What is a headless CMS?

A headless Content Management System (CMS) is a CMS that is decoupled from the front end of a web application, allowing for flexible content management using high-performance applications.

Headless CMS Development

What is a CMS?

In order to understand headless CMS development, it is important to first understand what a CMS is. A Content Management System (CMS) is a software program that allows people who are not web developers to manage the content on a website – such as updating headlines, creating blog posts, and editing the text on a web page.

Typically, CMS platforms include a text editor that allows you to create content in the same way that you would using a word processing program like Microsoft Word or Google Docs, and the CMS converts it into HTML code for you so that it displays properly on the website.

A person using a content management system to update their website's content.

What is Headless Development?

Headless web development is a new way of using a familiar CMS to be able to manage content for a website that is built using professional-level web development tools. Traditionally, for websites that used a CMS such as WordPress or Joomla, the front of the website is directly connected to the database housing the managed content.

Headless development uses Jamstack website architecture to build a website where the front and back end are completely decoupled. This means that you get the same experience managing content in a familiar platform, but the front of the website is much faster and more secure.

Headless CMS platforms

There are several headless CMS platforms available today, each with their own pros and cons. Here are a few that will give you the best tools to accomplish different tasks:

WordPress – WordPress is the most popular CMS in history. In fact, it is currently powering around 44% of all websites on the internet. Anyone who works in web development or digital marketing is likely very familiar with using WordPress, making it the best choice for most small to medium sized businesses. It is free and open-source software, meaning that you won’t have to pay a monthly fee to use it as you will with most other CMS platforms. Headless WordPress development allows you to use WordPress to power content for your fast and secure website.

Shopify – Shopify is one of the leading CMS solutions for ecommerce stores. Shopify includes powerful tools for managing products and payments, and there is a thriving community of third-party apps that can be integrated into the platform to make life easier for busy merchants. Headless Shopify development means that you get all of these features with a much faster front end of your website. Site speed is especially important for ecommerce, where seconds of load time correlate to measurable changes in conversion rates.

Dato – Dato offers an exceptional content management experience. It is built to be integrated with headless websites, and allows you to quickly scale your content depending on need.

Other – There are several high-quality CMS platforms available today, including Contentful, Agility, Ghost, and more. At Red Rocks Web Development, we are happy to set you up with one of our favorites mentioned above, but if you have another platform in mind we are happy to discuss whether it is possible to use it to go headless.

Combining Headless CMS Platforms

One of the most exciting aspects of headless development is that CMS platforms can be combined to give you the best of all worlds. For example, many marketing teams prefer to use WordPress because they are already familiar with the platform, but suppose you want to add an Ecommerce store and your product manager loves Shopify. In the past, you would have had to make a choice between the two. Headless web development lets you combine the two, utilizing WordPress to manage your blog and pillar content pages, and using Shopify to handle your product inventory, pricing, and payments. This is also known as utilizing microservices in your web development process.

Headless content management pairs CMS platforms with high-performance headless websites.

Headless Web Design

Because headless CMS websites are not tied to the predefined theme that would be found in traditional CMS platforms, the sky’s the limit in terms of design and configuration opportunities. Content can be injected wherever it is needed, meaning that you choose what is displayed and where. This allows our designers to tailor the user’s experience to the device type that they are using, and to customize the site’s design to create the site that you have always dreamed of having for your business. Learn more about web design services.

Headless CMS by Red Rocks Web Development

If you have decided to build your digital presence using the best technology available today for a robust, blazing fast headless website, you are in the right place. At Red Rocks Web Development, we specialize in creating high-performing websites using a headless CMS. Contact us today to get started with headless CMS development services.