Headless CMS

  • a Headless CMS can be thought of an an API-first CMs

any type of back-end content management system where the content repository “body” is separated or decoupled from the presentation layer “head".

  • if the presentation layer of a website is the “head” of a CMS, then cutting off that presentation layer creates a headless CMS.

The idea is not that we have no head, but that we get to choose our head. In traditional CMSs, there is an integrated head, meaning the presentation layer is coupled to the data-handling layer. Suppose we already have a React app set up, so the visual layer is already taken care of. Now, all we need is the editing interface to alter our content, and the database to store it. A Headless CMS provides these for us.

All Headless CMSs pretty much boil down to some database backend with a web-based user interface, and content made accessible through an API.

Providers