Explain Like I'm Five: Headless CMS

What is a CMS?

When the web was first introduced, only developers could create and manage websites. As the Internet expanded and the web became more accessible, non-developers couldn't be kept on the side without the ability to make sites. As a remedy, Content Management Systems (CMS) came into place, with the purpose to allow its users to create and edit content on a website without any knowledge of code whatsoever. One could open a CMS, create a website with different pages, place images, write text, and voilà, go live without writing a single line of code.

The adoption of this tool increased and so did the number of CMS providers out there. Of course, it's not all sunshines and roses, building a site with a CMS and not controlling the code comes with its limitations. For example, the interface cannot be fully customized and styled considering how it is based on templates, meaning that a lot of these websites look alike and can't always have a distinguished brand. There is also a limitation when it comes to functionality, considering that without code, it is very difficult to build certain features.

Also, if one is able to build and edit a website without code, it is because there is a lot of running code in the background allowing them to do so, and as a result, the website speed is slower and does not match users' expectations. This begs the question: are we back to square one? Do non-developers have to give up their CMS superpowers for a website to be fast, unique, and customised? Thankfully, they don't. A new breed of CMS called "headless CMS" came into place to combine the advantages of writing code with some capabilities of the initially described CMS, which we'll refer to as "traditional CMS".

What is a Headless CMS?

A Headless CMS is built solely to handle content, in contrast with the traditional CMS which offered capabilities beyond what it was meant to do.

• CMS stands for Content Management System, not Content Design Frontend Backend Hosting Management System.
• It's called "Headless" because the frontend of the website (head) and the content (e.g. text, images, videos) are separated, in contrast with the traditional approach which entangles both.
• When both frontend and content are glued, it is harder to change the content without breaking the frontend.
• Also, because it is glued, there is no choice in terms of which technology to use for the frontend, meaning the content is "locked" in the traditional CMS interface.
• Also, by separating the content from the frontend, it is possible to distribute the content to different interfaces (e.g. smart watch application, mobile application, or an information kiosk).
• This becomes more relevant as businesses spread their messaging in different platforms and devices.
• Centralising content in one single place avoids inconsistent messaging and outdated content.
• When building a website with a Headless CMS, developers focus on writing quality code, and content creators, editors, marketers, and non-developer business people focus on delivering fresh content to users, and what to say, instead of how to present it.

Use cases

• Implementing a Headless CMS enables a team to easily manage their content and implement the necessary integrations for their business to grow further.

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