The term ‘headless CMS’ has been catching a lot of attention lately and why not? Many people and businesses developers already know about headless CMS, but some might find this term confusing yet amusing. Well, if you fall in the latter category, don’t worry at all. Since you are here now, you will get to know and understand the basics of benefits, types, and much more.
First of all, you must know that the headless content management system is a rising trend, and it’s becoming more popular every day. Before we begin discussing the benefits, it’s important to first understand what headless content management is and what it does. So, we will begin a quick, and scrip overview and then move ahead step-by-step. . Let’s get into it.
What is a headless CMS?
To put it simply, headless CMS is a content management system with a little twist. So, headless CMS manages and organizes content without a connected frontend or display layer. A headless CMS is where all your content and assets live. Content stored in a headless Content Management System is delivered via APIs for seamless display across multiple devices.
Moreover, a headless CMS is a backend CMS only. The head of the system, which is the presentation layer, is separated from the body. Thus, when the body is separated or cut off, the CMS becomes headless and called headless CMS. Yes, now you know why this CMS is named like that; interesting, isn’t it?
Read Also : What are the advantages of Shopify store Development
What makes headless CMS different from traditional CMS?
In a traditional CMS approach, the frontend and backend are coupled together, and other elements like content, images, HTML, and CSS are put together in one bucket. Thus, it makes it impossible to reuse the content in traditional CMS.
Although traditional CMS was doing fine, the need for a more flexible CMS evolved over time. Enterprises also started developing websites, mobile sites, apps, and digital solutions; traditional CMS failed to keep up with it all. Hence, the need for a more flexible found home in headless CMS. The headless Content Management System solved the limitations of a traditional CMS by structuring the content so that it could be reused across different platforms and channels.
Let’s quickly go through this chart representing the significant differences between headless CMS and traditional CMS based on common grounds.
What are the best benefits of a headless content management system?
Omnichannel architecture
A CMS was built with websites in mind initially, but as new technology like IoT, smart devices, and smartwatches gained prominence, the traditional CMS couldn’t keep up with the modern customer experience. And that’s how it came to the rescue with an omnichannel architecture.
Flexibility in CMS solution
in this CMS decouples the presentation and content and provides the best of both worlds- a traditional CMS and headless architecture in one platform. Although a fully headless Content Management System pushes the content to any presentation layer, it could be difficult to grasp for non-technical marketers who are not used to its functionality.
Moreover, hybrid CMS like Liferay DXP comes with pre-built frontend tools that use APIs to connect with the backend systems. Thus, it provides more freedom to choose the CMS the marketers are most compatible with.
costs less
We know many will consider this as the biggest benefit of headless CMS, and rightly so. Since a headless CMS requires little technical involvement, creating a new functionality is quicker and time-saving.
With this CMS, the upfront costs are also reduced as you can begin with creating smaller solutions and then invest in the big one. Thus, with headless CMS, it is best to start small and scale up as needed, and that saves a big sum of money.
Future proof
As the presentation and data layer is separated in a headless content management system, it becomes possible to structure the content and create new websites and functionality in the existing websites and use APIs to bring all the elements together.
Besides, it is compatible with any framework, and therefore, headless CMS adapts to the changes real quick in case there is a need to make changes in the development. These functions of headless CMS make it future proof which is also one of the top benefits of its Content Management system.
Easily scalable
In the headless CMS, the front end and back end layers are separated, and therefore, resolving any issue becomes simpler and quicker. Moreover, if there is any maintenance requirement, the website doesn’t face any performance issues at all.
manages the content from a single point and enables changing the developer’s tool and framework anytime, without any hassle. Furthermore, the hosting options are also infinite in the headless Content Management System, which eventually results in quick scaling.
Great software architecture
A headless Content Management System is a great choice for achieving and creating an environment with the topmost level of integrity and security. Many businesses prefer headless CMS for eCommerce websites and apps as they allow them to produce a better software architecture from scratch.
Unlike traditional CMS, headless Content Management System architecture helps in managing the time and resources utilized to develop successful software. Lastly, a headless Content Management System delivers a better customer experience with fewer resources and time.
Let’s talk a little about the pros and cons
We will first begin with all that’s good. So, let’s first focus on the pros of a headless Content Management System.
What are the pros
Omnichannel experience
Flexibility
Scalability
Easy design
Time-efficient
Now, let’s see what are the cons
No content previews
Dependency on developers
Maintenance can be expensive at times
So, what do you think of the future of headless CMS?
With more and more brands wanting to publish their content on multiple devices and with the increasing use of IoT and smart devices, the traditional CMS is becoming incompatible. That’s the reason is growing rapidly.
Looking at the present success of eCommerce, we can say that web content management systems have in stock in the future. After going through the headless content management system benefits and types,
let us know what you think of this content management system and ask us if you have any more questions. Lastly, if you want a CMS for your business, reach out to Krishang Technolab and know everything about it.