Headless content management system

A headless Content Management System, or headless CMS, is a back end-only web content management system that acts primarily as a content repository. A headless CMS makes content accessible via an API for display on any device, without a built-in front end or presentation layer. The term 'headless' comes from the concept of chopping the 'head' (the front end) off the 'body' (the back end). Whereas a traditional CMS typically combines a website's content and presentation layers, a headless CMS comprises the content component and focuses on the administrative interface for content creators, the facilitation of content workflows and collaboration, and the organization of content into taxonomies. A headless CMS must be combined with a separate presentation layer to handle design, site structure, and templates. That combination generally relies on stateless or loosely coupled APIs. One advantage of this decoupled approach is that content can be sent via APIs to multiple display types, like mobile and Internet of things (IoT) devices, alongside a website. A disadvantage, however, is that maintaining two separate systems for a single site can require more resources. Cloud-first headless CMSes are those that were also built with a multi-tenant cloud model at their core and whose vendors promote software as a service (SaaS). These vendors promise high availability, scalability, and full management of security, upgrades, and hotfixes on behalf of clients. Headless commerce uses the same setup to separate back-end product management and navigation from the front end of a website or other display types (e.g., IoT). This is similar to how headless CMSes focus on creating content in the back end to be displayed on front ends via APIs. Headless CMS is similar to but distinct from the use of widgets or plugins on a site, like adding an online ordering and delivery plugin to a restaurant website.