By: Nahida Haque /
14 July 2021
Content management systems have been a sort of prodigy of the World Wide Web. They have revolutionized the entire process of digital content publishing, making it accessible to anyone connected online. And they’ve come a long way over the past two decades. CMSs have evolved significantly from their initial days to deliver greater ease, convenience, and efficiency for businesses, bloggers, and developers alike.
And they continue to do so, expanding their functionalities with newer technology. Headless CMS marks an essential milestone in this evolution. And it’s set to transform the very nature of content and how it’s used in the digital space.
So today, we’re going to explore headless CMS, what’s driving the excitement surrounding it, and how you could be part of this technological breakthrough in content publishing.
What is a headless CMS?
In simple terms, a headless CMS is a content management system that works independently without a user interface or the “head”. In other words, it’s not tied down to a specific front-end so that it could work headless. This is a revolutionary step away from the traditional CMS and has naturally created quite a stir among content publishers such as marketers and bloggers.
But why is headless CMS becoming so popular? What makes it so remarkable? And why do you need a headless CMS? Let’s find out.
Headless CMS vs. traditional CMS
A traditional or legacy CMS comes with a permanent front-end web interface or a presentation layer. Now, there’s nothing wrong with this setup, as long as your website is the only platform where you want the content published. But today, digital content is a crucial pillar in every marketing strategy. So, chances are you’ll need to repurpose and publish content across several platforms to provide a consistent, 360-degree content experience for your audience. A traditional CMS could fail miserably when it comes to serving these multi-platform publishing needs since it’s designed to serve only its own front-end interface.
But, how does a headless CMS work? A headless content management system has no predefined tie-up with a single interface. It’s simply a back-end system that works on its own. So, it could provide the freedom to publish your content on multiple platforms by making it available as data over an API. In other words, headless CMS has changed the very nature of content: it’s no longer treated as “content” but rather as “data” that you could easily adapt to different publishing requirements. Now, this is exciting news for any marketer.
Headless CMS is the result of fast-evolving technologies and can deliver enormous opportunities for the content publishing space.
Application programming interface (API)
An application programming interface or API is what makes it possible for your CMS content to get published on various front-end interfaces. It’s basically the middleman that enables communication between two different components, in this case, the headless CMS and the website, mobile app, or whatever front-end interface you want your content to appear on.
REST API is the most common API linked to headless CMS. It works great with simple setups but could be limiting when it comes to more complex models. Facebook’s GraphQL is a more robust alternative. For example, it could allow you to tailor queries for specific fields and avoid the over-fetching issues of REST API.
Of course, there are other APIs used with headless CMSs, such as Sanity’s GROQ API. But REST API is still in more common use and also performs well when providing API analytics.
Why choose a headless CMS platform?
The benefits of a headless CMS solution extend across multiple aspects of today’s content publishing needs. They can literally transform how you view content management systems and their role.
Here’s what you need to know.
1. Ease of multi-channel publishing.
This is the most compelling reason for businesses to make the switch to headless. Unlike a traditional system, your headless CMS will let you publish content across multiple platforms. It makes your content highly modular, making it much more versatile and user-friendly for cross-channel adaptation. And the APIs will allow faster deployment to various publishing channels, from websites and mobile apps to social media.
This represents significant gains in efficiency as well as time and cost savings. And it will, no doubt, be a critical transition for today’s marketer. After all, studies show that omnichannel strategies can generate an 89% customer retention rate and 23 times more customer satisfaction. Needless to say, a headless CMS could be a key tool to make the best out of your digital marketing activities.
2. Seamless integration with new technologies.
Different devices, platforms, and software adopt different technologies that continue to change and evolve with time. The typical CMS could seem static and outdated in such an environment. But with a headless CMS, you won’t need to worry about any of these. When technology stacks evolve, your CMS will allow you to avoid costly upgrades and adapt without a hitch.
3. Better flexibility to create front-end interfaces.
A headless CMS works independently from whatever presentation output you chose for your content. The front-end interfaces you select and the languages and technologies they use are no longer a concern for your CMS. So, the front-end developers will have greater control and an abundance of unrestrained freedom to create the output interfaces in the optimum manner possible.
4. A higher level of scalability.
As your business grows, so would your content strategy. And the tools and resources you rely on should offer sufficient scalability for you to quickly respond to increasing content publishing needs. And that’s exactly what a headless CMS can provide you. Since it’s detached from the front-end interface, there will be minimal downtime as you upgrade your website, app, or other presentation layers. Plus, it’ll require next to no changes to integrate. And the level of control and scalability this may offer could feel simply limitless.
