Headless CMS - Introduction
Traditional CMS has been a standard since the early days of web development. But modern-day businesses and companies are looking for flexibility and scalability, which is offered by Headless CMS.
Headless CMS is a rising trend and definitely the future of digital content management. The term CMS actually refers to the Content Management System.
Many businesses, right from multinational companies, and large enterprises to SMEs, and startups, now consider a Headless Content Management System, i.e., Headless CMS, for running and managing their content channels. They no longer prefer WordPress or any other traditional CMS.
Yet, many more switched to Headless CMS from their current CMS. It is not just a random thought of ours but a factual research study. A recent report by BusinessWire says that the “ Headless CMS market is projected to reach $1,62 Billion by 2027, and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 22.6% from 2020 to 2027. “
The increase in Headless CMS has shown a spectacular rise in the past few years. The main reason for businesses switching to headless CMS is the freedom it offers.
These results are seen in Google Trends as well. Lots of people are searching “Headless Content Management System” as shown in the below graph.
Compared to 2012, the popularity of Headless CMS is skyrocketing these days. Also, the data shows that all the developed nations have adopted it.
There are so many small pieces of information around Headless CMS on the internet currently that it can be quite challenging to understand whether it could be helpful for your business, especially for someone who is new to it.
This complete guide of Headless CMS will cover all the details you need to know from the basics. So, let’s get started with the definition of Headless CMS.
Let us begin with the definition of Headless CMS.
What is a Headless CMS?
A Headless CMS or Headless Content Management System is a backend-only content management system that acts as a content repository. Headless CMS manages and organizes content without the front end or the presentation layer. The content that is stored in Headless CMS is delivered via API across different devices.
The term ‘ Headless ‘ comes from the concept of removing the head from the body. Here the head is the front end, and the body is the back end.
The Headless CMS is where your content is stored. Then with the help of API (RESTful or GraphQL), you can distribute the content wherever you want. Through Headless CMS, content can be shared on your website, mobile device, tables, smartwatches, email campaigns, CRM, other marketing campaigns, etc.
The Headless CMS is also called API-first CMS. While some Headless CMS providers also market their CMS products and services as ‘Content Hubs,’ ‘Content Infrastructure,’ ‘SaaS CMS,’ or even ‘Content as a Service.’ However, when you take a detailed look, they all have similar Headless CMS architecture.
When asked about Headless CMS by an expert, here is how Mia Green, The Chief Operations Officer (COO) and Co-founder of Find This Best responds to “ what is a Headless CMS “ :
“ The headless CMS is a more flexible version of CMS. In traditional CMS, HTML, CSS, and content are all put in one place which makes the reuse of content difficult. Whereas in headless CMS, the presentation layer is separated from the body. Here the head is the presentation layer. For a seamless display of content in various devices, the content is delivered through APIs. Some CMS platforms headless APIs are offered to export the content to the presentation layer. The headless CMS can be an answer to the shortcomings of traditional CMS ”.
If you are still confused about Headless CMS, then do not worry. We have covered it all. Let us begin from the basics by understanding ‘what is Content Management system.’
Content Management System
The most straightforward answer to the question, ‘what is a content management system?’ is the software or system that manages content. The technical definition of a Content Management System can be given as:
“The software that helps the user to create, manage, modify and store content without any requirement of technical expertise.”
In simpler language, Content Management System (CMS) is a tool that helps you to build a website or publish content without coding.
Content Management System is usually abbreviated as CMS.
CMS is generally used for Enterprise Content Management (ECM) and Web Content Management (WCM).
Enterprise Content Management supports multiple users at a time. ECM provides a collaborative environment by integrating Digital Asset Management, Document Management, and Record Retention.
Instead of designing and developing your customized software for creating web pages, storing content, and other functions, the content management system manages all the basic functionalities and infrastructure so you can focus on your website and other areas of business.
WordPress, Joomla, Drupal, Wix, and many more are the most common content management system examples.
Now that you know what is a content management system, let’s move further ahead. There are different types of content management systems available in the market. Let us take a brief look at each type of CMS.
How does Headless CMS Work?
The working of a Headless CMS is as follows:
- It provides an author and editor with an interface for managing content.
- It distributes content via API for developers to build applications.
Thus as shown in Headless CMS architecture, it does not have a definite front-end or presentation layer. The content can be published to any front end via APIs.
A headless CMS separates the head from its stake, and now it has nothing to do with the design or the presentation. So, software developers can build the website hassle-free and use the APIs to access the content from CMS.
