What is a headless CMS
Edit on GitHubThe concept of a headless content management system (CMS) is the trend of these past years. It is built as a content repository where you can store your content and reach it through RESTful APIs. It is reactive: another system requests the content as and when it is needed. Since it is headless, there is no user interface (UI), giving you freedom to build it according to your requirements. Due to its API-first concept, it is easy to integrate with and provides more freedom to developers to choose framework for their projects.
What is a headless CMS anyway?
- loosely connected, often interchangeable components
- easy to integrate with
- scalable
- fast and flexible content delivery
- future-proof
- few publisher and developer dependencies
- simple deployment
- good for content centric solutions
Advantages of headless CMS compared to traditional CMS
| Headless CMS | Traditional CMS | |
|---|---|---|
| Integration | Easy to integrate due to its API-first approach | All the content and the source code coexist and are bounded tightly, increasing complexity |
| Flexibility | Optional technology stack (database, framework, programming language) | Site must be written with a specific programming language or with a specific framework |
| Customizability | Fully customizable | Built-in UI building blocks that you can choose from and customize |
| Setup and deployment | No installation, easy upgrade | Requires a database + specific server hosting and regular maintenance |
| Security | Delivered as SNaaS, you do not have to worry about security issues | Security upgrades and database backups required |
Use cases
- Build web applications with a technology you are familiar with
- Native Mobile Apps
- Enrich product information on ecommerce sites
- Realize solutions for special business needs
- In case fully customized UI is required