5. Access to better security.
According to the research firm Canalys, spending on cybersecurity would reach $60.2 billion in 2021. It comes hardly a surprise considering what’s at stake. For a business, the consequences of a security breach could be remarkably costly and challenging to recover from.
If security is a top concern for you, too, headless CMS could help ease it to a great extent. The outcome of an attack naturally lessens when your front-end presentation layers are detached from the back-end CMS. This means your website is safe from threats to the CMS and vice versa. A headless content management system could be particularly useful to ward off DDoS attacks. And if you’ve built your CMS from scratch, just like your front-end interfaces, the boost to security could be even better.
6. Greater speed optimization opportunities.
Today, speed is a critical factor, whatever the undertaking. And when working with headless CMS, you’ll notice significant speed optimization opportunities. Think about the front-end development process. With headless, the developers can create the web interface, while another team works simultaneously on the CMS. They’re entirely independent of one another. So, a lag in one will not affect the progress of the other.
And to top it all, your website will be much faster than a typical CMS-based site. There’s no back-end component to slow it down. This allows faster downloading of your website. And the back-end headless CMS is pretty lightweight, too. So, it can deliver an equally impressive speed in performance.
Headless vs. Legacy CMS: A quick comparison
| Headless CMS | Legacy CMS |
|---|---|
| – The content can be pushed to multiple front-end interfaces. | – The content is tied to a single front-end presentation layer. |
| – Content is modular, making it easier to customize to different content needs and platforms. | – Content is static. Needs recreation when it’s time to reuse it for other content needs. |
| – Can support multiple output devices, from desktops and phones to digital signages and smartwatches. | – Supports a limited number of devices, usually desktops and smartphones. |
| – Supports faster setup since the CMS is detached from the front end. | – Takes longer to implement since the development of front and back ends cannot take place simultaneously. |
| – Minimal disruption and downtime for the CMS during front-end development. | – CMS can face significant downtime during front-end redesigns and development. |
| – The headless CMS is lightweight and can dramatically improve site speed. | – The traditional CMS is often heavy and could weigh down site speed. |
| – Can protect against DDoS attacks and provide better site security. | – Vulnerable to DDoS attacks. |
| – Future-proofed with the capacity to integrate with different languages and technologies. | – Limited flexibility for developers when it comes to using languages and new technologies. |
Who uses a headless CMS?
A headless CMS provides scale, speed, flexibility, consistency, relevance, and ease to an organization’s content strategy. But who exactly could benefit from it? To put it simply, any industry dealing with multiple publishing platforms could enjoy significant gains by going headless.
Take online trailers, for instance. The eCommerce sector typically spends heavily on its advertising, marketing, and promotional activities that use an omnichannel presence. These retailers meticulously map out their customer journeys and adapt their digital content to target each touchpoint effectively. This process is critical for their customer acquisition, conversion, and upselling strategies. And a headless CMS can help them seamlessly push content across countless platforms and devices at a click of a button.
But, headless CMS is not just limited to marketing and sales. There are many industries for which multi-channel communication with stakeholders is critical. Think about the airline and financial services sectors. The airline industry, for instance, will need to continuously engage with customers to keep them informed of flight times, delays, next available flights, and the like. And this may require communication using a combination of platforms, from websites and apps to digital signages, emails, and text messages.
Governments and the healthcare sector would have similar requirements. As we’ve seen during the pandemic, ongoing multi-channel communication was critical for them to keep the public informed of health warnings, preventative measures, social distancing regulations, the latest updates, and assistance provided. And a headless CMS could be the perfect solution to manage all these multi-channel communication requirements.
Things to consider with headless CMS
Before opting for a headless CMS, there are a few critical areas you need to consider. These will help determine your specific requirements so you’re able to make the best out of the transition.
1. Specific business needs
A headless CMS could add remarkable value across a range of content publishing scenarios. But each industry will have its own unique needs. For example, online retailers frequently use them to support their extensive content strategies. So, if you have a similar requirement, your headless eCommerce CMS will need some extra functionality.
2. Authoring capabilities
Authoring tools are an important feature for any CMS to manage workflows, scheduling, and publishing activities. So, before setting up your headless CMS, consider which tools are essential for you.
3. Level of personalization
Personalization is not that straightforward with a headless CMS and, in fact, might be limited at times. So, before you jump into the headless bandwagon, consider how much personalization you would need and how critical it would be for your content strategy.
4. Automation needs
Marketing automation could bring a significant level of efficiency, consistency, and streamlining to your content publishing activities. So, it’s important to consider the level of automation you would need for your business.
