What is a headless CMS?

OK, but really: What is a headless CMS?

So what does that actually mean? Why is headless architecture important to the future of digital experiences?

Headless architecture is partly a response to the way web content has evolved. For a long time, most web content was delivered through a browser, often as a web page. But new connected devices are arriving all the time.

Today, audiences consume content through new interfaces with different form factors—things like smartphones, wearables, AI-enabled voice assistants, and even virtual reality headsets.

Headless CMS architecture is foundational to addressing these new content challenges. It means you can easily create and manage more things and deliver them to more places.

But before we get too technical, let’s start with the basics.

How does CMS architecture impact how content exists on a page?

Find out the difference between page-based vs. object based architecture, and why your AI-enabled voice assistant isn't nearly as smart as it sounds.

How does CMS architecture impact how (and where) content is presented to the audience?

Discover the differences between headless vs. non-headless architecture, and find out how to avoid the personalization and analytics trade-off headless usually comes with.

For non-technical users publishing simple content—like a blog—this was a great, seamless setup.

But as digital experiences evolve, developers are spending too much time creating custom workarounds to deliver more sophisticated content to a wider variety of devices.

Decoupled CMSs split back-end and front-end tasks. In practice, this means developers can quickly code and design front-end experiences in their preferred language without being bound by restrictive back-end technologies. Instead, they can use Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) to connect the back-end functions—like content storage and management—to any front-end delivery environment

First, digital content is getting more sophisticated, and users’ expectations are rising. To stand out, you need to build beautiful, responsive, and interactive content—and you need to be able to do it quickly.

Second, new channels and user devices are emerging all the time. It’s not enough to build beautiful stuff—you also need to make sure you can deliver it everywhere, as efficiently as possible. Headless CMSs mean marketers and developers can build amazing content today, and—importantly—future-proof their content operation to deliver consistently great content everywhere.