What is a headless CMS?
A headless CMS stores and manages content but doesn’t decide how it looks. Developers build the website or app separately and pull content in through an API. Marketers still write and publish in the CMS; the difference is that the same content can feed several channels, and the front end can change without moving the content.
Headless and traditional, side by side
A traditional CMS keeps content and page templates in one system, so previews and page editing come built in.
A headless CMS keeps only the content. The website, app or other channel is built separately and asks the CMS for content when it needs it.
What changes for marketers
- Previews and visual editing have to be set up; they don’t come for free.
- What you can build depends on the components developers make available.
- One piece of content can appear on the website, in an app and elsewhere.
- A clear content model matters more, because content is reused in many places.
- The site can be very fast, if it’s built well.
What to ask for
- Visual preview and editing, so you can see a page before it’s published.
- Components you can arrange into pages without a developer.
- A content model your team understands.
- An editor guide, and roles and workflow that fit how you approve content.
Where the big platforms fit
Contentful was built headless from the start. Sitecore and Optimizely offer headless delivery alongside visual editing. The right choice depends on how many channels you publish to and how much control your team wants over page building.
How Cypher handles this
Cypher builds on whatever you run, headless or not. Every build ends with an editor guide and a component catalog, so your team can edit every page on day one.
Questions people ask
Is headless better?
Not by itself. It suits teams publishing to several channels or wanting a custom front end; a traditional setup can be simpler for a single website.
What does composable mean?
An approach where the CMS, search, commerce and other tools are separate services connected through APIs, each chosen on its own merits.
Will our marketers lose visual editing?
Not necessarily. Many headless platforms now offer visual editing and preview, but it has to be set up as part of the build.