Headless: The Future of Content Management Systems?

Headless...coupled...decoupled...? Lot’s of debate in 2023 around this topic and as highlighted in our 2023 top digital talking points article. As we (quite rightly) ask more and more of websites and build them around an ever increasingly complex IT and systems infrastructure, then these are words that you are going to hear more and more. We spoke with Michal Czernik, Head of Development at Everything Connected to ask what the difference is between these terms and what the pro’s and con’s of the different approaches might be.

Is headless the future of content management systems?

Having a good CMS is key to developing your business, ensuring it gives you the ability and flexibility to update your website when you want to. As well as keeping up with the latest updates in digital technology. If you’re looking around at the multitude of CMS options wondering what’s the difference or which type is right for your business well we’ve done the hard work for you! We’ve taken a dive into decoupled and headless CMS to help you decide your next CMS move.

What is the difference between decoupled and headless?

"Decoupled" and "headless" are both terms used to describe a specific architecture for building websites, but they have slightly different connotations and implications.

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A decoupled website is one where the front-end (i.e., the part of the website that the user interacts with) is separated from the back-end (i.e., the part of the website that serves content and data to the front-end). This separation allows for greater flexibility in choosing the technologies and tools used to build the front-end and back-end, and can make it easier to manage and maintain the website.

A headless website takes the idea of decoupling a step further by completely separating the front-end from the back-end, and delivering content to the front-end through APIs. In this architecture, the back-end is just a content repository that provides data to the front-end, which is responsible for rendering and displaying the content. This approach offers even greater flexibility, as the front-end can be built using any technology that can consume APIs, and the back-end can be changed or updated without affecting the front-end.

In summary, a headless website is a type of decoupled website, where the separation between the front-end and back-end is complete and content is delivered to the front-end through APIs.

Pros and cons of the decoupled solution?

It is important to consider all aspects of a decoupled solution.

Advantages of a Decoupled CMS

• Flexibility: Separation of the front-end and back-end allows for greater flexibility in terms of technology choices and updates.
• Scalability: A decoupled solution can be easier to scale horizontally as the front-end and back-end can be scaled independently.
• Security: Separating the front-end and back-end can improve the security of the application by limiting direct access to the back-end.
• Agility: A decoupled solution can enable faster development and deployment of new features or updates.
• Reusability: Decoupled solutions enable the reuse of APIs and back-end services across different front-end applications, reducing development time and effort.

Disadvantages of a Decoupled CMS

• Complexity: Decoupling the front-end and back-end can add complexity to the development process and may require additional resources to manage.
• Cost: Decoupled solutions may require additional resources to develop and maintain, which can increase the cost of development.
• Integration: APIs used to communicate between the front-end and back-end must be designed and implemented correctly to ensure proper integration and avoid issues.
• Performance: Depending on the specific implementation, a decoupled solution may require additional network requests which can impact performance.
• Skillset: Developing a decoupled solution may require a specialised skill set and additional training for developers.
  

When not to choose a decoupled architecture?

Decoupled architecture can be a good choice if you need flexibility in your system, want to use different technologies for different parts of your application, or need to handle high traffic. However, it can add complexity to the development process, may require more resources, and can be harder to maintain. Ultimately, the decision to choose decoupled architecture should depend on the specific needs of your project and team.

What are the common misconceptions?

• Greater creative freedom: Headless solution is often considered as the right approach to allow creative freedom, however, it is not necessarily true. This approach would allow the use of different technologies to be used on the front-end, but back-end technology might be equally capable of delivering state-of-the-art websites as well.
• Headless is a buzzword and we need it: Often clients hear about new technology without understanding the context or implications. While headless could well be the right solution for your website, it is important to consider all aspects of the web-development lifecycle to identify if added architecture complexity and development cost outweigh the reusability of code and performance gain.
  

When to Choose a Headless CMS?

• When you want to deliver a consistent user experience and serve content across multiple platforms and devices.
• When you want to improve website performance and security.
  

Why is Drupal a good option for a decoupled CMS?

Drupal is often a good choice for a decoupled CMS. It provides robust content management capabilities, a flexible architecture, and extensive integration options for front-end frameworks and applications. Drupal's modular design and API-first approach enable developers to create custom solutions and easily integrate with third-party services. Additionally, Drupal has a large and active community that provides ongoing support and development resources.

In conclusion, the very important part of the website development production process is to gather all project requirements, understand the problem we are trying to solve and assess the impact of the chosen solution on the existing editorial workflow as well as end users. Every client has different goals, target audiences and business models, therefore with all that in mind, we should be uncovering the right implementation and aligning the application architecture to deliver desired results.

Therefore it should be the outcome of the properly scoped discovery phase to identify if the decoupled CMS is the right solution for your project.

If you are considering the future digital needs for your business and what CMS choice and structure is the right one for you then feel free to reach out to one of the Everything Connected team and one of our solutions team will be happy to discuss your available options. Let's connect.

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