What is a Headless CMS?

A traditional content management system has both the back-end and front-end systems tightly coupled together. But, a headless CMS has no built-in front-end, which is why we refer to it as “headless”. Instead, the headless CMS uses APIs to deliver content onto multiple content display channels (heads) independent of your CMS, be that a website, a mobile application, digital signage, kiosk, or any IoT device. They use a Content-as-a-Service approach, housing content separately from the output media.

The primary components of a headless CMS are,

1. Content Management Interface and,
2. The database.

How does Headless CMS work?

You can break down the workflow within a headless CMS into three basic steps.

1. Your Content writers, editors, and graphic designers input content onto the content management interface or the CRUD (Create, Read, Update, and Delete) user interface in the CMS back-end. Content creators do not require programming or data modeling skills to perform CRUD operations.
2. The content will then pass into the database, ready to render.
3. A RESTful API renders content stored in the database in a raw data format such as XML or JSON to whatever application that you require the particular piece of data. Developers can develop multiple applications unique to each of your business requirements and connect the headless CMS to feed in timely content.

Headless CMS Vs. Traditional CMS

Headless CMSTraditional CMSHosting & DeliveryThe majority in the cloud but can host in-house as wellIn-houseContent ModelBuilding block for many content output channelsBuilt for a single pagePerformanceFast and does not deteriorate performance over timeIt gets slower over time as the content in the database increasesCostNo hosting cost only includes a subscription fee. Quick proof of conceptHigh up-front cost, including hostingScalabilityEasily scalable over multiple platformsHard to scale beyond the specified platform.Supported devicesLimitlessLimitedReachOne-to-manyOne-to-oneDevelopment workflowAgileWaterfall

Examples of Headless CMS

The following chart showcases the most popular headless CMS solutions and their distribution in the current market.

We at Framian choose DatoCMS after having tried many others because of superior user experience, collaborative editing, and customizable navigation.

Pros of Headless CMS

1. Omni-channel output

Your content can output through multiple systems and applications without limiting to a single website as with traditional CMS. So, you can reach a wider audience through various channels.

2. Increases content value

Your content is valuable. But, the content in a headless CMS is even more valuable as the content is reusable and is highly available over multiple channels. As the headless CMS operates as a single source of truth and a central repository, your content is future-proof. You can reuse the CMS for your current applications and applications that you haven’t even thought of yet and may come up with in the future.

3. Increased security

The majority of traditional CMSs are community-supported and open-source such as WordPress, Joomla, and many more. So, security is constantly at stake in a traditional CMS. But, as the content is separate from the presentation layer in headless CMS and most headless CMSs are not open-source, the probability for security exploitation is lower.

4. Scalability and flexibility

Most headless CMSs are cloud-based and offer as a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS). So, cloud-based headless CMSs automatically inherit cloud properties including, availability, elasticity, scalability, etc. On the other end, you have the freedom and flexibility of building and customizing a front-end to cater to your unique needs with your choice of front-end tooling.

5. Quick launch

You can spin up a complete project with the content, websites, and applications much quicker with headless CMS as it replaces the slow waterfall methodology with agile framework development. Content editors can reward with a faster editing experience as they need not concentrate on content rendering but only on content editing.

Cons of Headless CMS

1. Loss of in-built functionality

Say you have a Digital Experience Platform (DXP) with features including personalization, commerce, marketing automation, analytics, etc., with a configurable UI. If you switch to a headless CMS, you will lose access to all these functionalities. So, switching to headless can be a take-all-or-nothing decision. Of course, you can build these functions into a headless CMS, but ask yourself, at which cost.

2. Pseudo-simplicity

Headless CMS decouples the front-end from the back-end to simplify the complex system. But, the reality is that the complexity shifts from server-side to front-end when switching from traditional CMS to headless CMS. Simultaneously, the cost of infrastructure and developer support to set up and manage presentation components rise.

3. Need more developer support

Headless CMSs offer you unparalleled supportability for the integration of new technologies, including IoT. But, to reap the benefit, you have to have a developer team with steep knowledge in developer languages, formatting, multiple codebases, and front-end development technologies.

Why Choose Headless CMS?

A headless CMS does not replace a traditional CMS nor a DXP. But, it is another alternative content management system ideal only for specific use cases.

If you need to take control of the design of your website and if the templates of your traditional CMS puts you through rigid constraints and limit you from reaching certain essential functionality, headless CMS can be a go-to for you.

On the contrary, many traditional CMSes have even advanced functionality for creating web pages but lack essential functionality and templates to create mobile applications. So, a headless CMS can be an investment for a mobile application development company reusing its content in multiple apps.

But, if you are an organization with few developers with slow turnaround times, a headless CMS may put your business through an additional cripple because you do not have adequate human resources to fuel the project. Else, if you have only a couple of web pages and a single mobile page then, burning down cash on a headless CMS is useless comparing your cost to profit.

However, headless CMSs are popular in e-commerce sites, products, services, websites, and web applications when analyzing current trends.

Headless at Framian

We’ve been working with headless websites at Framian for almost three years and, in that time, worked on over a dozen headless projects. Contact us here to find out more and talk with us about your needs.

Originally published at Framian.fi on 22.5.2021

Introduction to Headless CMS: Pros, Cons, and Why choose it was originally published in Framian on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Short Q&A with Pouria Kh, a fantastic designer who’s in the Startup Weekend alumni many times over.

Q: How does a designer feel in a hackathon dominated by people from business and tech fields?

It’s going to be challenging but you have a lot to contribute because you’re definitely needed. That also makes it easier to find a team that you’re interested in.

Q: In Startup Weekend what’s particularly interesting for a designer?

For me Startup Weekend is about trying ideas, some of them might breakthrough and become something that you may continue working on.

Most designers that I know are into creating something new and thinking about the user and customer side to make the best service, experience or product. I think all of the teams need to think about the triangle of feasibility, desirability and durability and they need people like designers to think about the desirability.

Q: What do you love about Startup Weekend apart from the great food?

I think the best part; the most rewarding part is that your network is expanding. You start working with people and you get to know them much better in a very short time. It’s not just sitting somewhere and talking, you’re actually working together intensely for two days.

Q: What sets Startup Weekend apart from other hackathons?

Startup Weekend is very open, people can come there and you can choose from a pool of various ideas. It’s very different and there are many different fields represented. I’ve been involved with medical startups, apps, games, social impact projects and services for companies. If you have time during the weekend there’s a lot that you can try, see and get inspired from.

Q: Would you and why would you encourage other designers to participate in Startup Weekend?

Because I know they can do a lot. Designers can help a team put their project into a tangible form that people can make sense out of after two days when you’re presenting it.

Q: What can a designer expect from an event like Startup Weekend?

Inspiration, networking, learning, getting to know more people and getting opportunities. You can get to know valuable people that you might need later on or they might contact you afterwards. You might find an interesting partner that you continue with afterwards which has happened many times for me.

Q: Has Startup Weekend ever helped your professional career?

Yeah, I found people that I’m now working with, some of them turned into good friends. I also have been working on some of the projects afterwards. It has always been inspiring for me and at the end of every Startup Weekend I’ve always come out happily no matter what happened. I’ve never regretted spending my weekend at Startup Weekend.

Pouria is now leading a startup called Grib that works in 3D solutions, check them out!

https://www.facebook.com/3dgrib

Startup Weekend Helsinki is organising another event in November find out more here: http://helsinki.up.co/events/8860

Originally published at blog.up.co on November 2, 2015.