The headless CMS is considered a future-proof platform for publishers. But how exactly does a headless CMS work? (Image: Adobe Stock / deagreez)
Let’s start with traditional Content Management Systems (CMS): These systems enable users to create and populate website interfaces without requiring extensive programming knowledge. However, traditional CMS solutions have a rigid system architecture comprising both a backend and a frontend. This conventional CMS approach integrates all content management components to deliver content tailored specifically to the web frontend—texts, images, HTML, CSS. As a result, adapting existing content for other digital platforms, such as mobile apps, becomes nearly impossible. Every new channel requires content to be reformatted from scratch.
A headless CMS operates differently: Here, content—the “body”—is stored independently of the “head,” meaning the format in which the content is presented or delivered. This separation provides the foundation for multi- or omnichannel publishing. In a headless CMS, content can be pulled into any digital endpoint or frontend via APIs (application programming interfaces) without altering the original content. This allows the same content to be tailored and optimized for each frontend individually.
Headless Content Management Systems make it possible to deliver customized yet consistent content across channels like apps, POS systems, online stores, and websites. This approach is both efficient and flexible, enabling digital consistency across all platforms. For example, websites, online editions of publications, e-commerce platforms, and their corresponding apps can be managed and designed together. This not only streamlines workflows for editorial teams and layout designers while easing the burden on IT but also greatly enhances the reader experience. Consistent structures deepen reader engagement and significantly increase brand recognition.
However, a pure headless CMS offers only basic backend functionalities for content creators. For instance, it does not support the automatic creation of landing pages, layout adjustments, or the implementation of approval processes. Essentially, the purpose of a “bare-bones” headless CMS is to serve as a content repository with APIs.
Through appropriate APIs, the CMS can not only distribute content but also integrate content from other systems, such as product databases or Digital Asset Management (DAM) systems. This combined information can then be delivered to various frontends along with the CMS’s own content.
In essence, a headless CMS is ideal for publishers who want to efficiently, securely, and easily maintain multiple channels with consistent and adaptable content.