Most of the headless CMSes are offered as SaaS (Software as a Service) applications. This means that the user can use it as a web application, and the APIs are hosted in the cloud-based back-end. Thus, a Headless Content Management System follows a microservice architecture.
Even though some Headless CMS providers let you host the entire solution on your database and server, you still have to take care of the scaling and other operations in such cases.
Advantages of Headless CMS
Each user leverages different advantages of Headless CMS. In contrast, some common ones are listed below.
Manage Content for Multiple Channels
With Headless CMS, content can be pushed to multiple channels. As the number of devices and channels engaging with content has increased, Headless CMS is the solution.
It fits the general content marketing through COPE strategy (create once publish everywhere).
Faster Content Editing
A traditional CMS user has to spend time, effort, and resources on content management and editing. Whereas Headless CMS users can avoid it. They do not have to deal with the rendering side of things.
Higher Flexibility
As the content is served through APIs, there is high flexibility in using Headless CMS. Developers can work with different technologies and frameworks without having to worry about content. Whereas, content can be published independently of the front-end.
Future Proof Business
Headless CMS is compatible with all the latest technologies in the market. It also lets your business perform better compared to other CMS. Besides, as seen ahead, its trend is snowballing.
High Scalability
Headless CMS lets you manage your content from a single point. It allows developers to make changes with frameworks, languages, and tools without affecting the content. And with Headless CMs, you can send content to cloud-based hosting. So in this manner, Headless CMS lets you scale without affecting the rest of your infrastructure.
Improved Security
There is just a singular point of connection between the content and the tech stack with Headless CMS. So the surface area that can be attacked is significantly less compared to the traditional system.
Compatibility
Headless CMS is compatible with publishing content on multiple devices, platforms, and channels. Apart from this, it is also compatible with all tools and frameworks so developers can have a free hand.
Explore more about “ Top 7 Advantages of Headless CMS ”
Who Uses Headless CMS?
Headless CMS is perfectly suited for organizations and businesses aiming to create a better customer experience. Regardless of the industry, vertical, or size, every business can benefit from the adoption of Headless CMS.
However, CMS is highly beneficial for business that deals with content and eCommerce elements.
Headless CMS allows businesses and companies to connect with a larger audience and scale rapidly. Also, it is useful to those who respond quickly to opportunities in emerging markets.
Headless is definitely for those who wish to streamline their content operations and enforce consistency within their business processes.
When asked the question to the experts, “ which type of industries, organizations, and users can use Headless CMS and get benefits from it? “
Trevor Larson, the Co-founder & CEO of Nectar, quoted the following response.
“ Headless CMS is an excellent tool for managing digital presence, so it is used across industries, mainly eCommerce and online retail. However, the digital marketing industry is the primary benefactor because it makes omnichannel and IoT content marketing much more efficient.
Headless CMS is a great enabler, in this sense, because it allows companies with rapid go-to-market strategies to avoid spending an exorbitant amount of time creating solutions. Headless CMS is built to facilitate scalable, agile content management, making them valuable to any company with a significant digital presence.”
Thus Headless is the solution for each and every industry that deals with digital information. And nowadays, there is no such industry that does not deal with digital content at all.
So if you ever come across the question ‘is Headless CMS beneficial for me?’ Then the answer is definitely yes.
Best Open Source CMS providers
Nowadays, there are many open source Headless CMS available in the market. We have made a list of the best open source Headless CMS options. These all are free Headless CMS.
We have made a comparison between these CMSes from the features they offer. The following table shows the comparison between the best open source Headless CMS options.
The number from 1 to 4 represents:
1 – It offers its own database solution.
2 – It is limited to MongoDB and SQLite.
3 – Support is limited.
4 – Done through extensions or plugins.
Explore more about “ List of Open Source CMSes “
What is Content as a Service?
Content as a Service (CaaS), also known as Managed Content as a Service (MCaaS), is a method of storing and managing content in its raw form so websites, apps, and devices can use that piece of content when needed using Application Protocol Interface (API).
Unlike traditional content management systems where backend and frontend are deeply integrated, in Content as a Service (CaaS) frontend and backend are entirely separate.
The concept of Content as a Service is not new. It has just gained popularity in recent years. The reason for the increasing popularity of CaaS is due to the growing markets of AI and IoT.
Characteristics of Content as a service Platform
- Content and formatting are separate from each other.
- Access content via GraphQL or REST API.
- It allows local as well as cloud storage.
- CaaS can measure and analyze the consumption of overall content.
- Distributed authoring and workflow administration are possible in CaaS.
Explore more about “ Content as a Service “
