago in 2014, Butter CMS works for both individual freelancers working for different clients and businesses ranging from small startups to large enterprises.

What are the challenges of implementing a headless commerce system?

If you want to implement a headless CMS, this is definitely a good decision. You will be able to simplify many work processes in your daily work. However, the implementation also involves some challenges, which can be mastered. If you have problems or don't trust yourself to integrate the Headless CMS, you know who you can turn to.

We would now like to briefly explain the challenges so that you can prepare yourself for what to expect:

• Since a headless content management system consists of a separate frontend and backend, you need to connect them during implementation so that they can communicate with each other via APIs. For this architectural complexity, you need a good understanding of the systems' data flow.
• You'll also need to integrate data from different sources, of course, so that you're always up to date in the CMS. For this reason, you need to know how to pull data from, for example, the product system, the merchandise management system, or the payment provider.
• You also need to build an API so that it is flexible, but also secure. Developing a well-structured and powerful API is therefore crucial.
• Later on, when scaling your CMS, you will of course need to know how to handle higher traffic and what adjustments you need to make.
• You should also have enough knowledge that you can always maintain your headless system and adapt it to technical innovations.

We will be happy to help you set up your headless CMS for your company. We will be happy to meet your individual needs and integrate third-party systems for you, to make your professional life as pleasant and efficient as possible. Feel free to contact our experts directly by phone or via our contact form. We look forward to helping you and supporting you with our expertise!

Our conclusion

Overall, headless content management systems are always practical for those who don't want to be tied to a front-end. However, they do provide some features that make it easier to distribute content on different platforms. In principle, a headless CMS is interesting for all companies that want to manage and create content while keeping the upper hand. Which headless CMS is the best solution for your business is not something we can answer in general terms. The different options all have advantages and disadvantages that you have to weigh up individually for you and your company. However, we are happy to assist you before you make a decision.