Traditional content management systems (CMS) can create and share content on their websites or through their applications. The CMS manages everything, including creating, reading, updating, and deleting (CRUD) content, as well as how it is displayed.
Headless CMS is a little different. It allows tags to manage content, but it doesn’t matter how the content is displayed. Brands can use any front-end tool to present content, which means they can deliver content outside of websites and applications. While headless and offline architecture is not new, there is a need for this type of solution because companies want to deliver content to places other than a standard web browser.
While many major CMSs are designed for the IoT era, some vendors are changing their technology to offer their technology without hollow content, arguing that their technology has always enabled API-based access to content management and delivery.
There are many brands that claim to offer headless CMS products. However, some offer the flexibility and direct plus head-up options that market managers need.
Although this type of headless CMS allows you to choose the right presentation layer for your digital platform, it doesn’t solve any fundamental problem: structuring the content so that it can be reused on different platforms and channels.
Headless architecture is the same concept as a headless CMS because it is a multi-channel solution for efficiently publishing dynamic content on multiple platforms and devices. The content is stored in a headless architecture raw and unformed and its definitive presentation is not limited to the front-end system.
| Traditional CMS | Headless CMS | |
|---|---|---|
| Hosting & delivery | In-house | In the cloud |
| Development mindset | Project-focused | Product-focused |
| Content model | Built for a single page | Building block for many products |
| Supported devices | Limited | Limitless |
| Reach | One-to-one | One-to-many |
| Workflow | Waterfall | Agile |
| Updates | Scheduled | Continuous |
| Backend system | Monolithic, all-in-one | Microservice, best-in-class |
| Investment | Large up-front cost | Quick proof of concept |
| Technical debt | Inherent to the system | Managed |
To help startups, small businesses and businesses adopt headless systems such as G2Crowd, DotCMS, Butter CMS, Gartner and Forrester and you should consider them for your future project.