5. Front-end interfaces
You also need to determine which front-end interfaces you would require, whether it’s a website or an app. You might have to build some of them from scratch, while others may only require a few adjustments. Identifying these at the outset could help with the planning process and ensure they can seamlessly integrate with the CMS.
6. Data analytics
Since a headless CMS essentially works without the head or the front-end interface, building in analytics features will take some work. But if you don’t require in-depth data, you can avoid this component and settle with a tool like Google Analytics.
7. Security features
Security requirements will vary from business to business, although everyone would expect the basic features. If you have any specific security needs, it’s time to set clear goals to ensure the CMS you choose could meet them.
How do you choose the right headless CMS USA?
If you start browsing the market for headless CMS solutions, you’ll find a number of excellent options. They will each offer different features and functionality and will come at different price points. So, what’s the best way to choose the right CMS for your business? Here are a few things to consider.
Specific functionality requirements.
For instance, how much personalization would you need, and what type of automation tools do you require? We’ve already covered these above. So, identify your priorities to ensure the CMS you select could cater to them.
Budget.
Headless content management systems are available at different price ranges. But once you determine how much you can invest, it would be much easier to narrow down the options. Setting a clear budget will also help you and your team manage expectations. But remember to shop around to understand the current market pricing for CMS products. It will help allocate a more realistic budget for your needs.
Resource requirements.
Evaluate your internal resources and expertise and how much support you would need from an external developer. If your marketing team doesn’t possess much technical know-how and requires more control and involvement, it’s essential to consider their needs when sourcing a CMS.
Future plans.
By assessing future business direction and growth plans, you can select a CMS that can support your business in the long run. For instance, if you’re planning to expand into international markets, a site with a more local orientation could drag down speed and user experience.
Timelines.
Whether you need the CMS up and running in a few days or in a few months will determine the complexity of the setup. So, set realistic expectations to ensure that system delivery meets your deadlines.
Why choose iExperto for your headless web development needs?
Headless CMS Development Company USA
When preparing for your company’s transition to a headless setup, you need a reliable partner to guide you through the process. After all, going headless requires significant technical expertise, not just to set up the CMS but also for other critical areas, from developing your front-end interfaces to implementing security infrastructure. Without the right expertise, you could end up wasting your budgets and other valuable resources. And development could take months to complete with countless complexities that could make you regret the decision to go headless. To make matters worse, the end output might not serve your present and future business goals and could leave you with a highly developer-dependent, complex site.
At iExperto, we work closely with our clients to ensure that their needs are met every step of the way. We maintain close client interactions so they are constantly up-to-date on work progress. And with years of hands-on expertise, we understand how headless CMS could serve best for each business’s requirements. Plus, we’ll ensure your project is delivered within your budgets and timelines.
Want to hire headless CMS developer USA? Get in touch today for all your headless CMS needs!
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FAQs for headless CMS development firm USA
Q. What exactly is headless CMS?
A headless CMS is a back-end platform that operates independently. Unlike a traditional CMS, it’s not tied to a single specific front-end interface. This creates incredible versatility, enabling it to push content to multiple front-end platforms, from websites and mobile apps to email, text, and digital signages. It’s an excellent solution for marketers working with an omnichannel content strategy that’s pivotal to improve customer engagement and boost conversions.
A headless CMS comes with other advantages too. Since it works detached from a front end, it can provide better site security and scalability. And there’s less downtime when it comes to front-end redesigns and development work. Plus, it can easily integrate with new technologies, platforms, and devices, making it far more flexible compared to a traditional CMS. A headless CMS is also lightweight, making your site lightning fast.
Q. Are headless CMS more expensive?
Many people assume that a headless CMS is much more expensive compared to its traditional counterpart. It can be so if you don’t identify your specific requirements and priorities before embarking on headless development. Working with experienced developers is essential, too, since how it is configured could impact how much you end up paying.
When determining the cost impact, you also need to consider the indirect cost savings it could yield. Now, these might not always be so obvious at first glance. For instance, think about the impact of improved site speed on conversions. Remember, an outdated eCommerce site could be detrimental to growing your business. And when you add these up, a headless CMS could work out to be much more cost-effective for your business.
Q. Is headless CMS just for enterprise companies?
Contrary to popular belief, headless CMS can serve any type of organization. Even smaller companies with large content publishing requirements could benefit from it. And it’s not just limited to businesses either. Even governments and public sector organizations such as hospitals can make use of a headless CMS. It’s because its multi-channel integration capabilities are not only perfect for pushing marketing messages but also general stakeholder communications. A good example is when governments need to keep their citizens informed of critical information during a crisis like a hurricane or even a global pandemic.
