A headless CMS stores content apart from the website and serves it through APIs, so a custom front end displays it. A traditional CMS such as WordPress stores the content and renders the pages itself through a theme.
In a headless setup, editors work in a dedicated authoring interface and the website shows their changes once it fetches the content.
In a traditional CMS, editors work inside the same system that renders the site, often with a visual editor for the page itself.
Headless separates the content model from the design, which makes a custom front end straightforward and reuse across channels possible.
A traditional CMS keeps everything in one place, with themes and plugins doing much of the work.
| Criterion | Headless CMS | Traditional CMS |
|---|---|---|
| How content reaches the page[1][2] | Content is stored apart from presentation and fetched through APIs by the website or app. | The CMS stores content and renders the pages through its theme. |
| Where content can go[1] | The same content can feed several channels, such as a website and an app. | Usually focused on the one website it renders. |
| Front end[3][2] | A separate front end is built, for example with Next.js. | The theme is the front end. |
| What there is to host[1][4][5] | Two parts: the content platform and the website deployment. | One application; WordPress needs PHP, a database and HTTPS. |
A headless CMS keeps content storage apart from presentation. Editors work in an authoring interface, and developers fetch the content through APIs to show it on websites, apps or other screens.[1]
Yes. We build custom sites with Next.js, and a headless CMS is one way to give your team control of the content.
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